CINDY Crawford said that the secret to her happy 17-year marriage to Rande Gerber was tequila.

“I mean, we met on tequila!” she said of her affinity for the spirit.

The truth is, while everyone has a tequila story, sadly not all of them are good ones.

But tequila expert and bartender at Stingray, QT Gold Coast, Jordan Melling, told news.com.au that the Mexican spirit gets a bad rap because not all are created equal.

The number one thing Melling wants people to know about his beloved spirit is to “look for a product that is 100 per cent agave,” he said.

Those that aren’t made from pure agave are know as mixtos, which is a poorer quality mix of blue agave and grain or wheat spirits with added caramel colourants.

Melling says these mixtos, like the Jose Cuervo you’re used to seeing them pour in bars are often responsible for the spirit’s bad name.

QT Gold Coast is so passionate about tequila eduction they now run appreciation classes to get people to know the difference between a good and bad bottle.