My First Tequila – The Start of a Journey into Agave Spirits: A National Tequila Day Story

Last year, after many, many years of not consuming any alcohol at all, I decide to dive into select spirits to see what I thought of them. Before making this decision, I read, watched, and listened to a ton of books, articles, internet posts, podcasts, and SpiritsTube videos about all types of spirits but particularly about tequila/agave spirits and whiskies of various types. The socio-cultural histories, plant biology, and details of agave spirits fascinated me and drew me in. Since then, I’ve been absolutely in love with agave spirits and voraciously consumed as much information and discussion/debate about them as possible.

My start into tequila (discounting the poor quality stuff I’d had early on in college) faced a big hurdle from the start – I’d fallen in love with the history and culture/s around it before I’d tried any good quality tequila out to see if I actually would like the flavors. The brand that most interested me was Mijenta, which remains one of my favorite tequila brands – I loved the brand’s mission and the story of its master distiller and blender, Ana María Romero Mena.

As anyone familiar with Mijenta’s blanco knows, it is incredibly unique and has a lot of floral notes. I cracked open my first bottle of it with family and we all tried it. That night and for weeks after, I wasn’t sure what I thought of it or tequila in general – “Oh, no,” I thought, “what happens if I don’t like tequila, I’ve already invested in a whole bunch of bottles!?”

I spent my time with the bottle and gradually opened up new tequila bottles from other brands including Tequila Ocho, El Tesoro, and Lost Lore, acclimating my palate to the unique aromas and flavors of tequila with all of their beautiful variations. Luckily, it turns out that I love tequila and many non-tequila mezcals as well as whiskies (over which I had a similar challenge, mostly related to, first, the unique flavors of malted barley and then the heavy oak char that I initially perceived in most bourbons, both of which my palate acclimated to and is now able to compartmentalize to identify other flavors).

On this National Tequila Day 2025, cheers to all of the amazing and welcoming folks I’ve had the pleasure and privilege to interact with and learn from in the tequila community, you all more than make up for the few bad apple snobs and handful passing on misinformation. And big cheers to Mijenta and the Maestra, Ana María Romero Mena, for opening the door to tequila and, ultimately, other agave spirits to me! I remain a dedicated fan of Mijenta and all of its expressions.