Hailed by industry experts as the most accurate, detailed, and entertaining book on tequila ever written, The Book of Tequila gives us a tour through the mysterious world of this historic and subtle distilled beverage. It constitutes a comprehensive sourcebook on every aspect of Tequila, including all the basic facts on the world's most popular cocktail, the margarita. This 2002 edition provides an update on the tumultuous developments in the tequila industry over the last five years, and evaluates the new labels that have come on the market in that time. The author offers a charming account of the amazing blue agave plant, the essential ingredient in Tequila, outlines the growing, harvesting and manufacturing process, makes comparisons with other agave-derived drinks such as mescal, relates the agave and tequila to the social history of Mexico, and dispels many myths about tequila (it's not made from cactus and it never contains a worm). Bob Emmons identifies the two basic kinds and seven broad varieties of tequila, and explains precisely why 90 percent of the tequila drunk by Americans is of extremely inferior quality, scarcely meriting the name. He reveals how you can find excellent tequila, and lists all the distilleries currently producing the stuff, with tasting notes on the best brands. Here is detailed advice on how to organize a tequila tasting, as well as recipes for 23 drinks and dishes using tequila.