Description: We drove to the Porfidio Tequila distillery to see if there was a tour available, or at least tastings. We encountered a caretaker who spoke only Spanish. We asked if they were still open. It was around 6pm. (Later we discovered that we were let in after the closing time.) He said that it was still open and asked if we spoke Spanish. I told him that I spoke only a little bit of Spanish and asked, "¿Hay una persona que habla inglés?" He said there was, and we waited as he went to get an elderly gentleman with white hair and a hat. His English was pretty good, although not fluent enough to give a lengthy lecture on the tour. That was fine for us, since I already know how tequila is made, and my sister does not like long lectures.
There were workers feeding sugar canes through a press. We were given samples of the raw juice to drink. I love sugar cane juice since they are sold often in Vietnamese markets, so I was eager to taste the fresh juice. My sister was a little reluctant since it appeared that the sugar canes were not washed first. Our guide showed us the difference between the blue agave which is for tequilas and the other agave plant which is used for mezcal.
We were delighted with the handmade bottles. There were workers who were using hot blowers to shrink-wrap the plastic around the corks in the hand-blown bottles. When we got to the tasting rooms, our guide poured us the blanco variety first, then the añejo. The blanco was ok, but I actually prefer Patrón Silver for that type of tequila. When I tasted the añejo, I realized that the famous Porfidio Tequila was rated highly for a reason; their añejo is superb.
We then tasted the new rum. He poured it as a rum and Coke. Their Japanese importers were requesting rum, so they started producing rum this year. The rum bottle had a palm tree inside instead of a cactus. There are also miniatures of their tequila with about a shot of tequila inside for about US$5. I bought the miniature now-discontinued Austrian bottle that they had made specifically for their Austrian consumers, and then a 375-ml bottle of the añejo tequila (US$50) and a 750-ml bottle of the rum (US$50). The 750-ml bottle of añejo tequila cost $100, so I passed on it. I didn't want to spend all my money.
What was really great was our guide signed our bottles with our names on it. It wasn't until he gave us a card that I realized that he was the owner, Ponciano Porfidio. He was so down-to-earth and humble. Wonderful man. I had a small clue that he was important in some way, since the workers treated him like he was the boss or something, but then to find out that he is the owner! I highly recommend visiting.
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