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Show Sat/Sun/Mon/Tues, October 1- 4, 2005 The Park Record C-12 Savoring Mexico's best tequilas and original tequilero, in one of his many essays on the subject. "Tequila MediaNews Group Wire Service is not for the fainthearted, but is Cabo San Lucas, Mexico - well-suited for (people) who are Armando Delgado sat at a table enraptured by the gusto of drinking, swathed in bright woven fabric, fac- eating and living." ing a tiled bar where tourists ogle a Bragg's protege, Armando vat of homemade rattlesnake tequi- Delgado, insists that anyone who la brewed from an Indian recipe buys Pancho's $45 tequila lasting once thought to cure arthritis and have something to eat before the kidney problems. He could have one-hour liquid tour. He begins the been mistaken for an old borracho "master of tequilas" course by talk(drunk) were it not for his grandfa- ing about the mural of Jalisco on the therly smile and the pen tucked into restaurant wall. Dotted with small, the pocket of his pastel golf shirt. prickly, blue plants and cultural Delgado is the lequilero at icons like mariachi singers and Panchos Restaurant & Tequila Bar, Spanish colonial churches, the a hangout founded by American mural indicates the dominant tequicocktail connoisseurs who have la production areas within Jalisco, amassed some 500 types of tequila Mexico's primary tequila-producing and mescal. Panchos once boasted state. There, Delgado says, tourists the world's largest tequila selection, can visit distilleries in and around before similar bars sprouted in the the town of Tequila, which sits in the United States. shadow of the Tequila volcano. "All Delgado sits in front of three bot- of those names on that map are tles containing clear, gold and amber regions with tequilas," he says. liquids. The tequilas - one bianco, Mature blue agaves arc as tall as one reposado and one anejo - are he his, the tequilero continues. arranged near a wooden platter Often confused with cactus, blue where fresh-cut limes flank a mound agaves are native to Mexico and of salt and four squat glasses. grow wild, though only some of Mexico embraces travelers inter- them arc suitable for tequila. ested in learning to negotiate its The Aztecs and their descennational drink - tequila. While the dants once used a fermented beverAmerican love affair with the potent age from agaves called pulque for nectar of blue agaves began about a medicinal and ritualistic purposes. century ago, the latest notch on But it was the arrival of the tequila's bedpost comes from this Spaniards thai sparked the booming country's culinary elite. tequila and mescal industry in Tequila-based cocktails such as Mexico, which produces about 210 tamarind, ginger and prickly pear million liters a year, according to margaritas - served in sleek bar- Newsweek. And Latin American ware instead of bulbous beach glass- scholar Ron Mader writes that more es - arc becoming staples at trendy than a third of that tequila ends up restaurants and nightspots. And that in the United Slates. means Mexico's tequila tourism is as Delgado places his hand on a likely to lure travelers into a tasting plastic gas can sitting on the table in at a restaurant in a largely English- front of him. "The green (agave) is speaking resort town like Cabo San mainly used to make the beverage Lucas as it is to reveal tequila's cul- we call mescal," he says. Pancho's tural legacy via tours of Mexico's distills its own tequila and mescal, famous distilleries. serving the latter, a more primitive "Tequila is truly the 'essence of drink than tequila, from a gas can to Mexico' reflecting its people's underscore its fiery might. warmth, strength, and passion," "It's like drinking gasoline," writes John Bragg, Pancho's owner Delgado says with a smile. A native By ELAIMA ASHANT1 JEFFERSON FREESTYLE ASIAN CUISINE 333 Main Street, Park City • Call for Reservations 645-SAKE Coupon expires 12 • 1 • 05 Limit 3 per Table. Closed Mondays. MATS USED BUT NOW THEM SQUARE MADE ART& FRAME Taking An Between Staples & Pier 1 Imports next to Wai Marl at Klmball Junction Open 7 days a v*ck - Mon-SaLlOam - 7pm - Sunday 12pm-4pm 435.649.0801 www.peakartandframe.com Another myth is that you get what you pay for. Certainly true when it comes to designer shoes but not necessarily the case with tequila. , In Mexico, the country's top-rated brands generally sell for $20 to $30 a bottle. Back al Pancho's, Delgado discusses pictures of tended agave fields and the "jimadores" who chop away the plants tough leaves to reveal its 100- to 150-pound, bulbshaped heart. "The Indians used to dance on the top of the bulbs like grapes," he says. Then he lalks about the way huge, heated rooms once served as distillery ovens before autoclaves became the dominant way to harvest the blue agave's rich sugars. The sugars ferment for several days to produce silver, or bianco, tequila, and age for anywhere from a few months to more than a year to make the reposado (rested) and anejo (aged) tequilas. The latter is often preferred by longtime tequila drinkers like Delgado, but preferThe most enriching tequila ences generally boil down to each research most certainly happens persons taste, he says. right in the town of Tequila, where Nol that Delgado sits around companies like Sauza, Don Julio shooting back glasses of the stuff and Jose Cuervo, which has been like an Old West gunslinger downmaking tequila there since the late ing a bottle of whiskey. Those in the 1700s, offer tours of their distilleries know sip and savor tequila. They complete with a peak at Ihe blue never shoot it and rarely mix it. agaves and tequila tastings. Delgado wraps up by pouring "They go all out," says Jose Lara, each of the three types of tequila on owner of a Denver tequila bar and the table, along with Pancho's own restaurant. Born in Guadalajara, brand of mescal. Here the class disLara has family members who still solves into a midday social as tequiwork in the agave fields. He's also la novices sip the selections and the buying his own small tequiia distill- tequilero turns a tangent into an entire conversation about life and ery. "They feed you, and they have a changes in Cabo San Lucas. bunch of recipes for dishes made At the end of the hour, Delgado's with tequila," Lara says of the distill- pupils leave the restaurant with redery tours popular among his rela- trimmed certificates indicating each tives. "For someone who's into "completed the full course of tequila, it's great." requirements, which includes the Any attempt to understand consumption of large amounts of tequila is also likely to debunk a few tequila." Their "masters" in hand, popular myths. Most tequilas, for the tourists head back to hotels and instance, are never bottled with villas to partake in another of worms. Worms are more common in Mexico's grand traditions - the siesta. mescal, and they are edible. of Acapulco, Delgado had his first brush with the American tequila romance as a boy when he sold Chiclets to tourists outside nightclubs in his hometown. Travelers who prefer to venture away from Mexico's beach towns and into the country's heartland can find numerous tequila tours. In Mazatlan, for instance, Vista Tours offers a five-hour trip to "La Vinata," the only distillery in the state of Sinaloa. The family-friendly Vallarta Adventures out of Puerto Vallarta offers a full-day tour of Tequila and Guadalajara, an area that fostered the original mariachi and boasts breathtaking 16th century architecture. And the National Chamber of Commerce of Guadalajara operates the Tequila Express, a one-day train trip that includes a walk through the Tequila Museum and two distillery tours. Tickets are available through several cultural agencies in Guadalajara, as well as through Mexico's Ticketmaster system. Experts say no need for piracy legislation WASHINGTON (AP) The Judiciary Commiltee Chairman recording industry and copyright Arlen Specter said some language in experts urged Congress on the ruling cast doubt on what the Wednesday not to intervene with standards are for illegal use, and he legislation to curb online piracy of asked whether legislation might be music or movies after a recent ruling necessary. from the Supreme Court. The overriding answer from the The unanimous decision from the two panels representing the recordhigh court in June cleared the way ing industry, copyright experts and for the film and music industry to file entrepreneurs was "no" - at least in piracy lawsuits against technology the short term. companies caught encouraging cusThe recording industry also tomers to steal copyrighted material. encouraged lawmakers to wait. At Wednesday's hearing, Senate Cary Sherman, president of the Recording Industry Association of America, said the court's decision in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios v. Grokster case has provided everyone with clarity. Sherman said the court ruling has helped focus attention on illegal downloading of music, especially on college campuses. He said nearly 70 schools now have deals with legitimate online music services, a more than threefold increase from last year. Marty Roe of the country group Diamond Rio told the Senate committee that artists can't earn a living when makers of file-sharing software, like Grokster Ltd., allow for copyrighted music to be shared online with millions of people for free. He said estimates suggest that Nashville has lost nearly half of its songwriters because of online piracy. Prior to the Grokster ruling, entertainment companies estimated that online thieves traded 2.6 billion songs, movies and other digital files each month. WE DESIGN, YOU RECLINE, LIVE MUSIC SELECT FROM FIVE RICH LEATHERS Claret, Chestnut, Navy, Bronze, AND A GLOBAL TAPAS MENU! Hunter Green and Hernia. FRIDAY & SATURDAY EVENINGS T H E NEW TAPAS MENU FEATURING PORK CHIIAPAS, SCALLOP & CRAB CEVICHE, STREET-HAWKER SHRIMP AND MORE! 300 North 200 West • Kamaa, Utah ALL ITEMS $5 AVAILABLE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY 140 acres of beautiful flat pasture land 15 minutes ^ • / ^ •: from Park City. Great for horses! ; -.>J"? $2,895,000 includes 1,000 water shares. 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