• Tequila is of course produced from the Agave plant.   You may have heard or assumed that Agave are in the cactus family.  In fact they are in the monocots family.  
• Agave take anywhere from 5-12 years and sometimes even longer to mature. The average for the Blue Weber agave used to make Tequila is approximately 7 years from planting to harvest.  The Agave are harvested by farmers called Jimadors who take great pride in their work.

 

• There are 2 Categories and 5 Classes of Tequila. 
  • The 2 categories are:  “Tequila” and “100% Agave Tequila”.
    • The first category “Tequila” (NOT 100% AgaveTequila) is what I always used to refer to as “Mixto”.  Apparently the term Mixto is not used anymore. Whatever you call it, this is generally accepted to be the lower quality product of the two.  The reason the term Mixto is not used anymore is exactly what gave me the mistaken impression that it was mixed with a neutral grain spirit after distillation. This is not the case.  The category “Tequila” is allowed to be enriched with sugars other than agave up to 49% before distillation.  This is all then distilled together. 
  • Obviously the category “100% Agave Tequila” is produced from 100% Agave, with no other sugars allowed. This is really the better quality product. It must be stated on the label somewhere - if it does not say 100% somewhere on the label it definitely is not. And it’s not just any agave. The species Blue Weber Agave is the only one allowed in the production of Tequila.  (Weber happens to be my last name, but as far as I know I am not related to the botanist Albert Weber for whom it was named!)
  • The production of “Tequila 100% de Agave” is rising rapidly, and in fact now outnumbers production of the non 100%.  Interestingly more than half of the Tequila (both categories that is) is exported out of Mexico with about 83% of those exports going to the US. 
• As I mentioned there are 5 classes within the two different categories. All categories and classes except for blanco allow the addition of a “mellowing agent”. 1% by weight of any, or a combination of the following  4 ingredients may be added:
  • Carmel color
  • Oak extract
  • Simple sugar (but NOT sugar derived from any species of agave)
  • Glycerin 

Quality brands such as Fortaleza, do not use any additives and in fact there are only 3 ingredients:  agave, yeast and water. I also visited 2 other distilleries on this trip - Don Fulano and Arette. These are also great brands and also do not not use any additives. Also Hiatus which I mentioned earlier does not use additives. 

• So what are the 5 classes?
  • Blanco or Silver which of course is a clear liquid.  This is allowed to be aged for up to 2 months, although it is most often not aged at all.  
  • The second class is Young or Gold, (or Joven in Spanish). This begins as a blanco and is colored and flavored with the mellowing agents..Alternatively a small amount of Reposado or Añejo may be added. If you see a bottle that is gold in color but does not say reposado or Añejo, this would be a gold.
  • The next class is Reposado.  Reposado is aged in barrels for between 2-12 months. The barrels must be made of oak, but unlike bourbon, they do not have to be brand new barrels that have never been used before. 
    • A 100% agave Reposado tends to be my favorite when it comes to sipping tequila neat or on the rocks. The four brands I mentioned make outstanding 100% de agave Reposado, double distilled in pot stills.  I would happily drink these anytime and proudly serve it to anyone. 
  • The next class is Añejo. This must be aged at least one year in oak and unlike Reposado which has no limit on the size of the barrel an Añejo must be aged in a barrel no larger than 600 liters. In fact, very often ex-bourbon barrels are very often used. 
  • The last of the 5 classes is Extra Añejo which is aged a minimum of 3 years again in an oak barrel no larger that 600 liters. 

The only specification on the barrels is that it must be made of oak. 

• The next thing to be aware of is that Tequila is recognized as an Appellation of Origin. What does this mean? It is a product from a specific region, made in with an agreed upon set of standards that is regulated by some sort of governing body or organization. In the case of Tequila that organization is the Tequila Regulatory Council or CRT.
  • Just one other example of a product with an Appellation of Origin is champagne, which is sparkling wine made in the Champagne region of France produced with specific types of grapes and using a specific methodology.  But Appellation of Origin products do not have to necessarily have to be alcoholic beverages. Certain coffees, cheeses, hams and more have Appellation of Origins. 
  • Tequila is actually a town in the Mexican state of Jalisco where the tradition of making this product began.  Fortaleza, Don Fulano and Arette which I visited are produced in Tequila town among others including some of the larger brands.. Tequila however  is permitted to be produced in 181 municipalities in 5 states. Jalisco is the only entire state included, but there are some municipalities in 4 other states where it is allowed.  Interestingly these municipalities do not all necessarily border each other. The regions where tequila is permitted to be produced comprise of only approximately 5% of the county of Mexico. 
• Let’s do a quick overview of the traditional way tequila is made. 
  • The agave are harvested after approximately 7 years growing in the ground. 
  • The jemadors remove the outer layer of skin in the field, revealing what’s called the Pina which does look like a giant pineapple, but is not.  They are around 100 pounds each when harvested. 
  • The pinas are trucked to the distillery and chopped by hand with an ax into two halves or some larger ones may be cut into quarters. 
  • The pinas are cooked with steam, traditionally in a brick oven, but there are a couple other options available now.  In a brick oven they will cook for approximately two days. 
  • The cooked agave are allowed to cool and then they are shredded, traditionally in a tahona, which is a pit made out of volcanic rock.  A huge volcanic wheel goes around and around in a circle in the tohona to shred the cooked agave. Years ago it was pulled around by a horse on donkey walking around in a circle all day long. That is not allowed anymore, so the producers such as Forelaza who choose to use the tohona have motors instead of donkeys!  While the tohona method is traditional, it is very labor intensive. Fortelaza still uses it, but many others use modern machinery to shred the cooked agave. 
  • The now cooked and shredded agave is washed with water to release the sugars. 
  • Most producers will then separate the fibrous material from the liquid, although a few will go to the next stage, fermentation, including the fibers. 
  • This is moved to fermentation tanks and yeast is added.  All of the producers I mentioned and visited us an open air fermentation, meaning the fermentation tanks are not covered. This allows naturally occurring wild yeast to mix in.
  • After the yeast has eaten all the sugar, it will be about 5% alcohol-like a beer.  
  • Next it is distilled.  Fortelaza and the others I visited distill in copper pot stills. They distill twice.  It is allowed to distill more than twice, but the essence of the original material, (in the case of Tequila the Agave), diminishes with each further distillation.  After the first distillation it is around 20% Alcohol By Volume (ABV) and is called “ordinareo”. This is now distilled a second time and will come off the sitll at about 45% alcohol. This is now a blanco tequila. It’s a fairly high ABV tequila, so in most cases some water will be added to bring it down to around 40% ABV or 80 proof. 
• There is one more, well a lot more things to talk about, but one that really has a huge effect on the quality and integrity of the tequila. I mentioned earlier that Fortelaza and other traditionally made Tequilas shred the cooked agave prior to fermentation. However, there are some massed produced brands that use a machine called a rectifier to shred the agave without cooking it.  There is no restriction on using a rectifier and it does not have to be stated anywhere on the label. Directly next door to one of the quality, small batch disteries we visited was one of the giant tequila brand names that you would know. I witnessed with my own eyes lots of dump trucks coming out of that facility with giant loads of the dried up remnants of these rectified, sad agave that every drop of liquid had been squeezed out. Is this method efficient … very!  But think about why one product is so much more expensive to produce than another. Do you want a massed produced spirit, or one made with love by a family owned company that has been passed down through generations making a product without cutting corners and maximizing yield at the expense of flavor?

 

• If you’d like to continue learning about Tequila, you can listen to this information in podcast form on the Bartender Journey Podcast number 291.  Also, listen to episode 202 of Bartender Journey and hear the podcast I recorded while visiting the Patron Hasienda in Mexico in 2017. 

Salute!

Method:
Put RumChata, Brandy and Bitters in a blender with ice.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into glass and dust with Old Bay Spice.

This is a great drink for spring.  The salty & spicy flavors of the Old Bay Spice are wonderful on tongue along with the frozen icy mixture.  The Brandy adds a lovely complexity to the delicious RumChata and the Chocolate Bitters, along with the Brandy are a tip of the hat to the classic Brandy Alexander Cocktail.   

Maybe you could whip one up for your Mom on Mother’s Day!

I encourage you to experiment with salty, spicy and savory flavors when creating cocktails.  Old Bay on seafood is a favorite of mine and when I noticed it there in the kitchen, I thought to myself “how can I use this in a cocktail?”  I think it works wonderfully with this creamy and icy drink.  

Blending cocktails in a home blender can be challenging.  If the ice machine in your refrigerator can create crushed ice, you may have better luck with that.  There are drink machines created especially for making frozen drinks.  I was given the Bahamas Frozen Concoction Maker a few years back, and its awesome!  It crushes the ice first, then runs the blender for a perfect frozen drink every time.  Very impressive at a summer party!

Post sponsored by RumChata.

MoonChata

• 2 oz RumChata
• 2 oz Aged Puerto Rican Rum (I used Havana Club Añejo Clásico)
• ¼ oz Grand Marnier
• ¾ oz Banana Syrup *
• 1 dash Aromatic Bitters**
• 1 dash Orange Bitters**
• Lime twist as garnish

Method:
Shake all ingredients with ice.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lime twist.
 
 *Banana Syrup

• 1 cup Water
  
• 1 cup Sugar (I used Pure Cane Sugar granules)
  
• ½ tsp Sea Salt
  
• ½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 Banana, Sliced

Bring all ingredients except Banana to a simmer.  Add Banana and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.  Use a fine strainer to remove solids.

**Bitters
I used Bitter Truth brand bitters, which worked very well in this drink, but the very widely available Angostura brand would be fine as well.

RumChata makes for a delicious pairing with coffee.  Another great companion for coffee is Drambuie.  This inspired me to come up with a cocktail that is perfect for after dinner.  Serving it in a coupe glass without ice makes me think of a tasty ice cream sundae.

Shake the drink vigorously with ice for a nice foamy head.

The garnish is simply three drops of chocolate bitters.  Don't try to do this with a the built in shaker top in the bitters bottle.  You must use an eye dropper to achieve this effect.  Enjoy!

Ramos Chata Fizz  (makes 2 cocktails)

• 5 oz Rum Chata
• 3 oz London Dry Gin
• 1 oz Freshly Squeezed Grapefruit Juice
• 1 oz Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice
• .25 oz Simple Syrup (1:1)
• 2 egg whites
• Dash of Orange Blossom Water, (order on Amazon, or substitute Orange Bitters)
• 3 oz Seltzer

Method:
Place a small (8 oz) highball glasses in the freezer to chill.
Place all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake for at least one minute…two if you can stand it!
Strain into prepared glass, (without ice).
Pour Seltzer down inside  edge of glass, (the goal is to push the foam up the glass with the soda).

This wonderful cigar is my favorite type – medium to full bodied, soft in texture and burns cleanly and evenly with a soft and even draw.

Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 Solera Rum is a beautiful spirit that pairs perfectly with this cigar.  Lorena Vásquez is the Zacapa Rum master blender.  The Zacapa facility is 7500 feet above sea level in Guatemala, where Ms. Vásquez combines aromas and flavors of slowly aged rums to create this beautiful spirit.

I drink this rum with one large ice cube, so that the dilution is slow and deliberate.  The idea of a “sipping rum” is not in everyone’s lexicon, but fine rum is delicious on it’s own…almost like an Old Fashioned cocktail in a bottle.

Try this pairing!  You will not be disappointed!

As I said, Auntie Meg loved to put a little “something” in her coffee, which inspired me to create this delicious cocktail featuring RumChata and Cold Brew Coffee.  It has a little Tequila, in tribute to Auntie Meg’s travels in Mexico.  The Nutmeg is fragrant and vibrant.  The coffee beans on top also add to the overall experience by adding a strong coffee aroma.

We all had families and mortgages and grown-up-jobs when she finally passed away at 99. All our friends that used hang around at Auntie Meg’s house came for the funeral.  Some flew from far away to be there. The whole town attended.  The church was standing room only.
 
We hung around after...drinking coffee with a little something in it, toasting to Auntie Meg’s adventurous life.

*  The Sea Salt must have a fine texture to be incorporated into the drink.  If your salt is too coarse, you can dissolve it in a little hot water to create a saline solution.

**  I created my own Vanilla Extract by soaking vanilla beans in vodka for a week.  Please do not use Imitation Vanilla Extract!