Museum of Tequila and Mezcal

The Tequila Museum, in Mexico City

The Tequila and Mezcal Museum, on the Garibaldi Square, is devoted to the national drink of Mexico, pride of the country and symbol of its identity. The Mexico City audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this museum that retraces the history of tequila, from the agave of the Mesoamericans to the spirit distilled from the sixteenth century, become famous throughout the world.

The history of the national drink

What would Mexico be without its essential tequila, its national drink? A little more bland, certainly. It was the Mesoamericans, in the pre-Columbian era, who began to use a plant, the agave, to produce fermented drinks that did not exceed eight degrees. When the Spaniards took control of the territory, they managed to produce a new spirit thanks to the technique of distillation, that the Arabs had themselves imported into Spain a few centuries earlier. Knowing a rapid success, tequila soon became a drink appreciated well beyond the borders, and its production took a great scale from the nineteenth century, notably around the town of Tequila, in the state of Jalisco, that gave it its name. It is today an integral part of Mexican identity, and it is not surprising to find on one of the most lively squares of the capital, the Garibaldi Square, a museum that retraces its origin and its history. You discover there the stages of manufacture, from the harvest of the blue agave to the distillation, as well as the history of mezcal, its cousin drink. The visit often concludes with a tasting, to taste tequila as it should be, with moderation. A gourmet museum and a tribute to tequila, the Tequila Museum is a fine stop of the discovery of Mexico City.

What to see

Here you discover, on the Garibaldi Square, a museum devoted to tequila, the national drink of Mexico, and to its cousin mezcal; it retraces its history, from the fermented agave of the Mesoamericans to the spirit distilled from the sixteenth century and produced on a large scale around the town of Tequila in the nineteenth century, and presents the stages of manufacture, often followed by a tasting. The Tequila Museum is a gourmet tribute of Mexico City. It is a fine stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Tequila and Mezcal Museum lies on the Garibaldi Square, in the centre of Mexico City, reachable on foot or by metro. The opening hours and the conditions of entry follow those of the establishment, which vary; a tasting is often offered, to be appreciated with moderation. It is best to enquire before coming.

Where does the tequila presented at the museum of Mexico City come from?

From the agave, a plant that the Mesoamericans already used in the pre-Columbian era to produce fermented drinks; it is the Spaniards who, thanks to distillation, made it a spirit from the sixteenth century, produced on a large scale around the town of Tequila, in the state of Jalisco, in the nineteenth century. The museum, on the Garibaldi Square, retraces its history and its manufacture.

Where is the Tequila Museum in Mexico City?

On the Garibaldi Square, in the centre of Mexico City, in Mexico.