Tequila tasting at Wahaca Soho

My second encounter with Tequila came when I was invited to be part of a tasting panel tasked with selecting the shortlist of Tequilas for recently-opened Wahaca Soho's Tequila bar. Based in the basement of the cavernous space, the bar has a beach hut feel to it, from the bright blue walls to the pod-like wicker hanging chairs. Joining me on the panel were fellow Tequila nuts Alice Lascelles and Clint Cawood from Imbibe magazine, and beer buff Ben McFarland and partner in wine (and spirits) Tom Sandham. Before we get stuck into the plethora of Tequilas waiting expectantly on the adjacent table, we are given a strip of Blue Agave to suck on. Tasting it in its raw form, it has a wonderful malt loaf and molasses nose, like an earthy Pedro Ximenez.

Tequila is made from the agave plant, which is not a cactus as is widely (and wrongly) thought. There are over 200 varieties of agave in Mexico, but only Blue Agave is used in the production of Tequila. A beautiful turquoise colour, the plants are cut and left to steam in a brick oven for a day-and-a-half to help increase their sugar content. The juice is then squeezed out and placed in fermentation vats, where yeast is added. The spirit is double distilled before bottling, or, in the case of the Reposados and Añejos, barrel ageing.

Like wine, flavour is obtained from the oak barrels and differs depending on the amount of time spent in cask, with French oak imparting a chocolate aftertaste and American oak offering vanilla sweetness – old Bourbon barrels are becoming increasingly popular as they offer attractive smokey aromas associated with whisky. Of the 11 Tequilas we try, price isn't always indicative of quality. A large number of brands seem to be jumping on the Grey Goose bandwagon, packaging their premium Tequilas in bling bottles that wouldn't look out of place on a dressing table and charging their club-hopping customers three times the price for the privilege. Even Justin Timberlake has gotten in on the act, with his 901 brand.

Luckily for Wahaca, the panel is almost always in agreement about the top two Tequilas of each flight. The best examples are smooth and soft on the palate, with complex aromas of herbs, woody spices, vanilla, caramel and honey. Los Abuelos, meaning 'the grandfathers', stole the show. Smooth, creamy and rich, it had an elegant, alluring nose of vanilla, caramel and honey, and a lingering length that left us all craving for more of its molasses-tinged sweetness.

Unfortunately, Abuelos isn't available anywhere in the UK yet – the bottle we tried had been snuck through customs by Wahaca owner Thomasina Miers. But hopefully, with the revamping of Wachaca's Tequila list, London will soon be able to enjoy this exemplary Tequila, one of a select few spearheading the quality revolution in Mexico.

Tom Parker Bowles bacchanalia lunch at Blacks

Tequila is having a moment. Once the preserve of the Aztecs, who used to drink it an a digestif, the spirit fell spectacularly from grace, and until recently was more readily associated with cowboys, bandits and stag weekends than discerning drinkers. But with ultra premium brands like Patrón now on the market, Tequila has got the makeover it desperately deserves, and is not only cool again, but the fastest growing spirits category in the UK.

To toast Tequila's newfound success, I was invited to attend a Mexican-themed bacchanalian lunch whipped up by Tom Parker Bowles and Alberto Figueroa at Soho institution Blacks members club. Reached by descending a black steel staircase, the 18th century Georgian townhouse is modeled on the dining club created in the same spot 300 years prior by writer Samuel Johnson and painter Joshua Reynolds. Quintessentially English, Blacks is furnished with roaring fires, creaky wooden floorboards, powder blue walls, painted ladies, fraying armchairs and the odd ghost or two.

Taking my place by the roaring fire, a welcome Margarita is thrust in my hand. Noticing it contains no ice, I sheepishly ask the barman for a few cubes, to dilute the super strong concoction. Gesticulating wildly to my left is flame-haired one time Kenny Everett sidekick turned Tequila ambassador Cleo Rocos, who is so potty about the drink, she founded The Tequila Society to promote Tequila in the UK. To my right are Guardian food writer Matthew Fort and MasterChef winner and Wahaca founder Thomasina Miers, sporting a perfectly round bump.

Rescued from the fire before I begin to melt, we are ushered upstairs and asked to take our seats among the school-like wooden bench. On my table is Zeren Wilson of Bitten and Written fame, boy about town Ben Norum and Scotch eggspert David Constable. Foodie banter soon ensues. Having just been asked to be a food critic for the erotic review, Constable whips out his black notebook and begins writing sordid descriptions of our citrusy sea bream ceviche and crunchy tostadas served with lashings of luscious guacamole.

We all get in on the act and take to reading our lewd passages aloud. In need of slaking after our literary endeavours, we crack open a biodynamic Cortese from Piedmont producer Valli Unite. Golden in colour, it has a mineral core and a green fruited nose of apple and pear. After scandalously simple and pleasingly cheesy quesadillas, we move onto the main event, 'Drunken Lamb' – made tipsy by its beer marinade – served with fluffy tortillas and juicy black beans, and silky slow roast pork with Seville orange wrapped in banana leaves.

The highlight of the feast is raspberry red hibiscus and Tequila sorbet served in a modest glass goblet. Fresh, fruity and fun, the forest fruit flavours are lifted by the Tequila kick. Whilst savouring the sorbet, Tom PB emerges in a besmirched Tabasco apron and grey T-shirt. Humble as pie, he immediately defaults to thanking Figueroa, then scurries back downstairs. Catching up with him after the meal, I ask whether it's possible to do a quick video interview, but he concedes to having had one too many Tequilas to be sufficiently coherent for the camera. Disappointed, I ask him what he thinks should be served at the forthcoming royal wedding. "Cottage pie!" he exclaims. "I had it at my wedding and it's the ideal dish to serve to hundreds of people: it's simple, full of flavour and unmistakably British."