Agave Aboard! A Trip on the Jose Cuervo Express in Guadalajara Mexico
Agave Aboard! A Trip on the Jose Cuervo Express in Guadalajara, Mexico
By a.d. elliott | Take the Back Roads - Art and Other Odd Adventures
Dear Henry,
Have you ever heard of the Tequila Train?
I only discovered it recently, and once I did, it immediately earned a place on my ever-growing bucket list. Some trips feel aspirational. Others feel inevitable. This one falls squarely in the second category.
Tequila is a distilled spirit that can only be made from blue agave grown in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It is not mezcal, which may be produced from other varieties of agave and is found throughout much of the country, though most commercial mezcal comes from Oaxaca. The distinction matters. Terroir matters. History matters.
While fermented agave beverages had been produced by Indigenous peoples in Mexico long before European contact, it was the Spanish conquistadors, having run out of brandy, who decided to distill what they called mezcal wine. Around 1600, the Marquis of Altamira, Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, opened what is generally considered the first commercial distillery, creating the first distilled liquor in the Americas.
Mexico is, and should be, fiercely proud of its national spirit. The term tequila is legally protected: it may be used only for blue agave spirits produced in designated regions of Jalisco, and its distillation, bottling, and export are tightly regulated. Oddly enough, tequila is also one of the few spirits I haven’t developed an allergy to, which works out nicely, because it has long been my favorite.
While daydreaming about post-COVID travel and safer, slower adventures, I stumbled across the Jose Cuervo Express. From that moment on, a new travel piggy bank came into existence.
The train departs from Guadalajara, carrying passengers through sweeping agave fields toward the historic town of Tequila, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006. The journey itself is part of the experience: an old-fashioned luxury train ride complete with lessons on how to properly taste tequila (which I firmly believe everyone can benefit from) and an overview of the spirit’s cultural and historical importance.
Once you arrive in Tequila, the experience continues with a guided visit to the Mundo Cuervo facilities, where you learn about agave cultivation, harvesting, and production. And yes, there is, unsurprisingly, a generous amount of tequila tasting involved.
Thankfully, there are also several very comfortable hotels in the area, designed for exactly what one might need after sampling too enthusiastically.
At the moment, some aspects of the experience are still operating at reduced capacity, but that will change. And when it does, when the world opens back up, when people start gathering again, when we collectively decide it’s time to raise a glass, I have a feeling many of us will be looking for something joyful to toast.
I think I’ll take the Tequila Train to get mine.
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About the Author
a.d. elliott is a wanderer, photographer, and storyteller traveling through life
She shares her journeys at Take the Back Roads, explores new reads at Rite of Fancy, and highlights U.S. military biographies at Everyday Patriot.
You can also browse her online photography gallery at shop.takethebackroads.com.
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