Food & Drink

At the valley's festivals and weekly markets, you'll find Birria, a slow-cooked stew of goat or beef in a spicy chili broth. It's often served with lime and onions. In Amatitán and Tequila, it's traditionally cooked for big occasions, especially when many people gather, such as during harvest time. In this way, Birria ties the harvest to village life around the distilleries.

Drinking here also happens differently than you might expect. At the bar La Capilla, in the heart of the town of Tequila, bartender Don Javier Delgado Corona mixed the Batanga. This is Tequila with cola and lime, stirred with a kitchen knife instead of a spoon. The gesture stuck because it was simple and because it worked. To this day, the drink is stirred there the exact same way. That small gesture tells you more about the town than any menu could.

Even more classic and older still is Sangrita. This is a spicy mix of tomato or orange juice, chili, and sometimes pomegranate. It's sipped in small amounts alternately with the Tequila, never mixed in the same glass. It's meant to temper the spirit's sharpness and reset the palate between sips.

At distilleries with an open oven, you can sometimes sample a piece of the roasted piña. It tastes sweet like burnt sugar, with a slightly smoky edge. It's the simplest proof that every Tequila from this valley starts with the same plant. Cooked, milled, fermented, and finally distilled—but always the same Blue Agave from right here. Anyone who tries it understands cooking and tasting as one and the same process.