Margaritas account for 70% of all tequila sold. So naturally, we like to know what we're pouring in our margaritas. Let's talk tequila!
Tequila is an agave-based spirit made primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands (Los Altos) of the western Mexican state of Jalisco. The red volcanic soil in the region surrounding Tequila is well suited to the growing of the blue agave, and more than 300 million of the plants are harvested there each year. Mexican laws state that tequila can be produced only in the state of Jalisco and limited regions in the states of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas.
Once a drink only for bandidos, today, tequila is found in some of the world's most exclusive bars and restaurants. As North America’s first distilled drink, and its first commercially produced alcohol, the history of tequila is long and rich. Its roots reach back into pre-Hispanic times when the natives fermented sap from the local maguey (agave) plants into a drink called pulque.
The word tequila itself is a mystery. It is said to be an ancient Nahuatl term. The Nahuatl were the original people who lived in the area. The word means “the place of harvesting plants.”
Distillation of pulque, tequila’s distant ancestor, into something stronger may have originated by the Conquistadors as early as the 1520s. After the Conquest, the area around today’s Jalisco state was originally called New Galicia by the Spanish conquerors. The community we now know as Tequila officially became a village in 1656. In the 1700s, mezcal wines became an important product for export because the town of Tequila lay on the route to the newly opened Pacific port of San Blas.
The first licensed manufacturer was José Antonio Cuervo who received the rights to cultivate a parcel of land from the King of Spain in 1758. However, tequila did not achieve its prominence until after 1821 when México attained independence, and Spanish products were more difficult to obtain.
Tequila gained national importance during the Revolution in the early part of this century, when it became a symbol of national pride. The passion for French products was replaced by patriotic fervor for Mexican goods. Prohibition in the USA further boosted tequila’s popularity when it was smuggled across the border. Then during World War II, the demand for the Mexican sprit rose again in the USA after spirits from Europe became hard to obtain.
In 1944, the Mexican government decided that any product called "tequila" had to be made by distilling agave in the state of Jalisco. The first standards for tequila were documented in 1947 and have been upgraded and revised since.
Tequila Today
Like single-malt scotches, or small-brewery sakes, tequilas vary according to the company making them, the process, and the growing environment. The temperature, soil, types of equipment, age of the plants and the means by which the plants are baked and aged all affect the flavor and body.
There are two basic categories of tequila: mixtos and 100% agave. Mixtos use up to 49% of other sugars in the fermentation process, with agave taking up the remainder. Mixtos use both glucose andfructose sugars.
With 100% agave tequila, blanco or plata is harsher with the bold flavors of the distilled agave up front, while reposado and añejo are smoother, subtler, and more complex. As with other spirits that are aged in casks, tequila takes on the flavors of the wood, while the harshness of the alcohol mellows. The major flavor distinction with 100% agave tequila is the base ingredient, which is more vegetal than grain spirits (and often more complex).
Tequila is usually bottled in one of five categories:
- Blanco ("white") or plata ("silver") – white spirit, un-aged and bottled or stored immediately after distillation, or aged less than two months in stainless steel or neutral oak barrels;
- Joven ("young") or oro ("gold") – is the result of blending Silver Tequila with Reposado and/or Añejo and/or extra Añejo Tequila;
- Reposado ("rested") – aged a minimum of two months, but less than a year in oak barrels;
- Añejo ("aged" or "vintage") – aged a minimum of one year, but less than 3 years in oak barrels;
- Extra Añejo ("extra aged" or "ultra aged") – aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels. This category was established in March 2006.
Reposado may be rested in barrels or casks as large as 20,000 litres, allowing for richer and more complex flavors. The preferred oak comes from US, France or Canada, and while they are usually white oak, some companies choose to char the wood for a smokey flavor, or use barrels that were previously used to hold a different kind of alcohol (e.g. whiskey, scotch, or wine). Some reposados can also be aged in new wood barrels to achieve the same wood flavor and smoothness, but in less time.
Añejos are often rested in barrels that have been previously used to rest reposados. The barrels cannot be more than 600 liters, although most are stored in barrels of about 200 liters. Many of the barrels used are from whiskey or bourbon distilleries in America, France, or Canada (the most popular being Jack Daniels), resulting in the dark color and more complex flavors of the añejo tequila. Since most people agree that after 4 years of aging the tequila is at its best, the añejo can be removed from the wood barrels and placed in stainless steel tanks to reduce the amount of evaporation that can occur in the barrels.
The Worm
It is a common misconception that some tequilas contain a 'worm' in the bottle. Only certain mezcals, usually from the state of Oaxaca, are ever sold con gusano,and that only began as a marketing gimmick in the 1940s. The worm is actually the larval form of the moth Hypopta agavis that lives on the agave plant. So if you're drinking the worm, you're drinking mezcal!