Did you know that July 24 is National Tequila Day? To celebrate we were invited to Valerie at Hotel X for a master class with Don Julio. My coworker and I were excited to learn more about our alcohol of choice as we didn’t know too much about the process it takes to make tequila.
Initially, we were both going to bring our partners for a double date but Sam’s boyfriend bailed so my boyfriend ended up being our cameraman for the entire night. We sat at a table that had impeccable views of Toronto’s skyline, the best background for our video of course. At our table there were already shots of tequila poured into tasting glasses with information about each one.
Just a disclaimer, I know nothing about alcohol and am not an avid drinker so I feel like my opinions on tequila aren’t relevant since I made the same face trying all of them.
The night started and we had our instructor for the night talk to us about the whole process and history of tequila. He was giving out prizes for those who answered questions but between the three of us, we knew nothing so we sat in jealousy of people who won a small gift bag.
After a brief history, food pairings were then brought out so we could try the different tequilas with the perfect food to go with each one. In total we tried five different Don Julio tequilas, blanco, reposado, añejo, 70 Cristalino, and 1942. I can’t remember which food pairing went with which tequila but we had lime dipped in brown sugar, dates stuffed with cocoa nibs, grapefruit dipped in brown sugar, oranges drizzled in honey and chocolate truffles.
I know these might sound boujee or a bit too fancy but trust me, you’ll NEVER drink your tequila the same way ever again once you try the lime dipped in brown sugar. Throw the salt away and dip the green citrus in brown sugar and eat it before you take a shot. It’s honestly such a game changer I’m never going back to licking the back of my hand full of salt.
After drinking and learning about tequila, we headed up to the outdoor patio and were able to try their signature cocktail which was like an Aperol Spritz. There was also a ton of food flowing through so of course we had to stuff our faces with the different Asian-inspired hors d’oeuvres.
I feel like we learned so much about tequila that I don’t think any of us will be shooting straight tequila ever again. Next time you’re throwing a party bring out one of these food pairings and your friends will love it but also you. Trust me after you try one of these food pairings it will change your life.