The Best Tequila

Readers from last November may recall my Best Pizza in the World post. I've decided that the best food and drinks in the world are not necessarily those that taste the best but rather those associated with the best experiences. Experiences that are a confluence of sights, smells and warm memories as well as the taste of the food and drink. These are experiences that are permanently etched in your memory.

The best pizza I've ever had was at The Cow in Queenstown, New Zealand. The pizza was magnificent -   fresh ingredients over a crispy homemade dough baked in a hot stone oven that warmed the room. But what I remember most is sitting outside in a small alcove with the girls. Kristin and I had beer and the girls had root beer. Something got Iz and Kristin started and soon we were all howling with laughter - about what I can't remember. But I do remember the the chill of the evening air, the smoky scent of the hearth, the twinkling lights at the top of the mountain and the marvelous sound of my girls' laughter. The best pizza in the world!

I would not have expected to have a "best tequila" experience in South Africa (or ever, for that matter). But,  it was an experience that found me. I will not soon forget Todd and I being surrounded by Mexicans on an unseasonably warm South African winter day throwing down a shot of what turned out to be one of Mexico's finest and most authentic tequilas: Herradura. Even better, it was squirted from a water bottle smuggled into a World Cup match by my new tocayo friend and his family. The drive to Rustenburg, crowding onto shuttle buses, the match itself, wandering aimlessly after the match looking for the right bus and the interminable drive home will fade from memory. But when I get home, Todd and I will fill a water bottle with Herradura, sit in the sun on a warm winter day and make a toast to El Tri and, of course, our friend Jorge.