Category: trips

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Don Julio

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    In November I visited seven tequila distilleries in Mexico. Here are some pictures and notes from my visit to the Don Julio distillery in the town of Atotonilco. (Cutting up the pinas before baking.) (Now when I see pinas, I get thirsty.) (Fermenting agave.) (Stainless steel pot stills.) (We had a cocktail contest after the…

  • Sherry Bodega Visit: Bodegas Williams & Humbert

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    In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Williams & Humbert.  (The bodega is absolutely enormous.) (There's a horse show inside the bodega for visitors.) (For barrel tasting, the venenciador (in this case, the chief oenologist) inserts the venencia into the barrel to pull out a…

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Sauza

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    In November I visited seven tequila distilleries in Mexico. Here are some pictures and notes from my visit to the Sauza distillery in the town of Tequila. (First we visited the agave nursery. Sauza is unique in that they propagate their agave not by using baby plants but by… fancier scientific means.) (This is what…

  • Sherry Bodega Visit: Bodegas Sanchez Romate

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    In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Sanchez Romate.  (Our guide used a barrel as a chalkboard.) (Our host.) (The bodega is relatively small and sort of goth.) (We signed a barrel.) Not a touristy bodega- don’t do tours Fino has more oxidation than manzanilla…

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Herradura

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    In November I visited seven tequila distilleries in Mexico. Here are some pictures and notes from my visit to theHerradura distillery in the town of Amatitan. (Here they split the agave in two before baking.) (The magic of Herradura is that it ferments naturally- no yeast is added.) (Sleeping tequila.) Agave grows for 7-10 years…

  • Sherry Bodega Visit: Bodegas Osborne

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    In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Osborne.  (The logo for Osborne is the silhouette of a bull. You see it all around.) (This is barrel with a clear end so you can see how flor (a layer of yeast) lives on top of the sherry. The…

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Jose Cuervo

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    In November I visited seven tequila distilleries in Mexico. Here are some pictures and notes from my visit to the Jose Cuervo distillery in the town of Tequila. (First we visited an agave field.) (The jimador harvested the agave plant to get the pina, or pineapple, center.) (I planted my own agave from the cuttings…

  • Sherry Bodega Visit: Bodegas Grupo Estevez

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    In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Grupo Estevez.  (Sherry sleeping peacefully in the bodega.)  (One of the warehouses is named for flamenco dancer Lola Flores.) (Horse stables and ring behind the bodegas. Jerez is home to flamenco, dancing horses, and sherry.) (The interior is…

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Cazadores and Corzo

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    In November I visited seven tequila distilleries in Mexico. Here are some pictures and notes from my visit to the Cazadores and Corzo distillery in the town of Arandas. (Autoclaves cook agave much faster than traditional brick/clay ovens.) (It's a huge operation here. The liquids travel in pipes through a tunnel beneath a road separating…

  • Four Roses Bourbon Distillery Visit

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    This week I was in Kentucky for a quick visit to the Four Roses distillery. For some history on this brand, see this post a I wrote a few years ago. In short, Four Roses was only a bourbon in Japan for many years, and has recently come back to the US market. They use…