Answer:
I recently had an issue with Jose Cuervo margarita mix - small white particles in a newly opened bottle. I contacted Jose Cuervo customer service and was told that their margarita mix should be used within 12 months from the manufacture date. Ah, but where can you find that information? One the bottle (not the label) is an imprinted number beginning with a letter. The first number is the year (9=2009, 0=2010, 1=2011) then the next 3 numbers are the day in the calendar year of that lot. Calculate a year from that date for use. I will always check that information going forward to avoid issues.