Bleh, I hate tequila. In fact, the only thing I can really drink with tequila in it is a long island iced tea.
The first drink I had was Smirnoff strawberry vodka, straight. I'm surprised I'm still drinking; that stuff is awful. I much prefer Stolichnaya. It's a bit more expensive (about $20/fifth here), but is pretty damn tasty.
And interestingly enough, according to the Wikipedia page for the old fashioned, it was invented in Kentucky. I suppose you moving here was fated!