I have a confession to make, except it’s not really mine to make. My husband has a small obsession with tequila. That’s not the problem though. The problem is that every time we pass a tequila shop in Mexico, he has to go in to check it out– just to look.  I’m always rolling my eyes thinking, “what’s going to be different this time?”  I love tequila too, but after one or two stores I feel complete, knowing I’ve seen enough.  When I go into these stores though, it raises some questions for me about people and their tastes.

The first: Who drinks this crap? It looks like Pepto.

Or: What is this? Bang bang! One shot and you’re dead? Not exactly what I’m looking for in a tequila.

It wasn’t until the end of our trip that we found a truly worthwhile tequila shop.  I don’t know if it was the charming Ulises who looks like a modern-day Jack Sparrow, or if we were just in a spending mood. But we were sucked in. Wait, that’s a lie. I do know what it was. It was Ulises. From the moment he opened his mouth, he had us laughing, and the way into my heart is to make me laugh. And once you have a spot in my heart, then I will consider buying something from you. Tequila Town has the ultimate collection of tequila.  You name, they have it.  And since Nick also feels the need to browse the tequila section every time we go into a liquor shop at home, he knows the going rates.  Not only is the selection vast, but the prices are quite reasonable– especially for a touristy tequila shop/bar.  Look at the smile on Nick’s face… like a kid in a candy store!

They have everything from this (I had to make the picture bigger for Don Timbon. His spigot needed a little enhancement…)To this…We didn’t buy the ever elusive Porfidio, but we bought this… It was only after very thorough (and free) taste testing that we were able to determine that Cava de Oro was some of the best we sampled– and also a great value.  I think we surprised Ulises a little with our knowledge of tequila just as he surprised us with his. And 4 hours later after a fun night at the bar making new friends, we walked away with the Cava de Oro Silver and Extra Anejo.  Go to Tequila Town, and don’t judge this book by its cover.  It really is the best tequila find in Playa.

Update: we returned in November of 2012, and sadly the vibe of the store/bar has completely changed.  Ulises and his fun crew are gone, and it has the feel of any of the lame stores on 5th Avenue just trying to hustle out a deal.  It used to attract a laid back, young local crowd, and now there is just some guy standing at the doorway unsuccessfully inviting every passerby in to an empty bar.