Hello all! First time in Cancun, looking to purchase some high quality bottles of tequila while i'm there, both to drink there and take home. Hoping to find more rare and exclusive to mexico brands like Pueblo Amigo. If anyone has any suggestions on the best options or best places to shop, it would be greatly appreciated! Cheers!
Since no one else is jumping in with expert advice, I'll bite. Try La Europea, it's downtown just across the street from Walmart. The restaurant "La Destilleria" in the hotel zone offers tequila tastings and they do sell bottles, but it's been years since I've been there so have no idea what their selection or pricing is like. Good luck and "Salud!"
If this is your first trip to Cancun, I doubt you've made any consideration for other cities further into the interior of the Yucatan such as Merida. If you were going there I'd recommend a distillery that makes rum, xtabentun, and other liquor. In fact, if you can get xtabentun in Cancun that is about as "authentic" as you can get for alcohol originating in the Yucatan. It is a liquor the Mayans made from honey, and the Spaniards came along and added a spice (anise?) to it. Tastes like a sweet licorice.
From Wikipedia: Xtabentún is a liqueur made in Yucatán, from anise seed, and fermented honey produced by bees from the nectar of xtabentún flowers. To this anise and honey mixture, rum is added. Because of the rum content, the xtabentun liqueur is sometimes called a "distilled honey" beverage, which is misleading, because the honey alcohol is itself fermented, not distilled. The word xtabentun means, “vines growing on stone” in the Mayan language. It is usually served straight, cold, or with ice and honey. It can also be served with coffee, creating a drink called Mayan coffee, or with one shot of tequila and an equal part xtabentún, with half a lime, you get a Maya margarita. That being said, La Destileria, which serves over 150 brands of tequila, has an excellent assortment of tequilas for sale, including some very rare (and expensive) brands you'll never see outside of Mexico, and if you're in the Hotel Zone, there's a La Europea located between La Destileria and the La Isla Mall.
Thanks for the great info guys! I think I know where I will be going on my first day now!I definitely intend to try the mayan coffee, as it has been recommended to me many times in the past. Xtabentun itself doesn't sound like my kind of thing, as liquorice is not to my taste, and I'm not much for liqueurs in general. However, out of professional curiosity I do intend to pick up a bottle, to try, and for my coworker whose into mixology to see what he can do with it. Myself, I would definitely like to get a bottle or two of something local to bring home, as well as something nice to drink on my trip before I resort to resort drinks! Salud indeed!
