Remember your first shot of Cuervo? You threw it back as your friends cheered you on, chased it with a lick of salt and a wedge of lime, and did your best to choke it down? Well, it’s time to put that bittersweet memory behind you because, just like you, tequila is all grown up.

Just take a look around Isla Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar at Treasure Island, where a lovely “tequila goddess” helps you choose from the vast selection, guides you through tequila tasting flights, and prepares their top-shelf Goddess Elixir tableside. Check out Border Grill at Mandalay Bay, where rare premium tequilas accompany the acclaimed Latin cuisine of Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. Or enjoy the more than 150-bottle selection at Diego at MGM Grand.

TEQUILA 101
Though tequila production only became standardized and regulated in 1974, tequila, in one form or another, is an integral part of Mexican culture. The region of Jalisco, in central Mexico, has grown agave and used it to make liquor since Colonial times. In fact, artifacts from the Guachimontones archaeological dig suggest that indigenous tribes were making agave wine long before that.

When the government of Mexico decided to make tequila an “official” regulated spirit, the local tequila producers had to prove that tequila had originated in Jalisco and was completely unique to the region. After they did, Jalisco, and four outlying municipalities, became the official “appellation of origin” meaning, it is the only place in the world where tequila can be produced.

Today, tequila production still centers around the tiny town of Tequila, located about 30 minutes outside Guadalajara. All around Tequila, you can see the fields of blue agave forming a gray blue carpet that reaches the foothills of the Sierra Madre. In the town itself, distilleries and liquor stores line the tiny streets, while people mingle in the town square.

The basic regulations surrounding tequila production are fairly strict: It can only be grown or produced in the appellation of origin. Only blue agave is permitted. After being fermented, the agave/yeast/water liquor, called “must,” needs to be distilled twice. And Añejo, a type of tequila, must be aged in oak barrels.

Beyond that, the rules loosen up somewhat, allowing more forward-thinking or marketing-savvy producers to try different strategies to make the smoothest, most delicious tequila on the market. Some distill the tequila three times. Some use only oak barrels from a particular bourbon distiller, and some replace them after one batch, even though it’s not a requirement.