National Tequila Day 2023: Date, History, Facts, Events

Is there a better method to consume blue agave juice than straight from the bottle? We cannot think of any, but there is an entire day dedicated to the subject matter. The 24th of July is National Tequila Day, and National Tequila Day consists of twenty-four consecutive hours, fourteen hundred and forty minutes, and eighty-six thousand and four hundred seconds of celebrating good times with your favourite beverage over salt and lime. Just enjoy the festivities responsibly, don’t imbibe the gorgeous blue agave elixir while driving, and do research its storied history in Mexico, the American Southwest, and elsewhere.

The background of National Tequila Day

Tequila’s ancestor, pulque, a milky, foamy agave beverage, dates all the way back to Mesoamerican times around 1000 B.C., when indigenous Mexican communities would harvest and ferment it. However, it wasn’t until the 16th century A.D. that the tequila we know and enjoy today was first produced, around a territory of land that wasn’t officially named Tequila until 1666.

Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, a Spanish aristocrat, opened the first tequila factory 66 years earlier in Jalisco, the Mexican state where the modern metropolis of Tequila is located. Over a century later, in 1795, Don Jose Antonio de Cuervo founded the first Vino Mezcal de Tequila de Jose Cuervo in Tequila, delivering the most successful tequila brand in the world to this day.

The origins of tequila are relatively well documented, but the origins of National Tequila Day are a bit more obscure. Who created the holiday, what created the holiday, and why it occurs on those dates are not well documented. Perhaps the creators drank a bit too much of their own supply to remember. Regardless, common zeitgeist dictates that National Tequila Day in the United States occurs on July 24th, and the Mexican Senate just declared in 2018 that theirs occurs on the third Saturday of every March.

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National Tequila Day Events

Drink up

What better way to observe National Tequila Day than by imbibing the spirit that gave the occasion its name? Consider visiting a local pub or liquor store you’ve never visited before, and consider bringing a friend along.

Consume creatively

If you’re even a casual consumer, you’re probably already familiar with the classic Tequila Sunrise, the ubiquitous margarita, and/or the fail-safe combination of juice and/or soda. However, do you know how to make a Serrano-Spiced Paloma, a tequila shandy beer cocktail, or a margarita that changes colour? This year, try something new and opt for a more inventive cocktail, whether it’s one of the above or one of the countless others you can find with a fast Google search.

Drink moderately

We support holiday hedonism, creature comforts, and savouring good times with friends and family, but we ask that you do so responsibly. This cannot be emphasised enough. If you’ve had a few too many drinks to safely operate a vehicle, don’t be frightened to call a designated driver, Uber, Lyft, or taxi to get you home.

5 TRUTHS ABOUT TEQUILA

Many alcoholic beverages are aged, but the agave plant must mature for 8 to 12 years before it can be harvested and fermented into tequila.

While it is true that most tequilas are derived from agave plants, Sotol tequilas are derived from a comparable Mexican plant known as “Desert Spoon” that has a milder and nuttier flavour.

With 204 million litres of Mexican tequila exported to the U.S. in 2019, the U.S. is without a doubt the largest recipient of Mexican tequila exports; that’s over 40 times more imports than even Germany!

Agave is harvested with a special machete called a Coa de jima, and the cultivators responsible for harvesting it are called Jimadors.

The “tequila worm” is more commonly found at the bottom of Mezcal bottles, a similar spirit, and its “additive effects” are widely believed to be a marketing stratagem.

NATIONAL TEQUILA DAY DATES