Casita Hollywood: Jose Cuervo Agave Bar Under the Stars

 

Thank you to Jose Cuervo Agave Bar! I loved our night under the stars at Casita Hollywood.

WHERE: Casita Hollywood, 1323 N Highland Ave,  
Los Angeles, CA 90028

Jose Cuervo Shows Commitment to Making Tequila Consumption More Sustainable with First-Ever Bar Made from Agave

Agave is the heart of tequila  the spirit wouldn’t exist without it. As the world’s #1 tequila brand with the largest acreage of agave fields in Mexico, Jose Cuervo is committed to identifying new and creative ways to reuse, repurpose and recycle agave byproduct and show tequila lovers just how versatile the agave plant is.  

Jose Cuervo announced its latest agave innovation: the first-ever bar that tequila made – literally. Introducing: the Jose Cuervo Agave Bar – a limited-time experience that will showcase all the unique and creative ways agave byproduct can be repurposed, from the bar and chairs, to sustainably upgraded cocktails, straws and more. The experience is inspired by the iconic AKAMBA Festival, a music festival that takes place each year on the slopes of a volcano in Tequila, Mexico, and whose mission is to treat the world more sustainably through art, music, spirits and cuisine. The bar that tequila made will debut in Los Angeles, CA in September and will be traveling to different parts of the country this year and into the future.  

Visitors to The Jose Cuervo Agave Bar can expect a variety of exciting activities that will enrich their understanding of the importance of agave and how drinking more sustainably benefits Jose Cuervo and tequila lovers alike, including: 

  • Agave byproducts: From glassware and straws to clothing and accessories, attendees can snag their own little piece of The Jose Cuervo Agave Bar to take home and champion sustainable drinking. 
  • Agave temporary tattoo station: The Bar That Tequila Made will leave its mark on guests – literally! Made using agave ink and designed by local tattoo artists, these temporary tattoos are sure to leave their mark on guests. 

  • Sustainably upgraded cocktails: What’s a bar without tequila? Guests will sample cocktails that feature a sustainable upgrade, all made from Jose Cuervo Tradicional expressions (Plata, Reposado and Añejo). 

  • Live music inspired by AKAMBA: Guests will enjoy live sets from DJ Quantic that will transport them directly to the AKAMBA festival in the agave fields of Tequila. 

TEQUILA FACTS

1. CUERVO WAS THE FIRST PRODUCER OF TEQUILA IN THE WORLD.

Jose Antonio de Cuervo y Valdes obtained land from the King of Spain in 1758 and began producing tequila – all before Mexico became an independent republic. In 1795, his son, Jose María Guadalupe de Cuervo, began selling the very first Vino Mezcal de Tequila de Jose Cuervo after receiving the first official charter from the King of Spain to produce tequila commercially.

2. THE CUERVO FAMILY METHOD IS UNMATCHED.

Jose Cuervo has been making tequila for over 250 years with the same experience, handcraftsmanship, and recipes that have been handed down generation through generation. Carefully choosing the best agaves, meticulous fermentation and distillation, and final processing result in the world’s finest tequila.

3. ALL CUERVO TEQUILA IS MADE IN CENTRAL MEXICO.

Specifically, the central Mexican town of Tequila in the state of Jalisco. According to the Declaration for the Protection of the Denomination of Origin ( the Mexican law that oversees the protection of Tequila), only alcoholic beverages made with Blue Agave or Agave Azul (Agave Tequilana Weber blue variety) grown in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas can be labeled tequila. No agave grown outside this region, including other countries, can be used for any product labeled as “tequila.”

4. REAL TEQUILA CAN ONLY BE PRODUCED IN FIVE SPECIFIC REGIONS IN MEXICO.

Tequila received a Designation of Origin (appellation de controlee) in 1974. It’s the same as an appellation for Bordeaux, Bourbon or Cognac. The Mexican federal government has established strict requirements governing tequila production.

5. TEQUILA IS MADE FROM BLUE AGAVE.

Real tequila is made from a plant called Blue Agave. Only the Agave Azul Tequilana Weber variety can be used for tequila. Classified by German botanist F. Weber in 1905, Blue Agave is commonly mistaken for a cactus, but it’s really a relative of the lily (amaryllis) family. Blue Agave is sometimes known as maguey, mexic, pita and teometl.

6. THE PIÑA IS THE HEART OF THE BLUE AGAVE.

The piña (Spanish word for pineapple) is the fruit or, “heart,” of the agave from which sugars are extracted and tequila is made. The word piña is used because once harvested, the heart of the plant resembles a pineapple.

7. THE BLUE AGAVE PLANT TAKES SIX TO TWELVE YEARS TO MATURE.

This is when the piña reaches its peak in sugars and will yield the most tequila. Each plant is only harvested once, and then more agave must be planted to continue the production process.

8. TEQUILA IS NOT MEZCAL.

The two spirits are often confused, but they are very different. For example, Tequila can only be made from the Blue Agave, grown in specified regions of Jalisco, while mezcal can be made from many different varieties of agave such as Mano Larga, Espadin, etc. Tequila is always double-distilled, while mezcal is generally distilled once.

9. TEQUILA DOES NOT HAVE A WORM IN ITS BOTTLE.

The worm is found only in certain bottles of mezcal.

10. TEQUILA IS NOT STRONGER THAN OTHER SPIRITS.

Jose Cuervo produces at 38% to 40% alcohol by volume (ABV), just like most spirits. Tequila, however, has a unique flavor and is frequently consumed straight as a shot. This intense taste experience may be what leads people to mistakenly think that tequila is “stronger.”

11. “REPOSADO” MEANS “RESTED.”

Tequila must be “rested” in wood barrels for a minimum of two months. This is a requirement of the Mexican government. The “resting” mellows and refines the tequila, producing a combination of superb smoothness and great taste.

12. “AÑEJO” MEANS “AGED”

Translated from Spanish, “añejo” means “aged.” In tequila terms, “añejo” is the designation for tequila that has been aged in oak barrels for at least one year.

13. NORMAS ARE PRODUCTION STANDARDS SET BY THE MEXICAN GOVERNMENT.

Normas specify what tequila is and how it must be made. Each bottle of real tequila must have a NOM (Normas Oficiales Mexicanas) 4-digit number on the bottle. This number indicates the distillery where the Tequila is made. Jose Cuervo’s NOM numbers are 1104 and 1122.

14. THE LARGEST COLLECTION

The largest collection of tequila bottles in the US is over 2000 bottles and was built by collector Lou Barton.

Lisa Ellen Niver

Lisa Niver is an award-winning travel expert who has explored 102 countries on six continents. This University of Pennsylvania graduate sailed across the seas for seven years with Princess Cruises, Royal Caribbean, and Renaissance Cruises and spent three years backpacking across Asia. Discover her articles in publications from AARP: The Magazine and AAA Explorer to WIRED and Wharton Magazine, as well as her site WeSaidGoTravel. On her award nominated global podcast, Make Your Own Map, Niver has interviewed Deepak Chopra, Olympic medalists, and numerous bestselling authors, and as a journalist has been invited to both the Oscars and the United Nations. For her print and digital stories as well as her television segments, she has been awarded three Southern California Journalism Awards and two National Arts and Entertainment Journalism Awards and been a finalist twenty-two times. Named a #3 travel influencer for 2023, Niver talks travel on broadcast television at KTLA TV Los Angeles, her YouTube channel with over 2 million views, and in her memoir, Brave-ish, One Breakup, Six Continents and Feeling Fearless After Fifty.

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