Dos Caminos Las Vegas Gets An Award T Distinction - CLOSED

Spending time with the staff at Dos Caminos you'll come to realize they know their stuff when it comes to Tequila. They should, they all went through some Tequila training recently and the Consejo Regulador Del Tequila deemed them worthy of an Award T Program certification. So the truth is, if you feel like you should learn a little while indulging in Blue Agave, the staff at Dos Caminos will be more than happy to play teacher.

Who doesn't enjoy shooting tequila but ask yourself why you do it? Because it's what you did in college?

Considering you have never used that trigonometry or that you have no idea why gerrymandering is not necessarily a good thing, isn't it time you stop using the knowledge you gained about drinking from college and readjusted your approach to tequila.

Tequila is no longer that fire water that you remember from your Spring Break adventures in Mexico, it is far more flavorful and can be a complex spirit. If you choose wisely and take your tie their are so many flavors waiting for you in that shot glass.

I recently spent a day with the employees at Dos Caminos at Palazzo as we all got an education in Tequila from the Tequila Regulatory Council (Consejo Regulador del Tequila or CRT). Dos Caminos has been named a recipient of the Award T program that is issued to establishments that have educated their staff and deepened their knowledge of tequila.

If you’re ready to approach your tequila drinking in a much more refined way then you should find yourself a seat at the bar at Dos Caminos or have a prolonged meal in the dining room. If you need to know a little about just what exactly Blue Agave is, the bartender at Dos Caminos can help you. What about regions and varying degrees of aging, that's right there's a good chance that your server will explain exactly all you need to know.

The process is interesting in that the Blue agave is planted and some seven years later the jimadores come out and begin the cultivation and harvesting. The Jima is baked, the juice is recovered, the mix, the fermenting, the distillation and then if you are lucky you’re drinking 100 percent agave or Tequila that spent a little time in oak barrels.

Some interesting facts about tequila:

• There are two types - 100% Agave and Tequila. Tequila must have at least 51% Agave with the remaining ingredients being made up of other sugars.
• Blanco Tequila has not been aged
• Reposado has been aged at least 2 months
• Anejo has been aged at least 1 year
• Extra Anejo has been aged at least 3 years
• The flavors of the tequila are crafted by the type of barrels they are aged in and the region where the Blue Agave is grown.

Not sure why I like the fun facts but it makes for odd conversations at the bar.

I sat around with a Tequila ambassador from Cazadores who not only instructed me on the proper sampling technique but she also crafted a few cocktails at the same time. We sat, we swirled, we smelled and we tasted and wouldn't you know it we did it over and over again. The Cazadores Anejo soon became like a best friend and I felt the need to hug the bottle.

My guide through the region of tequila introduced me to a Tamarind Margarita, to a cazuela, and then to a Rasberry Paloma, who knew tequila could be crafted so well. We also took to sampling a bit more of the Anejo. The tones of cinnamon and apple pie seemed to coat my mouth and the long finish was unlike anything I had had in the past. I followed it up with some Sangrita and felt as if life could not get any better. But it did, it always seems to.

Dos Caminos is located in the Palazzo Resort-Hotel-Casino on the Las Vegas strip

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