Our trip to Guadalajara, Tonala and Tequila is not going to be in order because I came back with 400+/- fotos and I'm still thinking about which and how to present them. So I voted to do our Tequila tour to the Cofradia distillery first as the most interesting.
A tour here was a first for both of us so early afternoon we stopped at the little bar "Arte en Juego" to ask for a suggested tour and to have a beer. That bar happened to be owned by Cofradia and the very cute bartender sold us two tickets (150 pesos) and called a van to pick us up.
The Cofradia distillery is on the edge of town where most of the larger ones are in town or on the highway. Cofradia is a boutique brand that is not mass marketed like the others. That generally means more expensive products but their tour is first class and very personal.
We arrived about two miles out into the country and there were about 10 Mexicans waiting to start the tour. Our guide spoke both languages so took time for us gringos after she explained in Spanish. We saw the process from the raw "pinas" (peen-yas) (pineapple), cooking them, tasting how sweet after cooked and had the distilling process explained. Freshly distilled Tequila is illegal to sell because it's 100 proof and has to be deluded with water before it is aged. We did taste it and it was quite good.
Their aging room is also their store for some more tasting. They built the place around trees that protrude thru the roof to provide shade. There is also a large underground cavern that has been converted to a restaurant but must have originally been for aging. We ate there and about 2 1/2 hours total the van took us back to town.
Bar Arte en Juego
Cofradia van
Cofradia entrance bar
Raw pinas ready for the oven
Cooked pinas in the oven
Fermentation vats
Getting some 100 proof for us to try
Our guide
Beautiful grounds
Cofradia logo on the hill
