Although Justin and I spent a LOT of our time at Capella Ixtapa simply relaxing, eating, and enjoying our patio/infinity pool, we did take the time to schedule a few activities. We had planned on 3 (a sunset cruise, horseback riding, and a tequila tasting), but only were able to do 2 in the end. Our horseback riding excursion was cancelled at the last minute. I was sad, but hey…what can you do? We decided to make an effort to book a horseback riding excursion locally instead (and we just did this week! Hopefully we’ll be going soon).
Anyway, on one of our first nights in Ixtapa, we went on a sunset catamaran cruise. It was lovely; a few hours on the big boat with an open bar and lovely views…
Apparently my husband wasn’t telling me he was snapping photos at this point. I don’t know why I look so unhappy. Oh wait – it might have been due to the bumpy van ride to the dock. Maybe. I got over it though.
Justin enjoyed the open bar.
We even passed our hotel on the trip: neat!
Overall, the catamaran cruise was definitely worth the money to book; it was nice to get out on the water (seeing as we didn’t actually swim in the ocean or anything during our stay)!
Next up: our tequila tasting! Capella Ixtapa offers private/semi-private tequila tastings with their sommelier. I admit: before this experience we really didn’t know much about tequila, so Justin and I thought it would be a fun (and informative) experience!
We sampled 10 different tequilas during our tasting: a variety of blanco, reposado, and anejo tequilas.
Did you know that tequila can only be produced in the Mexican state of Jalisco (and a few small regions in other states)? If something similar is produced outside of those regions, it is labeled as “Mezcal” and it is not technically tequila! Also – you want to buy a tequila that is 100% blue agave. If it is not labeled as such, that means that there are other sugars added other than the agave!
I found it very interesting that the tequila tasting process was very similar to a wine tasting: we even used stemmed glasses!
We learned the proper way to taste tequila (sip, swish it around in your mouth a few times, swallow, then breathe out your nose as you swallow)…apparently it isn’t meant to be taken at once as a shot…spring break anyone? The anejo tequilas reminded me a lot of whiskey (and the process to create them is actually somewhat similar).
The sommelier did a great job of selecting tequilas for us to taste that are available to purchase in the United States. Many tequilas are not exported, and he wanted to make sure we tasted/liked something that we could then find at home. I know that when we need a new bottle of tequila in our home, I’ll be looking for a completely different brand than we previously purchased!
All in all, although our excursions/activities weren’t numerous, they were very fun! If you ever find yourself at Capella Ixtapa, I highly suggest that you sign up for both of these!
Have you ever gone to a tequila tasting? Did you learn anything interesting about tequila?
Yuck. Don’t know if I could do tequila tasting.
Colleen – it was my first time drinking tequila straight (not as a part of a margarita). I honestly don’t think you’ll ever find me just sipping on tequila straight up in the future, but I think that the experience of the tasting was very informative (and fun)! I always like learning new things, and I definitely have a lot more knowledge of tequila, the process in which it is made, the way it should taste, etc! And…we were in Mexico…there is a lot of tequila around…when in Rome (erm…Ixtapa), right?
Ew, straight tequila? No thank you. But, it looks like fun!! The cruise was pretty!
Yeah, it isn’t something I’d drink every day…but like i said it was an educational experience. I had no idea the difference between all of the different tequilas. And…I’d always had cheaper tequila in the past…there’s a big difference! Now I know. Haha.
When we were in Mexico for the wedding we learned a LOT about tequila. What I didn’t know is that people drink the “mix it in a drink” tequila thinking it is the same as the stuff you drink straight. The two different kinds though are SOOOOOOO very different. The mix version of tequila is totally gross if you drink it straight but the drinking version is awesome. My husband liked it so much we brought home two large bottles of the drinking stuff. =)
Such a good point! We are used to the mass market tequila…mixed in margaritas/taken in shot form…I rarely see tequila advertised as something you drink on the rocks/straight (except for a few nicer Mexican restaurants I’ve been to that have a specific tequila menu). I had no idea that it all didn’t taste the same…
I’ve never gone to a tequila tasting before, but it sounds really informative! I’ve never drunk it straight (only in mixed drinks), but I always like learning more about what I drink. My husband and I used to go wine tasting in upstate New York, where they produce a lot of apple wine, and one day, we decided to stop in at the vodka distillery. That was quite the experience! And it definitely warmed us up inside. 🙂
I’ve never had apple wine…now that sounds interesting!
I would LOVE to go Tequila tasting. A restaurant near our house had a tequila dinner pairing last month and I wanted to go so badly, but it didn’t mesh with my school schedule.
That sounds like a fun meal to me! Maybe you’ll get to go to a future one! 😉
Sounds like fun! In college, I ALWAYS drank tequila and Diet Dr. Pepper at parties. We called it the Shasta McNasty. Some people might not have liked it but I thought it was great!
I think tequila is one of the tastier liquors out there honestly. Perhaps I am in the minority!
Either way, loving the pictures! Glad you decided to try something new and learned a lot from it. Props!
The name of that drink literally just made me laugh out loud! Hilarious. I had a friend who would mix tequila and Fresca…he called it the “Fresquila!”
I love the stemware they used! It just goes to show how taking shooters is more about the getting drunk than the tasting the alcohol. I love educational fun like this. Thanks for sharing.
The stemware totally threw me off! But it definitely helped when it came to smelling all of the different notes in the tequilas…they are aged in barrels kind of like wine is! Some in wood, metal, etc…and it gives them different scents/tastes!
I’ve done several tequila tastings and they’ve been a lot of fun! I also really enjoy alcohol tastings of various kinds (wine, beer, vodka, scotch, whiskey, etc). It always amazes me that people just have the automatic “ew” reaction to tequila, because they think that the only tequila is the kind that’s in a margarita or that you shoot followed by a lime. NO! There are SO many kinds out there! And tequila that is meant to be sipped is SO good! Very cool that you had that experience!
This was the first liquor tasting I’d ever experienced. I’ve done wine and beer ones before, but never liquor! I actually was afraid that we’d be trashed by the end of it…thinking it would be in shot form and such! 😉 So silly.
My mom is a total tequila connoisseur so I took her to a “tequila convention” in Vegas one year. I’m more of a vodka/gin girl myself, but we had SO much fun tasting all the different brands–totally changed my perception of tequila…quite a few were really yummy! Sounds like yours was way more exotic and amazing 😉 It’s awesome to step out of the box and try something totally new!
Tequila convention?!?!! Wow! 😉
I’m with you on the vodka/gin thing though…those are usually my preference.
Hold up. I didn’t even get to the tequila. I was stuck on that awesome stack of bangles on your arm. I love them!
Haha! Thanks! I sometimes feel compelled to have an arm party…
OMG, that tequila tasting looks friggin amazing! We had lots of tequila and margaritas in Hawaii. It’s one of my favourite alcohols. Ohhhh ohhh tequila. God it’s good.
I vaguely remember some kind of drink like… tequila and spicy tomato juice that is meant to be sipped in a shot glass to make the drinker thirsty enough for the warm beer. Something like that… maybe I’m off my rocker…
Never heard of the tomato juice thing…but now I’m curious! However, I don’t get along with tomato juice. Hm 😉
I have to say you are hardcore making me want to go to this place for a vacay! And I’d love to do a tequila tasting – new adventures!
3 words: Luxury Link deals. If I told you how much we paid for the entire trip (including tax/tips/food/drink), you’d be shocked.
I’m not a big tequila drinker, but I would love to do a tequila tasting…it seems like it was/would be a lot of fun! I wasn’t a big wine drinker before my first wine tasting, either, and now we all know I am a wino forever. 😉
Do you have a favorite now?
Thank goodness for taste changing over time/accumulating a taste for things! I remember a day when I wouldn’t drink red wine…hated it. And now…gimme gimme. If only I could get Justin to cross over…I’m working on him slowly but surely with that…
We definitely had a few favorites from each of the 3 varieties (blanco, reposado, anejo) – For blanco, we liked the Maestro (actually we tried blanco, reposado, and anejo of this brand and liked all three): http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?ShowAll=true&N=40+4294967184&area=Spirits&No=0&ProductID=29630&Ns=Name|0
For reposado…we liked the Herradura http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?ShowAll=true&N=40+4294967184&area=Spirits&No=0&ProductID=493&Ns=Name|0
Anejo – apparently I have expensive taste…the Jose Cuervo de la Familia…it’s aged 3 times as long as typical anejos…it reminded me of whiskey. And it was also $110 a bottle. Eeek. http://www.bevmo.com/Shop/ProductDetail.aspx?ShowAll=true&N=40+4294967184&area=Spirits&No=0&ProductID=3800&Ns=Name|0
Thanks for this!
I am so jealous of the tequila tasting! That sounds delicious and amazing. The only time I’ve ever had straight tequila was at a really cool tequila bar with a huge menu, but of course I bought the $6 shot because I’m cheap and didn’t know any better. It still tasted fine to my unrefined palate though hahaha. I am definitely adding a tequila tasting to my list of things to try!
I am not a big fan of Tequila but I have always wanted to go to a tasting for it. My husband loves tequila and when we were in Mexico for our honeymoon he spent over an hour talking to this guy at one of the shops in town about the different kinds of Tequila and ended up buying one that was pretty good. Looks like you two had a blast! You’re vacation is making me want to go back to Mexico!!
Ohmygoodness. I LOVE TEQUILA. And no, not in a margarita. On the freaking ROCKS. Or from the bottle. You know, whatever’s convenient. I would love to do this tequila tasting, and would also love to hear what your favorites were from yours. I sent this link to my hubs too, hehe. Your activities all look great. I wish we’d done a boat tour when we were in Jamaica (but we did do parasailing, which is sort of similar in that it did involve a boat…)
I should write a quick post with the favorites…but I did just answer that question under Amber’s comment with links as well! 🙂
Sounds interesting. I like tequila somewhat. I would probably like to do a tasting. What brands do you recommend from your experience?
Hey Lane! I just answered your question in reply to Amber’s comment above, and included links to the 3 favorites we had! 🙂
Wow, the catamaran trip looks amazing, love that you got to go past your hotel!
I’m so intrigued by the tequila tasting, but hey… When in Mexico?
nice pictures thanks for all