Mezcal on the mind as Willoughby’s Tequila Fest approaches

Hot days seem perfect for the celebration of tequila, as I learned on a visit to Mazatlan along the Pacific Coast of Mexico a few years ago.

On an excursion to Vinata Los Osuna, in the state of Sinaloa, one in our group purchased a belt with compartments designed for a tequila tasting

— something that would be handy on

Aug. 10 when a Tequila Fest takes place from 2 to 6 p.m. in Downtown Willoughby.

Check-in is from 1 to 3 p.m. at Sol, 38257 Glenn Ave. Get tickets there or call 216-410-9168 in advance.

Fifty tequilas, taco and margarita specials will be offered by 13 downtown bars and restaurants in an event designed to get folks walking around among the many hospitality spots on and around Erie Street. Participants will be able to sample a dozen different tequilas and choose their favorites.

Get more information at bit. ly/2dtw-tequilafest-2019.

Tequila is protected by the Mexican government and can be made only in the state of Jalisco, so the tequila I sampled at the Vinata Los Osuna hacienda and distillery in Sinaloa was called Blue Agave after the plant from which it is made. The law is similar to the one in France that says Champagne can come only from the region of Champagne. Although all mezcals are not tequila, anything distilled from oven-cooked fermented agave is generically called mezcal.

But my taste buds told me

this Blue Agave mezcal I tasted on that visit to Mexico was tequila. I thoroughly enjoyed my tastings of blanco, Reposado and Anejo, which are artisan creations made in small batches. They were served in a shady area near the hacienda after we drove through the blue agave fields.

Several members of my group purchased bottles to take home. But I abstained because I travel with a carry-on bag and would not be allowed by TSA to bring a volume of liquid greater than 3 ounces.

Ticket holders for the Tequila Fest also will be able to purchase a specialty taco at each participating restaurant for $3 and buy a margarita for $5. Those without Tequila Fest tickets will pay $4 and $7, respectively.

Participating bars and restaurants are Barrio, The Morehouse, The Wild Goose, Sol, Frank & Tony’s Place, Garage Bar, Mullarkey’s Irish Pub, Willoughby Brewing Co., The 1899 Pub, Ballantine, ALL AXS, Spirits, and Nickleby’s Roundbar & Kitchen.

A margarita, I learned while in Mexico, was invented by an Irish bartender in Tijuana in 1936 who called it a Tequila Daisy. In Spanish, “daisy” is margarita.

JANET PODOLAK — THE NEWS-HERALD An American visitor to Mexico shows off a belt she purchased designed for tasting tequila.

JANET PODOLAK — THE NEWS-HERALD Because Vinata Los Osuna is in the state of Sinaloa, near Mazatlan, it cannot call the spirit it makes tequila. There it is called Blue Agave.

JANET PODOLAK — THE NEWS-HERALD A field of blue agave, from which tequila is made, is at Vinata Los Osuna near Mazatlan, Mexico.