Review: Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico by Ted Genoways

Tequila Wars: José Cuervo and the Bloody Struggle for the Spirit of Mexico by Ted Genoways
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I had no idea tequila had such a sordid history.  I  love a well made margarita or tequila cocktail, but I had no idea that the families that made tequila a staple in my liquor cabinet had such a political and violent history.   This follows José Cuervo and the Cuervo family as they struggle to maintain ownership of their land on which the agave is grown and distilleries that produce the tequila.  At the same time other families are growing and distilling tequila and trying to usurp one another as best in brand.  

I expected this to be more about the growing of agave and the process of making tequila, but this is more about the history of the Tequila Valley and the Cuervo family.  There is some information about the making and distillation process but that is not the focus, this is more of a biography of Cuervo's life and family and it is packed with information.  Who knew tequila had so many political ties?  I had no idea that José Cuervo was such an influential force not only in the tequila business but in the political sphere as well.  

This was such a well researched book and provided an insight into facts and historical figures that I've heard about in the past but didn't know much about.  I don't even know if I knew José Cuervo was a real person only the name of a popular brand until listening to this book.  If you are interested in history, specifically Mexican history this is a really interesting tale with a little bit of history on tequila as well.  I enjoy learning new things especially the history of food and drink, and this was a great and engaging non-fiction book.

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