Learn about Tequila Mezcal and Raicilla with Vallarta Tequila Tastings in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Learn How to Tell a Good Tequila From a Not So Good Tequila with Edgar Rivas from Vallarta Tequila Tastings
Enjoy an Experience Paring Mezcals and Tequilas With Delicious Mexican Food With Vallarta Tequila Tastings
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Hello fellow travelers, welcome to this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel show. I am your host Barry Kessler, and I am just so happy to be introducing you to my favorite vacation destination, and maybe even yours, Puerto Vallarta Mexico.
That music you were just listening to is performed by Alberto Perez, the owner of the La Palapa Group of Restaurants. Those are La Palapa, Puerto Vallarta’s Oldest Restaurant on the famous Los Muertos Beach, and The El Dorado Restaurant and Beach Club right next door so you can enjoy that fantastic view of the Los Muertos Pier all lit up at night in beautiful colors, or during
the day in its grand splendor for breakfast, lunch or dinner, seated with your toes in the sand right at the water’s edge. It’s so romantic, it’s so, Puerto Vallarta my friends.
This week we are going over to the spirit world. No, not the dead spooky spirits, but the alcoholic spirit world of Mezcals, Tequilas and Raicillas. We are going to be hearing from Edgar Rivas. Edgar has been on the show many times, usually talking
about the festivals he puts on. The Festival de Ceviche and Aguachile, The Taco Fair, The Beer Festival. But what you may not know, is that Edgar is a Mescalero, a Mezcal sommelier, and he does tequila tastings with a company called Vallarta Tequila Tastings, and Edgar is going to give us a real lesson on Tequila, Mezcals and the local moonshine here in the Vallarta Area, Raicilla. You will love Edgar.
Contact Information for Vallarta Tequila Tastings
- Website: https://vallartatequilatastings.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VallartaTequilaTastings
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vallartatequilatastings/
- Address: Hamburgo 150-C, Versalles, 48310 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico
- Phone: +52 1 322 121 9087
- Email: vallartatequilatastings@gmail.com
We have some local Vallarta news as well as some observations and experiences from my last two week visit to Vallarta, just got back to Los Angeles a couple days ago and I miss the beach already. Let’s see what’s happening this week in Puerto Vallarta, The 5th of March, 2024.
Changing Lives Event for The American English Tree March 4th 2024
Contact Information for American English Tree PV
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americanenglishtreepv
- Phone: +52 322 236 5924
- Website: Website For American English Tree PV
- Email: americanenglishtree@gmail.com
Yesterday, March 4th, the American English Tree held their big yearly fundraiser to help our Mexican friends in Vallarta and in the Banderas Bay Area, learn English. It was a band bash-up at La Huerta BBQ and Sports Bar in Paso Ancho.
I had Eddie Rodriguez himself, founder of American English Tree come up last week, to one of my favorite restaurants where I love to eat seafood, and drink margaritas and to record interviews, and he filled me in on what they had planned. So even though the event was yesterday, it’s come and gone, the event was sold out, and everybody had a great time dancing for hours to
multiple bands…let’s have Eddie Rodriguez tell us about it, and remind us about what American English Tree is, and why it’s so important. Let’s go right now to colonia Emiliano Zapata, The romantic Zone. To the corner of Lazaro Cardenas and Insurgentes,
upstairs above the hubbub, and into Restaurant San Lucas, and let’s see what’s going on at The American English Tree, and at La Huerta, BBQ, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico…
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Thank you Eddie.
Thanks for what you do in paradise my friend. It’s an honor being a co-sponsor to your event.
By the way, Eddie wanted me to let you know that if you would like to give American English Tree a try, Listeners to this show will get a special discount. Let them know you heard about American English Tree on the podcast, and you will get your Puerto Vallarta Travel Show discount. How about that?
Contact Information for American English Tree PV
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americanenglishtreepv
- Phone: +52 322 236 5924
- Website: Website For American English Tree PV
- Email: americanenglishtree@gmail.com
I Left My Phone in an Uber in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Speaking about speaking Spanish, as I have been telling you, my wife Debbie has been learning Spanish using the Duolingo App. And she has like 250 days straight. And I highly recommend it if you aren’t using Eddie, and the American English Tree.
But, Debbie and I were heading into town to help Tom Findlay celebrate his 80th birthday. And we were at our dear friend’s casa, Ray and Debbie, in Pitillal/ Which is our home away from home when we are in paradise. And we were smoking some rope, and drinking some incredible passion fruit infused raicilla we had just picked up in El Tuito. I’ll get back to that trip because it was a trip. I’ll leave it at that for now. But we were sampling wacky tobaky, and mixing that with beer and sipping shots of this flavored raicilla, and we decided it’d be a good time to head to town to Bar Frida. So I’m looking at Bar Frida on the Uber Map, and they still had the old address for them. So, I input Pinocho’s Bar, right up the street from the new Frida, and call up an Uber, who shows up almost immediately, and we are off to the races.
Now, as I was saying, my wife has been doing really well with her Spanish lessons, and she’s even starting to get brave enough to actually speak to Mexicans. Anyway, ,,,
We talked with the Uber driver, Adalberto, about a couple of words she has learned using the Duolingo app that were kind of sketchy. Like she is using this word for pen that I had never heard of. I always use the word pluma, for pen. She is using this word boligrafo for pen. Which translates to ball point pen. The driver laughed. He said no, the word bolifrafo is never used.
There’s another. For example, the word for waiter or waitress in Spanish, for me has always been masero, or masera, for a waitress. Can I still say this? Anyhow, Debbie says Duolingo says the terms for waiter and waitress are camarero, which also got a chuckle out of the driver. Oh, and there’s one other. Duolingo calls a refrigerator a nevera, but I’ve always called it a refrigerador. Again, driver Adalberto agreed saying they shorten it in Spanish to refri….He said words like camerera and camerero and boligrafo are words spoken by the elite. Professors and such. Anyhow, we were having a great old time speaking Spanish with this Uber driver, and when he let us off at Pinocho’s, I didn’t look back, and I should have because if I had, I’d have seen my phone and house keys sitting on the seat.
We walked down to Bar Frida, where we found Tom, sitting outside talking with a friend. So I said Happy Birthday Tom, and Tom says, my birthday is tomorrow. So, we laughed. We told him we’d see him tomorrow then, and we took off to get something to eat.
It took me about 10 minutes to discover my missing things. We walked up Lazaro Cardenas and over the bridge into El Coloso at a place called Quack Burger. We were sitting, having ribs and a burger, good, reasonable BBQ at Quack Burger. Ribs, fries, burgers, chicken wings, onion rings, sodas. No alcohol yet, but I’m pretty sure they will let you bring in a beer from the corner Kiosko. Anyway, my perfectly seasoned ribs and Debbie’s yummy burger were interrupted by the missing phone and keys. We would have lost our appetite completely had we taken a cab instead of an Uber. We figured, if you had to leave a phone and keys in a car in Mexico, you had at least a fighting chance to get it back from an Uber Driver. Especially one who you had a good rapport with. So, a short trip into town, we finished our dinner, and sent a message to our friends in Pitillal, letting them know we were on our way home, and need them to open the door for us. Which they did. Lucky they were home.
So, if you are wondering Barry, how did you get your phone and keys back? Right?
How to Get Something You Left in an Uber Back in Puerto Vallarta
I opened my laptop at home in Pitillal, and accessed my emails where I get notified every time I used Uber. I opened the email and scrolled down to the bottom where they have a Report a Lost Item Tab.
I took a screen shot of what it looks like in the show notes. That report a lost item tab takes you through a few safety features to make sure you are you. Then they ask you for a number you can talk from. This is where it was handy having my wife, or a friend, to use the phone. Then they call the driver and hook you up.
Adalberto said he found the phone right away and was looking all over Pinocho’s for us. Of course, we never went to Pinocho’s, we went to Bar Frida, on the wrong night. And then walked up to El Coloso. Anyway, Adalberto told me he was on a ride and he said he’d come to Debbie and Ray’s with the goods, in about 20 minutes. Which he did. And I was once again reunited with my cellphone and Ray and Debbie’s Keys, and I was so happy. I showered Adalberto with pesos and sent him on his way. So very happy that we had chosen to use an Uber that night. But what a cluster f. Too much Raicilla.
Now I was thinking about why I left the phone in the car, and yes, I was consuming way too much raicilla, but I switched over to blue jeans instead of the cargo shorts with multiple pockets, where there was plenty of room for a phone, money, keys. So that got me thinking it might be a good idea to find a cell phone case with a strap, that would go around your wrist, your neck, or your beltloop. And I googled it and a bunch popped up. So I ordered a couple to try out, and I’ll let you know what I found to be the best.
Now, the next night we did manage to make it back to Frida’s to wish Tom a happy 80th birthday. This time, it was actually his birthday. Happy birthday Tom.
And speaking of drinking….we were talking about drinking weren’t we? We wandered down to El Rio Grande Restaurant, on
Avenida Mexico, across from Ley Supermarket with our new friends, and listeners Mitch and Donnalee from Alaska. You will be hearing about Mitch and Donnalee in the coming weeks. Mitch was the guy who wrote me about losing his US Passport and having to have it replaced while in Mexico, before they head back to Alaska.
Anyway, we thought we’d have a little margarita out there at one of their outdoor tables, and wow! These were killer margaritas. I have a picture of the bartender mixing up the dangerous concoction. Worth every penny. Two will get you in trouble. Guaranteed.
New Biometric Machines At the Puerto Vallarta Airport Set to Go Online March 2024
When we arrived at the airport I noticed they have in place ten biometric gateway machines ready to process you. When we finally got up to the immigration officer, I asked him when they were planning on firing those machines up, he said this Month, in March. I asked him what he planned to do when the machines took his place. He said….rest…descansa. Those should make the immigration process so much quicker than it is now that’s for sure.
Now next week, I’ll fill you in on a cool raicilla distillery we found in El Tuito. We are actually working on a couple of them to take you to, but right now….let’s get to the subject of tasting, learning about and discovering the magic of tequila, mezcal and raicilla, shall we?
Vallarta Tequila Tastings in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Now if you have been listening to this podcast over these last 7 plus years, you have heard this guest, many times, the first time in October of 2018 where he talked about one of his first Brewmasters festivals. After one of our last interviews I did with Edgar, we were in Plaza Pitillal talking about Ceviche I think. After the interview we went to lunch at one of my favorite Pitillal hole in the wall places…Volver Al Taco it’s called. And Edgar was talking about how he was a mezcalero. A trained mezcal taster. A Sommelier. Which I found very interesting. I didn’t know he was associated with a tequila tasting firm in town Called Vallarta Tequilla Tastings either. This was a total surprise to me. But thinking back, Almost all of Edgar’s events he puts on seem to have alcoholic spirits involved. So, not so strange and mysterious after all is it?
Well, knowing Edgar like I do, I knew that bringing him on to teach, and to talk about these very Mexican spirits, tequila, mezcal and raicilla would be a real treat for you, and me. So without further delay, let’s go back to the corner of Lazaro Cardenas, and
Insurgentes in Zona Romantica, Restaurant San Lucas…This time not for their killer margaritas, but to taste and sample tequila, mezcal and raicilla and lets hear from Edgar Rivas, Mezcalero Sommelier with Vallarta Tequila Tastings, in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
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Contact Information for Vallarta Tequila Tastings
- Website: https://vallartatequilatastings.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VallartaTequilaTastings
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vallartatequilatastings/
- Address: Hamburgo 150-C, Versalles, 48310 Puerto Vallarta, Jal., Mexico
- Phone: +52 1 322 121 9087
- Email: vallartatequilatastings@gmail.com
Thank you so much Edgar! What a ton of useful information. I have links to Vallarta Tequila Tastings in the show notes as well as pictures showing the fun they have at these classes and meals they consume. It’s a real education. And you Edgar, gave us so much information. And I fear it’s only the tip of the agave plant. There’s so much to learn about the very Mexican spirits, Tequila, mezcal and raicilla.
Okay, that should do it for this week, next week, stay tuned for more on the ground reports from Puerto Vallarta Mexico, with travel tips, great restaurant and excursion ideas and more. Until then, remember, this is an interactive show where I depend on
your questions and suggestions about all things Puerto Vallarta. If you think of something I should be talking about, please reach out to me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending us your message.
And remember, if you are considering booking any type of tour while you are in Puerto Vallarta, you must go to Vallartainfo.com, JR’s website and reserve your tour through him, right from his website. Remember the value for value
proposition. His experience and on the ground knowledge of everything Puerto Vallarta in exchange for your making a purchase of a tour that you would do anyway, you’re just doing it through him as a way of saying thank you. It costs no more than if you were to use someone else so do it. Really. And when you do take one of these tours, email me about your experiences. Maybe
you can come on-board and share with others what you liked or didn’t like about the tour. Again, contact me by clicking on the Contact us tab and sending off a message. Don’t forget his maps, his DIY tours and I have links to all of those in the show notes.
And once again, if you like this podcast, please take the time and subscribe and follow share with a lover of Puerto Vallarta or give me a good review wherever or however you happen to be listening. That way we can get the word out to more and more people about the magic of this place. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Remember I made it easy for you to do just that with each episode I create. But if you haven’t been to my website, you really need to have a look there. I have the links to the places we talk about, interesting pictures and the more all right there in my blog-posts and show-notes for each episode of the show so check them out for sure if you haven’t already all-right? All right.
Thank you to Eddie Rodriguez from American English Tree. I know your event was a great one amigo. Please consider sponsoring a child in paradise and give him or her a leg up, by knowing how to communicate in English. You can also take Spanish in person, or online via zoom. Learning Spanish makes living life so much easier in Vallarta. I mean, the stories I tell about talking with Uber and Taxi drivers happen because I’m speaking Spanish. As I said, learning Spanish will change your life as much as learning English, will change the life of a child in Vallarta. It’s as simple as that.
And thank you so much to Edgar Rivas from Vallarta Tequila Tastings. What an education you gave us my friend. I have links to Vallarta Tequila Tastings in the show notes at www.puertovallartatravelshow.com.
And thanks to all of you for listening all the way through this episode of the Puerto Vallarta Travel Show. This is Barry Kessler signing off with a wish for you all to slow down, be kind and live the Vallarta lifestyle. Nos Vemos amigos.
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