The best group activities connect to the destination, and there are few things as closely connected with Mexico as tequila. Many expect the spirit to be enjoyed as a shot followed by salt and lime, or mixed into sugary margaritas, but there is a richer side to the drink, deeply rooted in Mexico's heritage. After all, tequila is produced only in Mexico, made from the blue agave plant, which takes approximately 10 years to mature. Nineteen pounds of agave core make one liter of tequila.
Tequila Connoisseur
Tequila tasting is popular for groups, and many resorts have their own tequiliers -- the spirit's answer to a sommelier -- on staff. Tequilier Gustavo Navarro recently led a group tasting at JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa's Gustino Italian Beachside Grill. He explained to the group that to properly taste the spirit, begin by inhaling its aroma. It should then remain between one's lips and the top of one's tongue for 10 seconds before being gently swirled around one's mouth. Shrieks of laughter filled the room as everyone "gargled" their tequila.
Four types were tasted: Blanco, which is clear and unaged; Oro, or gold, which is mellowed with caramel or other coloring; Reposado, which means rested and is aged in white-oak barrels or casks from two to 12 months; and Añejo, which is aged in white-oak barrels between one and three years.
The JW Marriott Cancun Resort & Spa, the site of the tasting, is part of the Marriott Cancun Collection that also includes CasaMagna Marriott Cancun Resort. Together, the sister properties offer 898 guest rooms, an expansive 35,000-square-foot Mayan-inspired JW Spa, numerous pools, a sprawling beach, first-rate restaurants, and 88,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space.
Marriott International's biennial Americas Sales, Event, and Revenue Management Conference was held at these two properties last November. The group of 900 Marriott executives met for three days of meetings. One evening, dinner was served on the beach and a highlight was a tequila tasting station.
"We always like to include interactive stations when we can, and this was perfect as it had a connection to the destination we were meeting in," says Bethesda, MD-based Jenny Zavala, senior manager of meeting planning services for Marriott International.
Not only did the station feature three different types of tequila, but Navarro was on hand with an assortment of fruits and spices for the attendees to try with the tequila to bring out different flavors.
Zavala adds that depending on what type of meeting or event is being hosted, it's important to have the beverage service incorporated into the event design or as a decor focal point.
"It can really pull through your event theme and even be the stage for entertainment. In this case, we wanted our attendees to experience local elements indicative of the destination," says Zavala. "The purpose of this event was to promote networking organically, and we were able to achieve this with the interactive tequila tasting station that helped spark conversation."
The Blend
Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, a beachfront property with 173 casita-style guest rooms, tucked into the lush landscape of Mexico's Riviera Nayarit, gives its own spin to Mexico's national spirit. The resort's cultural concierge, Enrique Alejos, helps participants identify the flavors and aromas they prefer through a guided tasting experience. He then walks guests through the blending process, allowing them to create a distinct blend from four different barrels of tequila. The blend is placed in a handmade Damajuana bottle, sealed with wax, and the bottle's leather label is signed, numbered, and registered in the logbook of Casa San Matias Tequila Factory.
The resort also offers what it calls, "The Ultimate Tequila Experience," in which a private helicopter transports groups to the family-run Jose Cuervo distillery in Tequila, Mexico, the region that gave birth to the national icon. The agave landscape surrounding the distillery is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site.
An exclusive, behind-the-scenes tour demonstrates the tequila-making process from start to finish, followed by a gourmet lunch, prepared by a Four Seasons chef, while attendees sip tequila, and listen to live local music. Before the private helicopter whisks the group back to the resort, members visit the reserve vault -- or cava -- to savor a digestif of top-of-the-line aged tequila served straight from the barrel.
House Tequila
CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort and Spa, one of a few resorts in the world that makes its own brand of tequila from agave grown on site, offers tequila tastings as an extension of the Secretos de la Familia program, a compelling meetings break activity. Tastings involve an informational session led by Audrey Formisano, the resort's tequilier, who teaches about the history of tequila in the Jalisco region, the process of how tequila is made, and how the resort got involved. Samplings are held in La Cava, a private dining room and tequila cellar. After the tasting, Formisano leads a tour of the resort's agave garden.
This article appears in the June 2016 issue of Successful Meetings.