If you love tequila, being an expert taster might just be your dream job. But, this is not an endeavor for the impatient. Master Tequilero Francisco Hajnal, now in his senior years, has dedicated the majority of his life learning about wines and spirits. He works closely on Jose Cuervo’s specialty tequilas at their distillery in Tequila, Mexico, particularly their coveted Reserva de la Familia, an award-winning Extra Añejo made from 100% pure blue agave grown in their estate’s richest volcanic soils, and often referred to as Cuervo's “crown jewel.”

When meeting Francisco, one immediately notes his soft-spoken elegance and dead-serious demeanor when it comes to evaluating the quality of tequila. “It is the reason of my life,” he has declared in this video about the making of tequila. Spend only a few minutes with him, and you’ll believe it is true.

Around Hajnal’s neck, he wears a silver chain. From that chain dangles the 4” tip of a cow horn, decorated with silver adornments. That horn represents the first vessel from which tequila was imbibed. Later that horn morphed into what we now know as the “shot glass.”

When famed Riedel glassware wished to create the ultimate tequila-tasting glass, Hajnal was among a handful of experts taken to Austria where extensive tastings were held. Finally the product seen here is the result of much deliberation and debate.

Although Hajnal holds a degree in engineering, he spent more than a decade as a viticulture and oenology scholar at the Escuela Panamericana de Hoteleria y Turismo. Then, about 10 years ago, Hajnal founded the Academia Mexicana de Catadores de Tequila, or Mexican Academy of Tequila Experts. And, that’s where the real fun begins…

The Academy was established in Mexico City in late 2000 as a non-governmental, not for profit, educational organization with a core mission to promote and disseminate the knowledge and understanding of tequila and the heritage that it represents. Its website states these as the Academy’s main objectives:

To create awareness of the Official Mexicana Standards (NOM) for tequila as stipulated by the Regulatory Tequila Council (CRT).
Offer consumer information regarding the consumption of only genuine tequila as per the tequila Denomination of Origin (DOT)
Provide educational courses and seminars to members to enhance understanding and knowledge in the tequila trade and services. Qualifications are non-academic certifications issued by the Academia Mexicana del tequila.
Provide tequila aficionados a medium to network and stay up-to- date on industry news and trends.

The site also explains that the training includes “the history of tequila, an in-depth study of the NOM; the official Mexican Standards relating to all processes and activities of tequila, an understanding of the DOT; Appellation of Origin of tequila, an understanding of the CRT; Regulatory Council of Tequila and the role it serves in the tequila industry, and an understanding of the elaboration process from the artesian ways to the modern methods. The candidates must also be knowledgeable in tequila tastings and be able to identify the organoleptic characteristics of a particular tequila to be able to protect and guide the consumer to a good choice of genuine tequila.”

There are now chapters in the United States (the San Diego chapter even has its own facebook page.)

The Academy uses the term “Tequilier,” when referring to a tequila expert, which Hajnal rejects because he feels the word pays homage to “Sommelier,” a French word for a wine expert. Fiercely proud of his own heritage and the agave spirit from which it sprang, he insists on referring to his own title in Spanish, “Tequilero.” His full title is Master Tequilero, the highest qualification issued to a tequila expert. Take a sip of the latest release of Reserva de la Familia, and you won’t doubt it for a second.