TEQUILA

TEQUILA

·       Believed to be the first spirit made in the Americas

·       Jalisco town of tequila

·       National drink of Mexico

·       Legally made in and around the town of Tequila

·       Made from a cactus:  agave tequilana weber / azul

          (also known as the Blue Agave / Century Plant / American Aloe / Mezcal)

HARVESTING

·       Looks like pineapple, locals call pina.

·       Harvested by jimadors.

·       The spiky leaves are removed to get to the heart of the fruit known as pina.

·       It weighs 40-70 pounds.

Composition

·       By law Minimum 51% blue agave

·       TWO TYPES

·       Mixto – It is tequila distilled from wash obtained from a minimum of 51% of agave tequilana sugar and maximum of 49% of other sugar.

·       100% Agave – This tequila has 100% distillate from agave tequila weber.

 CATEGORIES

·       JOVEN ABOGADO – ‘Young and Adulterated’. Not aged, Not from 100% agave. Example of Mixto.

·       BLANCO (Plata/Silver) – Maximum aging 2 months. Generally un-aged.

·       REPOSADO (Rested/Aged) – Rested for a period of two months to one year.

·       ANEJO (Aged) – Aged for minimum of one year but less than three years.

·       EXTRA ANEJO (Extra Aged) – Aged minimum three years in oak casks.

·       ORO (Gold) – It is a blend of plata with reposado. Often caramel is added.

BRAND NAMES

·       JOSE CUERVO

·       SAUZA

·       SAUZA ESPECIAL

·       PEPE LOPEZ

·       ARANDAS

·       1800

·       ESPOLON

·       AZTECA

·       PARTIDA

·       EL TOSORO DON FELIPE

·       MONTEZUMA

·       CAMINO

POPULAR TEQUILA COCKTAILS

·       LONG ISLAND ICE TEA

·       TEQUILA SUNRISE

·       TEQUILA CRUDA