10th annual Nach-Yo Ordinary Tequila Tasting was a lip-smacking success

THE WOODLANDS, TX – Food & Vine Time Productions recently held its annual Nach-Yo Ordinary Tequila Tasting event for the tenth time at The Woodlands Country Club Palmer Course. This yearly dip into all things agave drew in larger crowds than ever.

Dozens of distilleries, wineries, eateries, and other exhibitors willed the grand ballroom of the club with a fierce fiesta motif. Several hundred thirsty, hungry, and inquisitive members of the community came by to sample the wares and learn all about the creation and distribution of tequila and other spirits. From wall to wall, there were great eats, music, tequila forum seminars, an H-E-B Gourmet Nacho Bar, craft tequila, mezcal and other agave beverages, craft beer, door prizes, and more.

Constance McDerby, co-founder and producer of Food & Vine Time Productions and this event, talked to Woodlands Online about the landmark event

“This has been such a fun invention because when we first started, tequila wasn’t on the forefront of growth; people thought it was just the liquor you did shots with in college, or added to bad-batch margaritas,” she said. “But it’s its own life. To create it takes the longest, most expensive distilling process of any spirit, because you have to grow it for 6 to 8 years to get the bulbs to ripen, where the sugars get high enough to distill it for a number of months or years. Sometimes the process from beginning to end can take up to 15 whole years.”

Beyond the traditional fare, the event featured alcohol-free tequilas here, organic tequilas, and comparable spirits made from different succulents, that interestingly couldn’t be called by the name ‘tequila’ according to McDerby.

“It’s like champagne; you can only officially call it that if it was bottled in the Champagne region of France. To call it ‘tequila,’ it has to be made from a certain blue agave and comes from the state of Jalisco, Mexico. It’s a flavor profile. If you thought tequila was one thing, you should rethink it and revisit it,” she said.

Coming up in May is Wine Week, a Woodlands favorite event that takes place over several days in different locations. Stay tuned to Woodlands Online for updates.