Tequila — Mexican strong alcoholic drink made from fermented blue agave juice (Agáve tequilána, Agave azul). Name «tequila» is a protected geographical name for its place of origin in Mexico.
In Mexico itself, tequila is produced strictly in the territory of 5 states: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas, and in the last four states — only in certain municipalities. Compliance with this rule is regulated by the set of standards of the national tequila market regulator, Mexico Consejo Regulador del Tequila.
The history of tequila begins in 1530, when the captain of a Spanish ship founded the city of Tequila. The conquistadors decided to use the copper still distillation method they knew to increase the strength of the low-alcohol agave fermented drinks that the Indians made. The distillation product of fermented agave juice was called «mezcal», and later — Mezcal Vino de Tequila, in honor of the city. Over time, the first part of the name was omitted and only the laconic tequila remained.
In fact, tequila is mezcal made from 100% juice of only blue agave. Mezcal is also made from agave, but from different types of this plant.
The strength of classic white tequila — 55 degrees. Before it is bottled, tequila is diluted with water to 38 degrees or — when exporting to a number of countries — up to 40 degrees. All tequila is divided into two groups, differing in the percentage of agave juice.
- Tequila 100% agave. This group includes tequila, made exclusively from 100% blue agave juice. It must be bottled only within the region of production. The label of such drinks must indicate: «agave» or «100% puro de agave».
- Mixta (mixed). This includes drinks made with mixed sugars. According to Mexican law, they must contain at least 51% sugars derived from blue agave juice. The remainder comes from other sugar-containing foods, such as cane sugar or corn syrup. It can be added with dyes and flavors. Should only be produced in certain regions of Mexico, but may be bottled in other places, including abroad.
At the beginning of 2021 in Mexico there were 210 manufacturerswho have a license to produce tequila from 100% agave juice, or more 1500 brands and brands of tequila. All of them are presented on this page of our website: MANUFACTURERS tequila in Mexico and their brands
Tequila classification
Tequila classification consists of 5 classes: blanco or plata (white or silver), joven or oro (young or golden), reposado (aged), añejo (old) and extra añejo (very old). There are several more classes that are not recognized by the national regulator of the Mexico tequila market.
Tequila blanco or plata (white or silver tequila). A white, but not necessarily transparent product, no longer containing oily substances, obtained by distilling 100% agave juice and then diluting it with water to the desired strength. Maturation period in oak barrels — less than 2 months. Preserves the original taste of agave distillate. In fact — moonshine, but the favorite drink of ordinary Mexicans.
Tequila joven or oro (young or golden tequila). A product obtained by mixing white tequila with higher grades of aged or old tequila for the purpose of commercialization. Previously, this also included drinks obtained by mixing white tequila with various permitted additives, dyes and flavors, the content of which should not exceed 1%. Now such mixing is prohibited.
Tequila reposado (aged tequila). Product aged in oak barrels from 2 months to a year. This tequila has its own golden color and does not have a strong odor like white tequila. Mixing tequila of this class with higher classes does not make the resulting mixture higher class, but has the right to significantly improve its consumer qualities.
Tequila añejo (old tequila). A product aged in oak barrels with a volume of no more than 600 liters from one to three years. It has a natural amber color, a soft deep taste and a rich aftertaste. It is already considered an elite alcoholic drink.
Tequila extra añejo (very old tequila). Aging period in oak barrels — more than 3 years. The color of the drink changes from amber-gold to reddish. It has an original taste and aroma and a long aftertaste.
The color of tequila, which can reach amber-brown, is not so much the result of the aging of the agave distillate itself, but is transmitted from the wood of the barrel. The same can be said about the aroma. In addition, it may depend on the product that was previously stored in this barrel (cognac, wine, whiskey, etc.). Old used oak barrels are especially valuable in the production of tequila. But time — money. Aging a drink in a barrel for more than a year is not always economically profitable. Consequently, in the production of tequila, it is common to mix different classes of drink to achieve commercially required color and flavor or ripening in simpler containers. To summarize, a higher grade of tequila does not always guarantee higher quality.
Tequila is considered a premium drink. But its retail price does not always directly depend on the aging period. When buying tequila from a popular and famous brand, with a high degree of confidence you are also paying for marketing. The global tequila market is growing rapidly, and demand is also growing, which creates quite high prices for this alcoholic drink both abroad and in Mexico itself.
Also read: Mexican mezcal
How tequila is born
The entire tequila production process involves a large amount of manual labor. Every year, up to 50 million agave plants are planted and harvested in Mexico. Agave must grow to 7-8 years to become suitable for processing into tequila. But industrialization also affected agave production. Recently, high demand for raw materials has forced Himadors — Mexican farmers growing agave — use younger plants, which produce less juice and are also of lower quality. However, this means a lot of labor spent cutting down and planting new plants.
Agave is planted both on the plain and in foothill and mountainous areas. In the foothills, the quality of agave for processing can be higher, however, the process itself is more labor-intensive. For processing, they use the core of the plant, called piña («pineapple», «cone»). In addition, the weight of the core in mountainous areas can be higher (up to 110 kg) than in plains (30-70 kg).
One agave core weighing 45 kg produces an average of 15 liters of tequila.
On the plains of Mexico you can see extensive agave plantations. Not all of it is used to make tequila. Quite often, agave is also processed into fiber. At the beginning of the 20th century, Mexico was the main supplier of hemp and ropes to the world market.
When the agave plant has accumulated the required amount of carbohydrates, it is cut off, the leaves are trimmed, and the resulting piña is sold to processors.
The core is heat treated in ovens to break down the complex carbohydrates into fructose. Then the core is crushed and the juice is separated from the fibers, accompanied by diffusers. To produce tequila mixta, other sugars and syrups can be added to the resulting juice. Agave juice is fermented in special containers for at least 2 days, and to speed up the fermentation process, special strains of yeast are added (previously, fungi from the leaves of the agave itself were added).
The speed of fermentation directly affects the quality of the resulting product. In the classic version, the lower the fermentation rate (up to 12 days), the higher the quality of the future tequila. Modern strains of microorganisms speed up the fermentation process without compromising the taste of tequila, in addition, minimizing the appearance of unwanted microorganisms in the wort.
Sometimes a little agave fiber is added to the juice to enhance the flavor and aroma of the final product.
As a result of fermentation, the alcohol content in the wort reaches 5-9%. The wort is distilled at least 2 times, after which white tequila is obtained. It is already possible:
- bottle and sell;
- mix with other classes of tequila;
- leave to age for a short period in wooden barrels to obtain silver tequila;
- leave to age for a long time to acquire higher classes of tequila.
What to look for when buying tequila
In Mexico chain and specialized stores and supermarkets, you will not buy counterfeits of well-known brands of tequila — the state very strictly monitors the image of the national drink both abroad and within the state.
There are more than 100 certified tequila producers and more than 1,400 brands in Mexico. You will never know which tequila is better until you try it yourself or listen to the opinions of your friends. For this reason, choose a brand you trust and age/grade.
The quality of tequila is regulated by the national standard Mexico NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (see below). This standard also determines what information should be contained on the label of a bottle of tequila.
Inscriptions 100% Blue Agave, 100% De Agave, Tequila 100% puro de agave and similar means that tequila is made from 100% agave juice, without additives. For your information, mix tequilas are also of very strong quality, xfrom, and are not made from 100% agave juice.
Inscription NOM means that the tequila is produced according to the national standard of Mexico, and CRT — which is also under the supervision of the national market regulator (Consejo Regulador del Tequila). Between these inscriptions is the distillery code issued by the Mexican government (see below).
Of course, the label will also contain the name of the manufacturer. It may happen that different manufacturers will have the same distillery code. This means that they all bottled their tequila at the same distillery, no matter what legend of the origin of the drink they voiced. In the same way, one manufacturer and even one brand of tequila may have different distillery codes on different bottles — At that time, tequila was bottled at several distilleries.
Sometimes indicated DOT — Tequila production region code in Mexico, or name of the place of production.
In addition, you should have the inscriptions Made / bottled / distilled in Mexico, Hecho en México and the like.
Contents of alcohol in tequila — 38, 40 vol.% or higher. This information is also present on the tequila label. Undiluted 55% is rare.
And finally, some manufacturers do not indicate the class of tequila (reposado, añejo, etc.) on the label. On bottles going for export, this inscription is often absent. As we said above, a higher class of tequila — is not yet a guarantee of higher consumer quality.
Tequila producers in Mexico
It should be understood that modern tequila production — this is big business. The owners of the largest and oldest Mexican tequila producers have long been international corporations such as Bacardi or Diageo, which completely changed the original production with new modern technologies. For this reason, mottos like «true to tradition» — nothing more than a marketing ploy. Much more important for the tequila market is its strict regulation by the CRT, the non-expansion of production beyond the borders of certain municipalities and the highest competition between producers.
Mexican national standard for tequila
Mexico Standard NOM-006-SCFI-2012
ALCOHOLIC DRINKS — TEQUILA — TECHNICAL Criteria
BEBIDAS ALCOHOLICAS — TEQUILA — ESPECIFICACIONES