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Tequila is a strong Mexican distillate made from fermented blue agave juice (not to be confused with cactus), which is protected at the place of production.
The classification of tequila consists of six types: silver, gold, blanco, reposado, añejo and extra añejo.
Tequila comes in a wide range of colors, from a simple clear distilled beverage to a dark amber brown. The color of tequila is highly dependent on the aging process and the type of wood used for storage.
All authentic, regulated tequilas have a NOM on the bottle.
tequila cocktail recipes
What you need to know about tequila
How many degrees in tequila
From 35 to 55%. For the US at the legislative level 40%.
Where is produced
Mexican laws state that tequila can only be produced in the state of Jalisco and limited municipalities in the states of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.
Tequila is recognized as a Mexican drink by origin in more than 40 countries.
Tequila or mezcal
Tequila is a type of mezcal. The areas of production of these two drinks may overlap, but in the case of mezcal, everything is more liberal.
The difference is that tequila must only use blue agave plants, not any type of agave, as is the case with mezcal.
What is being done
Real tequila is made from 100% blue agave juice, harvested by hand on plantations in Mexico.
More than 300 million blue agave plants are harvested each year.
Interestingly, agave grows differently depending on the region. Blue agaves grown in the Los Altos highlands are larger and have a sweeter flavor and aroma.
Agaves harvested in the lowlands have a more grassy aroma and taste.
Chemistry and tequila
Tequila contains over 300 different chemical compounds, many of which are produced during the fermentation of the raw materials used and, to a lesser extent, during maturation.
The components that make up tequila do not act individually to give tequila its characteristic taste and aroma, but rather depend on the interaction of each of the volatile compounds and their amount.
The volatile compounds responsible for the flavor and aroma characteristics of tequila belong to a category called organoleptic compounds and are known to increase in concentration with a slower fermentation process.
Tequila and salt
Tequila is usually served neat in Mexico, but in the rest of the world it is customary to drink it with salt and lime.
It is believed that the tradition of drinking tequila with salt and lime appeared in connection with the flu epidemic. In those days, people believed that such prevention helps in the fight against the disease, which is naturally fake.
There are also at least 9 different ways to drink tequila.
History of tequila
15 century:
A fermented agave drink is known to have been consumed in pre-Columbian central Mexico prior to European contact. When the Spanish conquistadors ran out of their own brandy, they began distilling the agave to produce one of North America’s first native alcoholic beverages.
16 century:
The first mention of the production of tequila near the city of the same name, which did not officially exist until 1666.
1600
The Marquis of Altamira, Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, began mass production of tequila at the first distillery in what is now Jalisco.
1608
The colonial governor of Nueva Galicia began taxing his produce. King Carlos IV of Spain granted the Cuervo family the first license to commercially produce tequila.
1884-1885:
Don Senobio Sauza founds the Sauza tequila and becomes president of the municipality of Tequila. He was also the first to export tequila to the United States and shortened the name from “Tequila Extract” to just “Tequila” for the American market.
1936-1948:
The Margarita cocktail was invented.
1997
Tequila, as a product, is protected by origin in the countries of the European Union.
The drink is also protected through NAFTA in Canada and the United States, and through bilateral agreements with individual countries such as Japan and Israel.
2003
The Mexican government has stated that bottled tequila in Mexico guarantees its quality. Liquor companies in the United States said that Mexico simply wanted to create bottling jobs in its country, and that the rule would violate international trade agreements and go against normal export practices around the world.
2004
A decision was made to allow flavored tequila to be called “tequila”, with the exception of 100% agave tequila, which still cannot be flavored.
17.01.2006
The United States and Mexico signed an agreement allowing the bulk import of tequila into the United States. The agreement also created a “tequila bottle registry” to identify approved tequila producers, as well as an agency to monitor the registry.
2006
A new Norma Oficial Mexicana (NOM) for tequila was released (NOM-006-SCFI-2005). Among other changes, a class of tequila called extra añejo or “ultra-aged” was introduced, which must be aged for a minimum of three years.
2006
One liter bottle of limited edition premium tequila was sold by Tequila Ley for $225.
2012
The latest version of the tequila standard (NOM-006-SCFI-2012), which specifies that silver grade tequila cannot contain additives, and labels must display the “aging time” of the ultra-aged grade.
2013
The ban on imports of premium tequila (100% blue agave) to China has been lifted following President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Mexico.
Although some tequila productions remain family brands, most of the well-known brands are owned by large multinational corporations.
However, over 100 distilleries produce over 900 brands of tequila in Mexico according to 2009 statistics.
Tequila production process
To this day, planting, caring for and harvesting blue agave remains a manual labor reliance on people called jimadores. They are well versed in how plants should be cultivated and their experience is literally passed down from generation to generation.
By regularly trimming the several meter-high stems that grow from the center of the plant, the jimadores prevent early flowering and death of the agave, allowing it to fully ripen.
Gimadores must be able to tell when each plant is ready to be harvested, and with a special knife called a quiotes (with a round blade on a long pole), carefully cut the leaves from the piña (plant’s succulent core).
If harvested too late or too early, the piña, which can average between 70 kg in the lowlands and 110 kg in the highlands, will not have enough carbohydrates to ferment.
Once harvested, piña are sent to ovens where they are slowly baked to break down their complex fructans into simple fructoses.
The baked piña are then crushed or pounded under a large stone wheel called a tajona [taˈona]. As a result of this processing, a by-product is obtained – fiber, which is often used as compost, animal feed, paper processing or burned as fuel.
Some manufacturers add a small amount of fiber back to their fermentation tanks to enhance the flavor of the agave in the final product.
The extracted agave juice is then poured over several days into large wooden or stainless steel vats for fermentation, resulting in a must, or mosto [ˈmosto], with a low alcohol content.
The must is distilled once to produce the so-called “ordinario [oɾðiˈnaɾjo]”, and then a second time to produce a clear “silver” tequila. At least two distillations are required by law.
Some producers such as Casa Noble and Corzo experimented with distilling the product a third time, but this did not become a trend, and it was said that it removed too much flavor from Tequila.
The tequila is then either bottled as silver tequila or pumped into wooden barrels where it “ages” to a softer flavor and amber color.
Tequila fermentation
Unlike other steps in tequila production, fermentation is one of the few steps that a person cannot control.
Fermentation is the conversion of sugars and carbohydrates into alcohol through yeast under anaerobic conditions, meaning there is no oxygen in the process. Fermentation is also carried out in a non-aseptic environment, which increases the bacterial activity of the tequila. The involvement of environmental microorganisms (yeasts and bacteria) makes fermentation a spontaneous process that produces many by-products that contribute to the flavor and aroma of tequila.
During the fermentation process, inoculum is added to the batch to speed up the rate of fermentation.
With the addition of inoculum, fermentation can take anywhere from 20 hours to 3 days.
If inoculum is not added, fermentation may take up to 7 days.
The rate of fermentation is a key factor in the quality and taste of the tequila produced. Musts fermented slowly are better because the amount of organoleptic compounds produced is greater. The alcohol content at the end of fermentation is 4-9%.
Organoleptic compounds in tequila
Organoleptic compounds enhance the taste and aroma. These include: fusel oil, methanol, aldehydes, organic acids and esters.
The production of isoamyl and isobutyl alcohols begins after a significant decrease in sugar levels and continues for several hours after the end of alcoholic fermentation.
The production of ethanol begins in the first hours of fermentation and ends with the growth of logarithmic yeast.
Three factors influence the alcohol content of tequila:
The amount of isoamyl alcohol and isobutanol in the yeast strain.
The ratio of carbon to nitrogen (the higher the ratio, the more alcohol produced).
fermentation temperature.
The higher the temperature, the greater the concentration of isobutyl and isoamyl alcohols. Although, if the temperature is too high, it can cause the yeast to become less effective.
Similarly, if the temperature is too low, the process is too slow.
Yeast and tequila quality
Organoleptic compounds are dependent on yeast. The role of yeast is to convert sugar and carbohydrates into alcohol through many enzymatic processes.
Manufacturers use two types of yeast:
Natural. Under aerobic conditions, yeast doubles in colony size every four hours. This process takes 24-48 hours. The yeast then converts the acetaldehyde into ethyl alcohol, which is known as one of the organoleptic compounds produced during the fermentation process.
Commercial brewer’s yeast derived from pre-cultured existing yeast and yeast that has been salvaged from past batches of the brew. Naturally, the use of different types of yeast can lead to different end products, which will greatly affect the taste and aroma of tequila.
Tequila classification
The simplest and most obvious is the typology of tequila, based on the amount of deep agave distillate contained in the drink. In this case, we are dealing with only two of its varieties.
100% Blue Agave Tequila
Drinks in this category should not contain anything other than agave distillate.
They can be produced and bottled only in five Mexican states: Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.
On bottles with the mentioned high-grade alcohol, labels with the inscription: “Tequila 100% puro de agave” or simply “Tequila 100% de agave” will definitely show off.
Mixed Tequila
This category includes drinks containing 99 to 51% distilled blue agave juice.
The remaining 1-49% are cane or even corn distillates, as well as various kinds of dyes and flavors: oak extract, caramel, sugar syrup, glycerin, vanilla, etc.
Tequila of this type, since 2006, can be bottled (but not produced!) outside the above regions; moreover, not only in Mexico itself, but also in any other country in the world.
Bottles with such alcohol are labeled with a lapidary inscription “Tequila”.
Tequila by age
The production technology of the famous drink in many cases includes aging in special barrels. These barrels are made from American, less often from French oak. Some drink producers especially appreciate containers that previously contained wine, cognac, whiskey or bourbon.
True, there is another extreme. In order to avoid excessive evaporation of the distillate, dodgy tequileiros may use wooden barrels only during the first stage of aging; after which future drinks of elite varieties migrate to unassuming stainless steel containers.
Based on the quality associated with the aging factor or its lack, tequila can be divided into 6 categories.
Tequila Silver (silver tequila)
Mostly an inferior, unaged drink like Mixto, which, as a rule, contains flavors, and the proportion of third-party alcohols usually reaches 49%.
As an exception to the rule, connoisseurs point to the brand “Legenda del Milagro Silver”, which looks very decent against the background of its counterparts.
Tequila Gold or Oro, Joven (gold or young tequila)
This variety also includes uncasked Mixto class drinks.
The lack of exposure is conditionally compensated here by the presence of the aforementioned dyes, the amount of which should not exceed 1% of the total liquid volume.
The most acceptable representative of this category, according to Vzboltai, is the well-known “Sauza Gold”.
However, there are exceptions to this rule. According to people in the know, under the name “Gold” can sometimes be sold a blend consisting of unaged XNUMX% agave and a small amount of aged agave distillate.
Tequila Blanco or White, Plata, Platinum (white or platinum tequila)
The most beloved Mexican drink, which has no color, but retains the original taste of agave distillate.
This tequila, in most cases, is not exposed to aging and, like all its subsequent varieties, is 100% agave.
At the same time, this class also includes drinks that have been in barrels, whose exposure does not exceed two months. The best in this category are: “Sauza Tres Generaciones Plata” and “Chinaco Blanco”.
When choosing a tequila of the mentioned variety, you must carefully study the label. It is not uncommon for “silver” class drinks to be labeled “blanco”, and sometimes the other way around. In this case, the determining criterion is the presence or absence of the mark “100% de agave”.
Tequila Reposado (rested tequila)
A drink aged in barrels from two months to one year.
Rested tequila has a naturally achieved golden color and a relatively mild balanced taste.
The leaders of this class of drinks are: “Herradura Reposado” and “Cabo Wabo”.
Tequila Añejo (aged tequila or tequila in years)
Venerable elite alcohol, whose aging period ranges from one to three years.
It has a rich amber color, soft deep taste and rich aftertaste.
According to Mexican law, for the production of this type of tequila, barrels must be used, whose volume does not exceed the six hundred liter limit.
Examples of such privileged drinks are Doña Celia Anejo, Villa Lobos Anejo and Casa Noble Anejo, although the list of worthy representatives of this category is far from exhausted by these brands.
Tequila Extra Añejo (over aged tequila)
This category includes collectible drinks with an aging period exceeding three years.
As in the previous case, the volume of barrels should not go beyond the six hundred liter barrier.
Some masters bring a peculiar zest to their alcoholic masterpieces in the form of adding a certain amount of more aged spirits to a four or five-year basis.
Extra Añejo drinks are characterized by a deep golden color with a reddish tint, an indescribable flavor and aroma range, as well as a long multifaceted aftertaste.
How to choose tequila
Take only a bottle that clearly says “100% agave”
Или: 100% Blue Agave, 100% De Agave, Tequila 100% pure de agave.
Manufacturer country
The birthplace of tequila is only Mexico. First three digits of the barcode: 750.
Research the brand before buying
If the manufacturer uses natural fermentation technology, it will be the most aromatic and rich in taste tequila.
NOM identifier
For example, since 1990 there have been NOM-006-SCFI-1993, later NOM-006-SCFI-1994, NOM-006-SCFI-2005 and NOM-006-SCFI-2012.
The number after NOM is the distillery number assigned by the Mexican government. The NOM does not indicate the location of the distillery.
Storage conditions for tequila
Unlike wine, which contains tannins that can change over time even in the bottle, spirits like tequila don’t change much once they’re bottled.
Since tequila is a distilled spirit, it does not require the strict storage conditions of wine. The same goes for most other spirits such as whiskey, rum or vodka.
It is important to understand that the taste, aroma and color of tequila are determined by the aging process in wooden barrels.
However, to maintain the quality of your tequila, Whisk recommends that you meet at least three conditions:
Constant and moderate temperature (from 15 to 18 degrees).
No exposure to direct sunlight.
A well-sealed cork will keep all the characteristics of tequila longer.
In addition, silver tequila is the most persistent, while darker and more complex types are more critical to all the errors above.
It is important to remember that as soon as the bottle is opened, the tequila immediately undergoes oxidation, which will occur even with a tightly closed cap, but to a much lesser extent. Also, if there is more room for air in the bottle, the oxidation process will be faster for the liquid inside the bottle.
Therefore, it is best to consume tequila within one or two years after opening. Much of the change in tequila quality is due to extreme conditions of improper storage, not oxidation.
Relevance: 25.04.2019
Tags: Tequila
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