Sip, don't shoot

Sip, don't shoot

When it comes to tequila, the days of lime and salt are over

Cinco de Mayo, the May 5 commemoration of the Battle of Puebla, may be a minor holiday in Mexico, but here it's a fine excuse to toast Chicano culture.

What with? Tequila, of course.

But "the days of the lime and the salt and the shot glass are gone," says Nick Moschetti, assistant director of food and beverage at Rosemont's Hyatt Regency O'Hare, who notes that condiments were meant to cover up the taste of inferior tequila.

"Drink it neat or on the rocks," advises Rodrigo Cano, bartender at Bien Trucha in Geneva. "We sip it. We don't shoot it."

"Some people drink it with lime," says Jorge Almaraz, chef/owner of Flamingo's Seafood in Mount Prospect. "They squeeze the lime in the tequila, which is wrong."

Rolando Flores, bartender at Cafe Pyrenees in Libertyville, recommends drinking tequila straight up in a snifter. He enjoys Corralejo anejo.

"We serve it with homemade sangrita, a spicy chaser," Manny Hernandez, general manager at Adobo Grill Lombard, says. "We also offer a tequila flight with a blanco, a reposado and an anejo. It's an amazing exercise."

"We also serve it with sangrita, which is very popular in Mexico," says Cano. "Ours has 16 ingredients," including orange juice, tomato juice and spices.

Traditional service includes blanco tequila, green lime and red sangrita -- "like the colors of the Mexican flag," he says. Enjoy them separately. "You don't want to mix anything."

Hernandez' personal favorite is also an anejo, Don Julio 1492.

"I just like smoothness of it, its richness and elegance."

Cano enjoys an earthy blanco called Herradura, smooth Tezon reposado and Don Julio 1942 anejo, which he says is like tasting caramel.

There are so many kinds of tequila that it's hard to keep up.

"I list only the most popular ones," says Flamingo's Almaraz, who stocks up to 150 varieties. "I cannot change the menu every time I add a new bottle of tequila.

"I prefer the white. It has more flavor of agave," he said. Almaraz' favorite is El Tesoro de Don Felipe.

Almaraz uses fresh fruit juices for margaritas and likes to make such summer cocktails as the charro negro, a mixture of tequila, Coca-Cola and lime with a pinch of salt, and the Paloma, Squirt and tequila. He also uses the spirit in cooking signature dishes such as the camarones Flamingo, shrimp flambeed in tequila.

But for the best tequilas, he offers this secret.

"Nobody knows this. I have this from my grandpa. He would drink it with green apples. He would eat the apple and then sip the tequila."

For a taste…

Local restaurants and bars offer a chance to taste a variety of tequilas. Regular tequilas typically cost between $6 and $18 per shot; premium varieties often cost $24 to $36 and can range up to $80 for the rarest extra-anejos.

Why the range in price? Manny Hernandez, general manager at Adobo Grill Lombard, notes that "An agave plant takes eight to 12 years to grow. Then you have to cook the juice and distill it and then age it. An anejo can be aged three years." So the tequila you're drinking now started at least eight to 12 years ago and might have been more than 15 years in the making.

"It's like wine," says Jorge Almaraz, chef/owner of Flamingo's Seafood in Mount Prospect.

Adobo Grill

This place offers about 80 different tequilas, all 100 percent blue agave, including premium varieties at up to $24. Monthly, regional tequila dinners pairing tequila-inspired dishes with tequila cocktails and tasting also are planned. On Thursday, May 8, they'll be showcasing Poblana cuisine with Tequila Cazadores ($38); call for reservations. 356 Yorktown Shopping Center. Lombard, (630) 627-9990, www.adobogrill.com.

Bien Trucha

A tiny restaurant with a big menu of more than 50 tequilas and mezcals, Bien Trucha also features house-made sangarita, hand-muddled cocktails, seasonal margaritas from fresh juices and specialty drinks like a cucumber margarita. 410 W. State St., Geneva; (630) 232-2665.

Cafe Pyrenees

Rolando Flores, the Mexican-born bartender at this French cafe, offers a dozen kinds of tequila for sipping. They'll be opening an outdoor cafe this summer. Adler Square, 1762 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville, (847) 362-2233, www.cafepyrenees.com.

El Sombrero

This venerable Mexican restaurant serves about 20 types of tequila and mezcal, as well as tequila cocktails. 1100 S Elmhurst Road, Mount Prospect, (847) 364-0030, www.elsombrerorestaurant.com.

Flamingo's Seafood

The selection varies but Flamingo's stocks up to 150 varieties of tequila and mezcal, for sipping as well as tequila cocktails, ranging from $8 to $80 per shot. However, only a few are on the printed menu, so ask for suggestions. Margaritas from fresh juices. On May 5, Flamingo's will offer diners a free tasting of several types of tequila; call for reservations. 1590 S. Busse Road, Mount Prospect, (847) 364-9988, www.FlamingosSeafood.com

Red Bar

The stylish hotel-lobby lounge offers a dozen varieties of tequila and will be featuring a special Cinco de Mayo cocktail, "El Padrino," featuring pepper vodka, Don Julio Anejo, vermouth, olive juice and blue-cheese- stuffed olives ($12). Ask for a local's discount card. Hyatt Regency O'Hare, 9300 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Rosemont, (847) 696-1234, www.ohare.hyatt.com

San Gabriel Mexican Cafe

Some 40 tequilas are available here, with tasting flights, and occasional tequila dinners. Bannockburn Green Shopping Center, 2535 Waukegan Road, Bannockburn, (847) 940-0200.

Know your tequila

There are hundreds of brands of tequila, a Mexican-born spirit made from the blue agave plant, a succulent related to the lily and amaryllis. The best types are pure agave and will be labeled "Tequila 100% de agave" or "Tequila 100% puro de agave."

Cheaper "mixto" tequilas can be nearly half other ingredients, such as cane alcohol, caramel color, oak extract flavoring, glycerin and sugar-based syrup. Sometimes called "joven abocado" or gold tequila, these less expensive spirits are often used in mixed drinks.

Just as bourbon can only be made in Kentucky by law, tequila can only be made in the state of Jalisco and some neighboring areas. It is a form of "mezcal," a generic term for agave spirits. Other rougher mezcals are made in Oaxaca, Guerrara and a few other parts of Mexico. It typically receives less distillation than tequila and may be made from other types of agave.

The better, pure tequilas come in three main categories:

"Plata" or "blanco" (silver or white) -- clear and usually unaged, offering a pure agave flavor. A few brands are aged for up to two months.

"Reposado" (rested) -- aged two to 11 months, typically in wood barrels, which give it a golden color and slightly woodsy flavor. The barrels are usually American or French oak and may be used barrels from bourbon, cognac or wine, which add complexity to the flavor.

"Anejo" (aged) -- aged at least one year in a wood barrel not larger than 600 liters, the spirit takes on an amber hue and a smooth, rich and complex flavor. "Extra anejo" tequilas are a new category, featuring spirits aged more than three years, with a deep coloring and a flavor rivaling aged cognacs or whiskeys.