Food & Drink

Los Altos de Jalisco is, above all, cattle country: pastures rather than desert. Many families here live off dairy cattle and cheese, not agave alone. This rancho culture also shapes the way people eat and celebrate.

Weddings and patron saint festivals often bring Birria de chivo to the table: a slow-cooked goat stew in a red chilli broth, simmered for hours over a fire or in an earth oven. A feast like this is meant for a crowd rather than an everyday meal. The mild, fruity base of a regional Blanco pairs well alongside it, without overpowering the robust broth.

Tequila is traditionally drunk from the caballito, in one go or in small sips—never shaken, and never diluted with heaps of ice. Charreadas, the region's traditional rodeo festivals, also take place in Arandas and Tepatitlán and often wind down with a familiar combination: grilled meat, fresh local cheese, and a glass of Tequila to finish.

Set the mild, floral character of a Los Altos tequila alongside the hearty, robust cooking of rancho families, and it quickly becomes clear why the two belong together. The sweetness of the agave balances the heat and smoke of the food, and neither one overwhelms the other.

Cheese, too, has a firm place on the table in Los Altos, often from the family's own dairy nearby. Try both together—fresh cheese and a young Blanco—and you'll quickly notice how well the mild sweetness suits the cheese's gentle acidity.