Tequila

Tequila (Spanish pronunciation: [teˈkila]) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, 65 kilometres (40 mi) northwest of Guadalajara, and in the highlands (Los Altos) of the western Mexican state of Jalisco.

The red volcanic soil in the surrounding region is particularly well suited to the growing of the blue agave, and more than 300 million of the plants are harvested there each year.^[1] Agave tequila grows differently depending on the region. Blue agaves grown in the highlands region are larger in size and sweeter in aroma and taste. Agaves harvested in the lowlands, on the other hand, have a more herbaceous fragrance and flavor.^[2]

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.^[3] Mexico has claimed the exclusive international right to the word “tequila”, threatening legal actions against manufacturers of distilled blue agave spirits in other countries. The United States officially recognizes that spirits called “tequila” can only be produced in Mexico, although by agreement bulk amounts can be shipped to be bottled in the U.S.^[4]

Tequila is most often made at a 38–40% alcohol content (76–80 proof), but can be produced between 31–55% alcohol content (62–110 proof).

Tequila was first produced in the 16th century near the location of the city of Tequila, which was not officially established until 1656. The Aztecpeople had previously made a fermented beverage from the agave plant, which they called octli – later called pulque – long before the Spanisharrived in 1521. When the Spanish conquistadors ran out of their own brandy, they began to distill agave to produce one of North America‘s first indigenous distilled spirits.^[6]

Some 80 years later, around 1600, Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, the Marquis of Altamira, began mass-producing tequila at the first factory in the territory of modern-day Jalisco. By 1608, the colonial governor of Nueva Galicia had begun to tax his products. Spain’s King Carlos IV granted the Cuervo family the first license to commercially make tequila.

The style of tequila that is popular today was first mass-produced in the early 19th century in Guadalajara, Mexico.^{[citation needed]}

Since the late 1990s, the spirit’s worldwide popularity has led to some important developments:

Although some tequilas have remained as family owned brands, most well-known tequila brands are owned by large multinational corporations. However, there are over 100 distilleries making over nine hundred brands of tequila in Mexico and over 2,000 brand names have been registered (2009 Statistics). Due to this, each bottle of tequila contains a serial number (NOM) depicting in which distillery the tequila was produced. Because there are only so many distilleries, multiple brands of tequila come from the same location.^[9]

The Tequila Regulatory Council of Mexico originally did not permit flavored tequila to carry the tequila name.^[11] In 2004, the Council decided to allow flavored tequila to be called tequila, with the exception of pure agave tequila^{[clarification needed]}, which still could not be flavored.^[11]

A one-liter bottle of limited-edition premium tequila was sold for $225,000 in July 2006 in Tequila, Jalisco, by the company Tequila Ley .925. The bottle which contained the tequila was a two-kilo display of platinum and gold. The manufacturer received a certificate from The Guinness World Records for the most expensive bottle of spirit ever sold.^[12]

In 2009, Mexican scientists discovered a method to produce tiny, nanometric sized synthetic diamonds from 80-proof (40% alcohol) tequila, which has the optimal range of water to ethanol for producing synthetic diamonds. This process involves heating the tequila to over 800 degrees C (1,400 degrees F) to break its molecular structure and be vaporized into gaseous hydrogen, carbon, and various simple molecules. The carbon molecules are then settled upon steel or silicon trays to form a thin and pure uniform layer.^[13] Extremely cheap to produce and far too small for jewels, the results are hoped to have numerous commercial and industrial applications such as in computer chips or cutting instruments.^[14][15]

In 2003, Mexico issued a proposal that would require all Mexican-made tequila be bottled in Mexico before being exported to other countries.^[16]The Mexican government said that bottling tequila in Mexico would guarantee its quality.^[16] Liquor companies in the United States said that Mexico just wanted to create bottling jobs in their own country,^[16] and also claimed this rule would violate international trade agreements and was in discord with usual exporting practices worldwide.^[17] The proposal might have resulted in the loss of jobs at plants in California, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky, because Mexican tequila exported in bulk to the United States is bottled in those plants.^[17] On January 17, 2006, the United States and Mexico signed an agreement allowing the continued bulk import of tequila into the United States.^[17][18][19] The agreement also created a “tequila bottlers registry” to identify approved bottlers of tequila and created an agency to monitor the registry.

The NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana) applies to all processes and activities related to the supply of agave, production, bottling, marketing, information and business practices linked to the distilled alcoholic beverage known as Tequila. Tequila must be produced using Agave of the species Tequilana Weber Blue variety, grown in the federal states and municipalities indicated in the Declaration.

Furthermore, the NOM establishes the technical specifications and legal requirements for the protection of the Appellation of Origin of “Tequila,” in accordance with the current General Declaration of Protection of the Appellation of Origin of “Tequila,” the Law, the Industrial Property Law, the Federal Consumer Protection Law and other related legal provisions.^[5]

All authentic, regulated Tequilas will have a NOM identifier on the bottle. The important laws since 1990 were NOM-006-SCFI-1993 and the later update NOM-006-SCFI-1994 and the most recent revision in late 2005, NOM-006-SCFI-2005.

The number after NOM is the distillery number, assigned by the government. NOM does not indicate the location of the distillery, merely the parent company or—in the case where a company leases space in a plant—the physical plant where the tequila was manufactured.

TMA (“tristeza y muerte de agave“) is a blight that has reduced the production of the agave grown to produce tequila. This has resulted in lower production and higher prices throughout the early 21st century, and due to the long maturation of the plant, will likely continue to affect prices for years to come.^[20]

Planting, tending, and harvesting the agave plant remains a manual effort, largely unchanged by modern farm machinery and relying on centuries-old know-how. The men who harvest it, the jimadores [ximaðo’ɾes], have intimate knowledge of how the plants should be cultivated, passed down from generation to generation.^[21]

By regularly trimming any quiotes [kio’tes] (a several-meter high stalk that grows from the center of the plant), the jimadores prevent the agave from flowering and dying early, allowing it to fully ripen. The jimadores must be able to tell when each plant is ready to be harvested, and using a special knife called a coa (with a circular blade on a long pole), carefully cut away the leaves from the piña (the succulent core of the plant). If harvested too late or too early, the piñas, which can average around 70 kilograms (150 lb) in the lowlands to 110 kilograms (240 lb) in the highlands,^[22] will not have the right amount of carbohydrates for fermentation.^[23]

After harvesting, the piñas [pi’ɲas] are transported to ovens where they are slowly baked in order to break down their complex starchesinto simple sugars. Then the baked piñas are either shredded or mashed under a large stone wheel called a tahona [ta’ona]. The pulp fiber, or bagazo [βa’ɣaso], that is left behind is often reused as compost or animal feed, but can even be burnt as fuel or processed into paper. Some producers like to add a small amount of bagazo back into their fermentation tanks for a stronger agave flavor in the final product.^[24]

The extracted agave juice is then poured into either large wood or stainless steel vats for several days to ferment, resulting in a wort, ormosto [‘mosto], with low alcohol content.^[25] This wort is then distilled once to produce what is called “ordinario,” [oɾðina’ɾio] and then a second time to produce clear “silver tequila.” A few producers distill the product a third time, but several connoisseurs consider this third distillation a mistake because it removes too much flavor from the tequila.^[26] From there the tequila is either bottled as “silver tequila”, or it is pumped into wooden barrels to age, where it develops a mellower flavor and amber color.^[27]

Usually, there are noticeable differences in taste between tequila that is made from lowland and highland agave plants. Plants grown in the highlands often yield sweeter and fruitier-tasting tequila while lowland agaves give the tequila an earthier flavor.

There are two basic categories of tequila: mixtos and 100% agave. Mixtos use no less than 51% agave, with other sugars making up the remainder. Mixtos use both glucose and fructose sugars.

Tequila is usually bottled in one of five categories:^[9]

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).