July 24th is National Tequila Day and Blooming Boutique is ready to celebrate! This holiday celebrates tequila, a liquor distilled from the agave plant, which is a main ingredient in margaritas.
This ‘holiday’ was first celebrated in the late 1990s, however, this liquor has been around since the 16th century, although in a different form than what we consider tequila to be like today. Tequila was first produced in the area that would later become the city of Tequila, Mexico; with the first official tequila factory opening around 1600. From there, tequila first began to be exported to the United States in 1885 and over time has become a staple liquor in American culture.
To create tequila, farmers must first grow an agave plant and trim the pointed stalks that grow from the center of the plant to ensure the plant will fully ripen. Once the plant has grown to the peak size, it will be harvested and brought to an oven to be baked so that the sugar starts to form. Once baked, the agave plants are mashed or shredded, and the juice from the agave is extracted and bottled. This agave juice or ‘syrup’ can now be used as a sweetener, like honey, or can be processed further to create tequila. The agave juice is poured into large vats to ferment for several days and will be distilled twice; as required by law. The liquor now will be bottled as ‘silver’ tequila or will be poured into a wooden barrel to continue to age and will later be bottled as ‘gold’ tequila.
Today, tequila is primarily still produced in the Mexican city of Tequila and in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico, and the area is now home to over 300 million agave plants. There are over 100 distilleries in Mexico that produce tequila, and these factories are responsible for supplying over 900 brands of tequila.
With such a rich history, there’s no reason tequila shouldn’t be celebrated, and what better way to than with a refreshing margarita?
Blooming Boutique in Lewes, Treasures in Lewes, and Lewes Gifts will all be serving different flavored margaritas on July 24th so please come in and try them all!
We will also be offering a trio of margarita flavors at Blooming Boutique in Long Neck, Treasures in Long Neck, and Bayside Gifts! As well as serving our original margaritas at Blooming Boutique in Milford!
