Tequila: it's not just for parrotheads any more.

With your members sniffing and swirling the latest sweet potato vodka from Grenada and taking their island rum in a snifter, it was only a matter of time before they would discover "real" tequila.

We're definitely not talking about the booze that Jimmy Buffett threw in the blender in "Margaritaville," or the white lightning that Warren Oates tossed back in "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia." The best tequilas have always been excellent stuff--and meant to be sipped neat. The problem was that very little of the best of it made its way into this country, except in tourist suitcases. That's now changing.

Most of what comes into this country--at least on the low, mixed-drink end of the scale--is made from a mixture of sugars, with only 51 percent being agave, the defining ingredient of tequila. The cheaper product is shipped across the border into the U.S. in tanker trucks and bottled here. Bottles bear the legend, "A distillate from the Mezcal plant." There's a reason why folks who elect to drink this sort of tequila straight often do so with salt and lime: It's firey and harsh--not at all like "true" tequila.

True tequila is the product of a single species of the blue agave plant. Blue agave (Agave Azul Tequilana Weber), a member of the lily family that resembles aloe, is painstakingly tended by peasant laborers called jimadors in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato, Michoacan, and Nayarit. There are 130 varieties of agave, but only Weber's Blue Agave produces tequila officially recognized by the Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico.

The agave gives its life for good tequila. The plant takes eight to 12 years to mature. It is then harvested by the jimadors, who take the center of the agave, called the pina (pineapple), and steam cook it for up to 30 hours in ovens. They then run the pinas through a crushing mill to extract the natural sugars.

The juices are naturally fermented in barrels (no cultured yeasts are added) for seven to 12 days then distilled through a traditional pot still. The result is "white" tequila, which may be bottled at this stage as tequila blanco, or the distillate can be rested in oak barrels for two to six months to produce smoother, more flavorful tequila (reposado). The fullest, most-refined tequila is aged over a year and is called anejo.

Some Mexican establishments have 50 different tequilas available, with prices ranging from a few dollars a shot to more than $20. Tours of the Mexican tequila district are as popular in that country as jaunts through Napa are here.

A restaurateur and developer of Mexican resort property of my acquaintance was invited to attend the opening of a new Mexican tequila distillery not long ago. This individual--who owns one of most popular wine destinations in Austin, TX and has a personal cellar of more than 5,000 bottles--was absolutely blown away by the pure agave tequila he sampled.

"It's amazing stuff," he exclaimed, recalling pleasant if somewhat fuzzy memories of the tasting he attended.

Super-premium spirits are in high demand along with all manner of other luxury goods. Allied Domecq introduced a vodka retailing for $60 a bottle earlier this year, and Johnny Walker introduced Johnny Walker Green in late 2004 at a premium of $20 over black label. With proper marketing, fine tequila may find a welcome home in your club bar.

Jose Cuervo, maker of one of the most popular, higher-end margarita tequilas, recently introduced a full line of fine 100 percent agave tequilas under the brand "1800." Nowhere in any of the marketing materials for this product will you find reference to Cuervo. The super-premium product models its three tequilas after the three tequila styles: Silver, Reposado, and Anejo. The following tasting notes are from the Beverage Testing Institute:

1800 Reserva Antigua Anejo, $39.99

Copper. Rich, buttery toffee, bourbon barrel, and cigar box aromas. A round, slightly tannic entry leads to a medium- to full-bodied palate with toasted oak, tropical fruit juice, rich brown spices, cola nut, anise cookie, and nutty toffee flavors. Finishes with a nice wood dominated fade of roasted nuts and caramel.

RATED: 95 points (Exceptional).

1800 Reserva Reposado Tequila, $24.99

Golden copper color. Spicy caramel and cardboard-like aromas. A round, somewhat limp entry leads to an off-dry light- to medium-bodied palate with brown spice, watery caramel, and paper-like wood notes. Finishes with an anise cookie and white pepper heat. A bit unfocused.

RATED: 86 points (Highly Recommended).

1800 Reserva Silver Tequila $24.99

Clear with a very faint straw cast. Faint bubblegum and cream cheese aromas with a touch of heat. A soft, pillowy entry leads to an off-dry medium- to full-bodied palate with sweetened condensed milk, roasted yellow pepper, and a touch of anise. Finishes with a refreshing fade of sweet cream, agave fruit, and pepper.

RATED: 88 points (Highly Recommended).

As with any super-premium beverage, fine tequila is only going to show up on your members' bar chits if you've taken the time to educate your bartenders and serving staff, to showcase the items on your drink menu, to write them up in your newsletter, and to create a back bar array that's on par with your row of ports and single malts. The latter shouldn't be too hard: The Beverage Institute's website, www.tastings.com, had ratings on 133 premium tequilas at the time this column was written.

"Full-bodied palate with toasted oak, tropical fruit juice, rich brown spices, cola nut, anise cookie, and nutty toffee flavors?" Put away the blenders, limes, and salt. This agave juice can stand alone.