tyler florence, chuck williams, whose next?

Everyone loves tequila including Tyler Florence! I did a talk with him last week at his "newish" store in Mill Valley. Huge turnout of tequila fans which resulted in a very spirited evening! We started with my recipe for margaritas made with Siete Leguas blanco and Tyler's first question, "Why did I write a book about tequila?" I explained Agave Girls, the group I founded a few years ago for tequila-loving women and how Ten Speed Press came to me and asked me if I wanted to write a book about the spirit I loved so much. I talked about my trip to the highland and lowlands of Jalisco where tequila is produced and the process of making tequila.

I dispelled a lot of misconceptions about tequila and agave... Why you get a headache from mixto tequila, that the blue agave plant is closely related to the lily family, that it takes 8 to 12 years for an agave plant to mature. Fernando Gonzalez de Anda, the owner of Siete Leguas and one of the most generous men in the business, couldn't be with us but donated his fabulous tequila. Where does the name Siete Leguas come from? It was inspired by none other than the revolutionary hero General Francisco Villa (Pancho Villa) himself, who named his horse Siete Leguas (Seven Leagues). David Grapshi, who reps Siete and is a true tequila aficionado, kept everyone's glass full of blanco, reposado and anejo.