tequila

TEQUILA

               Tequila is a distilled alcohol from the blue agave plant.  First produced in the 16^th century and usually comes from Mexico.  Jalisco is the primary area where tequila comes from but there are a few other limited areas as well.  A Jimadores is the person responsible for overseeing the planting and harvesting of the agave plants.  The knowledge of this process has been passed down for generations.  They use a special knife called a Coa to trim the leaves in order to get full growth potential. 

               The Pinas are what is actually harvested from the plants.  They are baked in ovens and the mashed in stone wheels called tahonas to extract the agave.  Newer processes involving more up to date technology are being used but for premium tequilas some still use the tahonas pulled by donkeys because they feel it yields the best results.  Once the agave is extracted the fermentation process begins.   Sugar is transformed into alcohol within wooden vats or stainless steel tanks.  Yeast is used in order to accelerate and control the process.  This process can take up to several weeks to complete.   Normally there are at least 2 distillations of tequilas.  The first distillation is known as “smashing”.  The second distillation is known as “rectification” and can take around 4 hours to complete.  This tequila is known as silver or Blanco.  At this point the tequila is either drank or put into barrels for aging depending on what they are producing.

                              Silver-not aged at all or at most 2 months

                              Reposado- Aged 2 months to 1 year

                              Anejo- Aged at least 1 year but no longer then 3 years

                              Mixto- Made with at least 51% agave

-Jose Cuervo                                     -Camarena                                        Clase Azul

-1800                                                  -Sauza                                                Herradura

-Casa Noble                                      -Don Julio

-Patron                                              - Cazadores

-Casamigos                                       -Avion

-Cabo Wabo                                     -Corralejo