Each night, as the sun sinks in the Arizona sky, Bryan Jaymont invites willing guests to lounge around the fire pits at Salud, the outdoor tequila bar at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa. He hands each person a shot of tequila, on the house, and tells a story that, according to legend, has inspired generations of young Mexican suitors seeking their beloveds' hands in marriage.
Jaymont tells the story of Pancho Villa and his sweetheart, Juanita. According to legend, Villa went to Juanita's father to ask for her hand in marriage. In response, her father offered a challenge: If you can outdrink me, you can marry Juanita. Villa accepted the challenge, and the two men sat down with a bottle of tequila and began to drink—shot for shot. In the end, Villa had drunk two shots for each one that the father had drunk, and so Villa won Juanita's hand. Or so the story goes.
Jaymont concludes his tale with a traditional Mexican toast—"Arriba, abajo, al centro, a dentro!"—after which everyone finishes their drinks together.
"We serve a different type of tequila each night," Jaymont, the resort's tequila master, says of the ritual. "We'll give a description of what we're serving, some education on the different types of tequila, and share recipes." Jaymont stocks more than 150 types of tequila, maintains a library of more than 50 cocktail recipes, and even infuses his own tequilas on site. To build on this investment, the resort makes a real effort to educate guests on the spirit's history, diversity, and complexity.
To that end, groups can choose from a wide variety of tequila tastings, tequila-and-food-pairing dinners, and tequila toasts (like the nightly outdoor ones, only customized to the specific group). Jaymont and his team can incorporate tasting stations into receptions and organize customized dinners and toasts that tie in to the theme of the event—all the way down to the color of the tequilas served. "We can match flavors and colors to a company's logo," Jaymont says. "For example, if the corporate colors are red and gold, we can serve a reddish cinnamon-infused tequila along with a gold-flake tequila that is yellow-hued."
The resort will pair tequilas with tequila-inspired cuisine, such as a prickly-pear tequila sauce on chicken paired with a traditional prickly-pear margarita or a chocolate dessert served with aged tequila, which, Jaymont says, can be similar to cognac.
Jaymont says the infused tequilas are gentle enough for even the timidest drinker and that too many people associate tequila with overdoing it at their college frat parties. That, Jaymont says, is not what the spirit is about. "It's about quality over quantity," he says. "That's where tequila is headed."