(CNN) — It’s National Tequila Day in the United States — Sunday, July 24. After the year we’ve had so far, you can’t blame anyone for wanting to take a bracing shot or two (responsibly, of course).
In honor of the holiday, here are six surprising facts you might not have known about tequila.
It’s from a plant (which means it’s healthy, right?)
Have no fear, gluten-free folks! Tequila is perfectly all right for you to drink. Tequila is made from fermenting the juice from the blue agave plant, which has a core called piña because it looks a little like a pineapple.
Once the piña is harvested, it’s brought to a distillery to be roasted to unleash its juices, which are fermented, distilled and aged before being bottled.
Tequila is a type of mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila
Tequila makes a margarita merry. As for the exact mix of ingredients, your imagination is the limit.
Tequila must be made in a specific area of Mexico
Tequila was born in, you guessed it, Tequila
If not for women, tequila may not even exist
Historically, the women of Tequila (as in the town) have been the ones who cultivated the blue agave plants, called hijuelos (little children). Women can still be seen today working the fields from February to July, when the plants sprout.
