One word. Tequila!

This is one beverage I imbibe lightly and rarely consume. My wife-- well that's a different story. . .she's a true connoisseur and aficionado. She makes many a wicked cocktail with the stuff and her drinks have the power to knock me out cold in two sips. You know the saying, "one tequila, two tequila, three tequila, FLOOR!"

I am, however, a fan of a good Margarita now and again. I prefer mine up, over ice, rimmed with salt and made with top shelf stuff (natch). I'm also a fan of Mexican tv chef Pati Jinich and will celebrate today's National Tequila Day with her Malted Tequila Milkshake recipe.

Here are a few tequila facts worth noting while sipping your favorite tequila.

Tequila made it's debut in America in 1893 at the Chicago World's Fair, along with Juicy Fruit Gum, Cracker Jacks and Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer.

The patron saint of tequila is Mayahuel, the pre-Columbian goddess of fertility and maternity.

Since the 1974 Declaration of the Protections of the Denomination of Origin, only products made from the Blue Agave and grown in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Guanajuato, or Tamaulipas can be labeled "tequila"

Grabbing a shaker of salt right now. . . Happy National Tequila Day!