What you don’t know about Jose Cuervo could fill a shot glass, assuming said shot glass were about the size of a Big Gulp (don’t actually try to shoot anything that comes out of a Big Gulp). True, most of us made our first (and possibly last) acquaintance with Cuervo sometime between earning the right to vote and stumbling into the right to drink. But it probably shouldn’t surprise that there’s a whole lot more history behind the biggest tequila brand in the world.
Bread Machine Recipes. 9 of 18 Tequila Sunrise. Gina Vargas 10 of 18 Tequila Sunrise. Sue Ann Eggermont 11 of 18. What you don’t know about Jose Cuervo could fill a shot glass, assuming said shot glass were about the size of a Big Gulp (don’t actually try to shoot anything that comes out of a Big Gulp).
Some of it’s a little iffy—we didn’t include Cuervo’s claim to inventing the Margarita. And some of it’s pretty bawdy (but we left out most non-beverage details of the Rolling Stones’ infamous “Cocaine and Tequila Sunrise” tour). But a lot of it—and, with about 250 years there’s bound to be a lot of it—is surprisingly rooted in history, from the first official tequila production license to the huge debt of gratitude tequila-loving Americans owe the early rail workers.
Whether you drink añejo neat or knock back shot after shot (in which case, see “Shelly West” below), learn a little bit more about Cuervo. And try not to forget it.
Wherever your feelings land on the tequila/Cuervo question, you gotta pay some respect here. Cuervo’s market share has been falling in recent years, but it’s still the world’s biggest tequila producer. (And, FYI, the U.S. is the world’s largest consumer, knocking back over 50% of the market.)
Cuervo might seem like a 20th-century college mainstay, but it actually got its start with a royal grant of land. In 1758, King Ferdinand VI gave Jose Antonio de Cuervo y Valdes a “writ of land ownership” to grow agave for tequila production.
By 1795, King Carlos IV finally granted Jose Maria Guadalupe Cuervo y Montana the first (as in first-ever) license “to produce and distribute tequila.”
Cuervo’s history is certainly long and, like many illustrious spirits brands, it starts with a family name. But today, the Cuervo brand is actually owned by the billionaire Beckmann family based out of Mexico City.
We can thank the rise of the railroad for bringing Cuervo to the States. The tequila made its first stop in California in 1852, just in time to help gold rushers drown their sorrows when the shiny rocks they’d gathered didn’t turn out to be gold.
Seems like late timing, but when Jose Cuervo started putting its tequila in glass bottles in the late 19th century, it was actually the first tequila company to do so. Demand was so high that the only way to keep the good stuff flowing was by parceling it out.
“Mixto” is the term given to a tequila in which only 51% of the alcohol comes from agave (specifically Blue Weber) and the rest from sugarcane juice. The lower-end Cuervo is mixto, and says “Made with Agave” on the label. Pepper-hot, but not the best quality tequila, but if you can spend $10 or so extra, you’ll get into 100% agave territory.
The Tradicional Reposado is 100% agave, a little sweeter with less piquant pepper, usually available for about $30. And then there are bottles like the $100 Reserva de la Familia, aged in French oak barrels for the three-year añejo max.
To be fair, country singer Shelly West could have gotten drunk on any ol’ tequila. But as the lyrics go, “Jose Cuervo, you are a friend of mine. I like to drink you with a little salt and lime.” And then she goes on to ask “Did I …” about a number of possibilities from her tequila-fueled night (e.g., “Did I kiss all the cowboys? Did I shoot out the lights?”). Apparently Cuervo makes you a bad ass. And yes, actually a pretty good sing-along song.
Before they tasted Jose Cuervo, The Rolling Stones were actually a pretty straight-edged crew. They mostly loved doing puzzles together. Just kidding. Debauchery was probably second nature by then (just look at those haircuts), though the band did supposedly taste its first Tequila Sunrise before starting its 1972 American tour, at a bar called The Trident in San Francisco. Whether it was made with Cuervo is unclear, but it is pretty certain that Cuervo was the drink of choice on board the Lapping Tongue (the tour plane’s nickname, for obvious reasons).
Sure, Cuervo might have had a song written about it, and it probably got Charlie Watts into the mile-high club. But Cuervo was actually the first major sponsor of a beach volleyball tournament, in 1978. (You can check out footage of the 2012 Jose Cuervo Huntington Beach Pro Beach Volleyball Championships here; good/bad news is none of the players appear to be drunk.)
As recently as May of this year it was reported that Cuervo might take its market power to, well, the “market,” with an initial public offering, possibly in the U.S. If that’s the case, Cuervo would become “the third-largest U.S. IPO of the year.”
OK, not quite. You won’t open a bottle of Cuervo and pour out single pot still whiskey (not least because that stuff legally has to be made in Ireland). But the Cuervo company did buy Irish whiskey, acquiring Bushmills in 2014 (actually trading Don Julio for Bushmills). And just like you probably shouldn’t mix tequila and whiskey, Cuervo won’t be mucking with the historic Bushmills recipe anytime soon.
Despite the proximity of the active Jalisco drug cartel, the Beckmann family wants to turn the town of Tequila into a destination for tequila lovers, not unlike a Napa Valley-type of place, complete with luxury hotels and dining destinations. The main attraction, of course, would be the Cuervo. And safety. Hopefully, safety.
Tequila poker is a full-on, high intensity poker game. As a matter of fact, it’s the fastest poker variant available! In this guide, you’ll find comprehensive explanations of all the game rules. So fasten your seatbelts and prepare to learn everything about this high-speed online poker variant! After reading our tequila poker rule guide, you will know all about tequila poker and its rules.
Tequila poker is a combination of two popular card games, blackjack and poker. The game is not played against the dealer or other players. Whether you’ve won or lost is decided using predetermined values.Tequila poker consists of two different games. The first is high tequila; the second tequila poker. Both games are almost identical. There’s just a small difference in the rules of both poker variants. We’ll explain the differences between the two variants later in this guide.
Tequila poker can be found in all the best online casinos. Tequila poker was developed in 2005 as a result of the rising popularity of diverse poker variants. The decision to combine two of the most popular casino games has proven to be a wise one. Tequila poker’s popularity continues to increase to this day. More and more online casinos are adding tequila poker to their range of casino games..
To start with, the player places an ante bet. Next, the banker deals four cards, face-up on the table. After the four cards have been dealt, the player has to decide which of the two games he wants to play. Folding is also an option, but this means forfeiting the original (ante) bet.Continuing with high tequila or tequila poker means doubling your ante bet with a bet called the main bet. When a player decides to continue the game, the banker will deal two additional cards.
Playing high tequila means creating a five-card hand with as many points as possible. All cards are ranked according to their blackjack value (see table):
According to the game rules, the five highest cards will count when playing high tequila. As you can see in the table above, Aces are always given a value of 11. When a player has a winning hand, he or she wins even money on his ante bet. The payout ratios on the main bet can be found in the following table:
Hand value | Pay out |
---|---|
Less than 46 | Loss |
46 – 48 | 1:1 |
49 | 2:1 |
50 | 3:1 |
51 | 4:1 |
52 | 7:1 |
53 | 15:1 |
54 | 200:1 |
When playing tequila poker, the aim is to create the best poker hand possible. Just like high tequila, the best five cards count. Winning starts with a pair of aces. The ante bet pays even money, while the main bet payouts are according to the table below:
Hand value | Pay out |
---|---|
Less than 2 aces | Loss |
Pair of aces | 1:1 |
Two pair | 2:1 |
Three of a kind | 3:1 |
Straight | 5:1 |
Flush | 7:1 |
Full house | 8:1 |
Four of a kind | 15:1 |
Straight flush | 50:1 |
Royal flush | 200:1 |
Now you know the rules, if you fancy trying tequila poker online, we’d recommend you try the following casino.
One last rule to obey when playing tequila poker online:
Always be patient, and don’t be afraid to fold when you are playing tequila poker. Wait for your chance and grab it! Playing tequila poker in this way can be very lucrative.
After reading our tequila poker game rules you are ready to play tequila poker online! Play fast, smart and thoughtfully!
Learn rules of other casino games: Texas Hold’em Poker