Origin: Jalisco, Mexico
Ingredients: juice of blue agave (agave tequiliana)
Process: Similar to mezcal but bake piña in steam oven or autoclave (oversized pressure cooker) until all starch is converted to sugar.
* Silver/Blanco: Age 60 days, less, or not at all.
* Gold (usually a mixto): Unaged silver tequila plus caramel for color.
* Reposado: Age in wooden tanks or casks for legal two months (three to nine months for better quality brands). Best-selling tequila in Mexico.
* Añejo: Age in wood at least one year (one and a half to three years for high-quality mixtos, up to four years for high-quality agaves).
By Mexican law all 100% agave or aged Tequila is bottled in Mexico. All 100% agave tequila is labeled as such (otherwise it is a "mixto," made from fermented agave juice and other sugars, usually cane sugar with water). Aging tequila more than four years is controversial; most Tequila producers oppose it to protect the distinctive earthy and vegetal agave flavor.
Ingredients: juice of blue agave (agave tequiliana)
Process: Similar to mezcal but bake piña in steam oven or autoclave (oversized pressure cooker) until all starch is converted to sugar.
* Silver/Blanco: Age 60 days, less, or not at all.
* Gold (usually a mixto): Unaged silver tequila plus caramel for color.
* Reposado: Age in wooden tanks or casks for legal two months (three to nine months for better quality brands). Best-selling tequila in Mexico.
* Añejo: Age in wood at least one year (one and a half to three years for high-quality mixtos, up to four years for high-quality agaves).
By Mexican law all 100% agave or aged Tequila is bottled in Mexico. All 100% agave tequila is labeled as such (otherwise it is a "mixto," made from fermented agave juice and other sugars, usually cane sugar with water). Aging tequila more than four years is controversial; most Tequila producers oppose it to protect the distinctive earthy and vegetal agave flavor.
Origin: Mexico
Ingredients: juice of any species of agave plant (a.k.a. maguey, pronounced muh-GAY)
Process: Cultivate agave 8-10 years, depending on the type, cut off flower stalk when it appears at plant's sexual maturity--growth is redirected into central stalk which swells with sweet, juicy pulp. After swelling, cut plant from roots and remove the long sword-shaped leaves, leaving the piña ("pineapple," so-called because it resembles a giant green and white pineapple) which weighs 25-100 pounds. Quarter piña, bake in underground oven heated with wood charcoal (for mezcal's distinctive smoky taste), and crush and shred to extract the sweet juice aguamiel ("honey water"). Ferment and pot distill agave juice to 55% ABV with water only (high-quality) or add sugar ("mixto"). If needed add natural flavorings and caramel for color.
The famous "worm" found in some bottles ("con gusano") is actually the larva of one of two moths that live on the agave plant. Reason for the worm is obscure, but it does serve as proof of high alcohol content--if worm remains intact, percentage of alcohol in the spirit is high enough to preserve the pickled worm. Top-quality mezcals do not include a worm in the bottle.
Ingredients: juice of any species of agave plant (a.k.a. maguey, pronounced muh-GAY)
Process: Cultivate agave 8-10 years, depending on the type, cut off flower stalk when it appears at plant's sexual maturity--growth is redirected into central stalk which swells with sweet, juicy pulp. After swelling, cut plant from roots and remove the long sword-shaped leaves, leaving the piña ("pineapple," so-called because it resembles a giant green and white pineapple) which weighs 25-100 pounds. Quarter piña, bake in underground oven heated with wood charcoal (for mezcal's distinctive smoky taste), and crush and shred to extract the sweet juice aguamiel ("honey water"). Ferment and pot distill agave juice to 55% ABV with water only (high-quality) or add sugar ("mixto"). If needed add natural flavorings and caramel for color.
The famous "worm" found in some bottles ("con gusano") is actually the larva of one of two moths that live on the agave plant. Reason for the worm is obscure, but it does serve as proof of high alcohol content--if worm remains intact, percentage of alcohol in the spirit is high enough to preserve the pickled worm. Top-quality mezcals do not include a worm in the bottle.
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