Hotel Mision Carlton – pool and outdoor dining areaHotel Mision Carlton – garden areaCristy in our room. No, I couldn’t wait to fire up the laptopWe had a great dinner at the Estancia Gaucha restaurant. Argentine style empanadas and char grilled beef. Beats Outback by a mile which we tried on Sunday.Although the only passenger services left in Mexico are a few tourist runs, the Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce maintains the passenger station for the tour train. The Chamber is the principle patron of the tour program with a large contribution from Herradura.Hey daddy, when do we get started?Interior of the stationAnother interior shot of the stationThe train has 5 cars each carrying 80 passengers, so as departure approaches the station fills with almost 400 people.There’s mariachi music during the wait as you’ll see in the video.People get in the swing and dance to the music. Also in the video. The two hour trip and the two hour return is filled with singing and dancing, snacks and bottomless glasses of your favorite soft drink or tequila concoction.Cristy and me before boarding the Tequila ExpressAll Aboard!Notice the bar in the backgroundGuess who?Typical tourist exercise, get your picture taken in Charro hats. Not just for Gringos.Or with a mariachiView of main processing plantWell maintained groundsThese are the piñas from which tequila is made.A half piña weighs almost 20 lbs.The harvester (jimador) uses a sharp blade to strip the leaves from the piña of the agave plant.Piñas waiting to be cooked by steam. After cooking, the pulp turns a light brown, is very sweet and has a sort of caramel flavor.Ovens for cooking the piñas.Careful not to have one too many on the way upMore touristy stuffIf I understood it all right, Tequila Jimador is distilled in small batches in these stills. It is distilled twice to reach the correct percentage of alcohol and purity?Until the 1960s, Herradura used these old fashioned copper stills. A part of the plant preserves the old style operation as a museum.Steam engine and belts to drive the old machineryRested (reposado) tequila is also something fairly new. The better tequila is rested for 1 to 5 months in Kentucky oak barrels. There is also aged (añejo) tequila that may stay in the barrel for 20 years or more.Outside the dining area, they use fans to prevent the speakers from overheating. The sun was intense and it was more than a little humid. The free drinks on the way up, during dinner/entertainment and on the way back were more than welcome.A view from the station in Amatitan.
                                                                       Tequila Express
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The Guadalajara Chamber of Commerce runs an excursion by train to Amatitan which is the home of Herradura Tequila.  Sure, the main idea is to promote Herradura products, but the trip is such a blast that the ongoing commercials don't matter.

The fun starts at the station even before boarding the train.  The mariachis begin their performance and very quickly people get up and start dancing.  My video links below include footage.

As soon as you board, a waiter comes by with munchies and a selection of canned or premixed tequila highballs, cocktails and soft drinks with the information that you just have to flag any waiter down to get refills or any other drink or snack you'd like.

The mariachis make the rounds from car to car, people get up and sing and dance in the aisle, it's like a high school class on an outing.

Before getting off the train at Amatitan, everyone goes to the front and introduces himself and is challenged to slug back a straight shot of tequila.  Being a gringo, they goodnaturedly kidded me a bit more than others.  Fair is fair, so when they offered me the shot with the question, "Do you think you can take it in one swallow?" I came back with, "Sure, but it's a little small, isn't it?"  Tthey took the glass back and gave me double+.  To shouts of encouragement, I swallowed it in one gulp.  "How was it?"  "Smooth!"  Cheers, applause, pats on the  back.

We boarded busses for the short ride to the hacienda/distillery.  On arrival more drinks and snacks were waiting.  A little unsteadily we began the tour,

At the end of the tour, a delicious buffet lunch was waiting along with more tequila accompanied by mariachis, singers and folk dancers; again, people got up and danced.

The trip back was a repeat of the trip up and everyone arrived back in Guadalajara ready for a good long rest.  If you want to check out the tour for yourself, click Tequila Express.  For English, Click Tequila Express English.

Links to videos:  Part One  and Part Two.

Click each thumbnail below to see the full size picture and captions.