Gift Guide: Luxury Liquor

Let me begin by saying that I am not a tequila person. So a couple of months ago in Mexico City, when I was offered something described as "the Jaguar of Tequilas" I shook my head.  "Could I just have a glass of white wine?" I demurred.

But my host was insistent.  "You must try this," she urged, going on to extol the virtues of Casa Dragones tequila.  It was made by hand.  It was rare. Every bottle was signed and numbered. The company was founded by Bob Pittman (who used to be the head honcho at AOL Time Warner) and Bertha González Nieves (the first Maestra Tequilera). With each sentence I became more skeptical.

At last, just to make her go away, I took a sip.

And then another.

This is remarkable stuff. Clean. Fresh. Elegant. Utterly delicious. In my dreams I am drinking it with excellent sushi, telling everyone what a fantastic substitute it is for sake.

In real life, however, I am giving it to a few favored friends.

It is, I'll admit, stunningly expensive ($275). You can find it at high-end liquor stores, but if you order from the Casa Dragones website, you can get bottles engraved with your friends' names, or a gift package that comes with special Riedel tequila sipping glasses. After all, if you're going to induct your friends into the tequila cult, they might as well start out right.