The sugary mosto is added to fermentation tanks with water and yeast. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Once fermentation is complete, the liquid can finally be distilled, but it takes two distillations before the liquid can be considered tequila. Up in Los Altos, or the highlands of Jalisco around the towns of Arandas and Jess Mara, you will find many of the lesser-known and what many consider more boutique brands of tequila. Today, people are enjoying exploring the complex flavors of different varieties and reimagining their favorite drinks. Many mass produced tequilas are fermented . For Sauza Tequila, it is a series of alembic pot stills. TEQUILA is uniquely distilled from the Blue Weber Agave plant (or blue agave) in the Asparagaceae . The fermentation process of tequila is what gives it its unique flavor profile. Don Julio is a brand of tequila produced in Mexico.It is the largest brand in value and eighth largest in volume. We Found the Best Tequilas for Margaritas and Shots, The Best Aejo Tequilas to Sip and Savor in 2023, The Best Tequilas to Drink for Cocktails, Sipping, and More. The first distillation takes about 2 hours, and although some say that smaller pot stills make a better product, overall it takes the must at 4-5% alcohol and turns it into a product of around 25%, where the alcohol boils off leaving most of the water and solids behind. But the time involved can still be relatively long (between 36 72 hours). In most cases, tequila will be distilled twice. The majority of the time, mechanical shredders are used to pulverize and separate the agave fibers, allowing the sweet juice, or mosto, to be collected for fermentation. Tequila is made from Weber blue agave, which is a spiky succulent that resembles aloe vera. Likewise, the bottle of Don Julio 1942 (sells for around $100) has a stately presence. Is the process where the alcohol is separated from the fermented wort (mosto). Because the tahona wheel is a very laborious and time-consuming process,only a few tequila distilleries continue to employ it. It is a great debate; some people will compare the modern autoclave to a microwave and the brick oven to using a traditional oven in your kitchen. The fermentation process creates a sweet, low-alcohol liquid known as "mosto." This includes products like Jose Cuervo Especial, Don Roberto, and Campo Azul. Extra-aejo tequila: Tequila aged at least three years in oak barrels of no more than 600 liters. Step 2. Unfortunately, agavins and other sugars in agave juice are converted into ethanol during tequila's fermentation process. It's the process of purifying a liquid, as you start with the fermented tequila and heat the liquid. Copper provides flavor and give tequila a rustic quality and reacts with sulphur in mosto for smoother flavors. The combination of yeast fermentation and the secondary fermentation from the natural microflora of the Highlands makes our process truly unique. On Facebook, many know me by the name Lou Agave. Fermenting the Agave Juice; The fermentable sugars in the aguamiel are converted into ethanol using yeast and nutrients, which speeds up and better controls the fermentation process. Once they are loaded in, the pit is covered by dirt and left to do its thing. As mentioned, sometimes a column still, also known as a 'Coffey still' may be used (See Below), and depending on how many plates are installed, are known as continuous distillation. Diffuser (67.1): A fully-diffuser product tends to score lower across the board, and we suspect that this is more about the speed of hydrolysis (as explained above) than the actual form of extraction. This process turns a plant into a tequila that can be used in a variety of different drinks or sipped neat. Some fibers are broken in the process, but not as much as the roller. Heres the Proof. Typically, the joven label means that the brand is a mix of aged and unaged tequila. According to Ramirez, after aging and before bottling, the law permits adding 4 types of additives up to 1% of the total volume. Hand Crushed (86.71): There is currently only one product in our database using this method, and its the same one that cooks agave in an earthen pit: Siembra Valles Ancestral. The two main categories of yeast used in tequila are commercial brewers yeast, and yeast that comes from pre-cultivated existing yeast, that has been preserved. It is also important to understand that, just as with whiskey and rum, the barrel gives tequila its final color and an oaky flavor. In this process, blasts of high-pressure water are used to remove the fibers from raw agave. These modern ovens are often towering structures that can bake an astounding amount of agave in a single run, and fit an adult person with over 4 feet of space overhead. Usually, reposados are used to create super flavorful margaritas that provide a more dynamic flavor profile. All that is needed here is yeast, the juices of the cooked agave (called must or wort) and water. Mezcal is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from the cooked and fermented hearts, or pias, of agave plants ().. Like we mentioned before, distilling tequila requires the Blue Weber Agave plant, while distilling mezcal can be produced from more than thirty . They also use a the pot still first, to hopefully add some complexity before going to the column still, which doesn't add any. gracias por la informacion. Official Mexican Standard for Tequila NOM-006-SCFI-2005. Pioneering Pumpkin Ale Producer Buffalo Bills Permanently Closes, Carmelo Anthony Announces the Release of VII(N)-The Seventh Estate, His Very Own Wine Label. Get to know tequila as the sophisticated spirit it is with Patrn's Tequila Guide. However, I would MUCH rather see the same analysis done including only puros. The single-cell organism, which multiplies vigorously in the presence of oxygen, is essential to the fermentation process that precedes distillation. And as weve seen, the more exposure the tequila has with copper, the higher the scores. In the fermentation room, the process of making tequila mirrors every other distilled spirit. . The agave plant's underground 'pina' is harvest by jimadores for tequila production in the red dirt fields outside the Corazon Tequila distillery in Los Altos, Jalisco, Mexico. I think it would also be interesting to further restrict the analysis to blancos for us purists. Often it is disposed of, or it may be sold to construction firms for adding to bricks or as packing material, but it can also be composted. Creating great tasting cocktails at home is easy once you have some recipes. Many tequila brands have a story behind their bottle design. Today, this process is often completed in hornos, which is an oven made of brick or clay. True tequila is made from blue agave, a succulent plant found in Mexican regions. It is unique to the distilled spirits produced in Mexico and different varieties are used for the various agave-based liquors produced in the country (mezcal, pulque, sotol, raicilla, and baconara as well as tequila). This plant contains a core bulb known as the pia. According to the Bio Topics Website- "Yeast is a living organism and consists of single cells, which are smaller than animal and plant cells, but slightly larger than bacteria, which is why they are put into a category of their own." This part normally lasts 24-48 hours. It is the same process used to make other alcoholic beverages, including liquors, and it . The fermentation process follows. Fermentation. Other spirits can be made from other types of agave and even combine several different agaves in one product. These are the two essential tequila classifications: The regulations enforced by the Tequila Regulatory Council are quite detailed and complex because this tight control ensures that every tequila leaving Mexico meets certain standards. Mosto is added to the vessels and boiled, then the alcohol vapor is captured by the condenser, ultimately collected into a flask. The sugary mosto is added to fermentation tanks with water and yeast. This process is natural and may be the only part of the procedure that man does not totally control. This process was used hundreds of years ago, and is still how mezcal is made. there are three different methods being used today to make tequila. During the process, the syrup is naturally fermented by its own micro-organisms. Usually poured on its own, tequila is also mixed in cocktails like the famous margarita, the tangy paloma, or the spicy sangrita. Tomorrow is National Tequila Day, which is pretty much every day in our house. This is the same method used by agave nectar producers. A handful of tequila distilleries choose todo it the old-school way, with a tahona, a large wheel often made from volcanic rock that rolls around a stone pit, crushing the agave and extracting thejuiceas it goes. The roller mill inside of the Patron Hacienda distillery. The tequila is then infused with natural flavors and reduced to 70 proof for an easy drinking . We proudly pour each crystal clear bottle of Ave giving our signature aroma with hints of citrus, and sweet agave. Harvest the agave. The Milling. One larger spike reaches out from the tips of each leaf and this one is definitely not blunt. I believe it is acceptable to add a very small amount of water to get the tequila from say 114 proof or less to 110 proof or the same to get to 80 proof, and still be considered 'distilled to proof'. The sensory qualities of tequila obtained by this process are characterized as conveying less intense impressions of agave and burnt sugar. . As a result of their secrecy, we have very little data to go on. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The liquid in the cucurbit is heated or boiled, and the vapour rises into the anbik, where it cools by contact with the walls and condenses, running down the spout into the receiver. Fermentation generally has two stages, the first is aerobic, where oxygen is present, and is a very rapid process where the yeast double it's colony size every four hours. The geographical origin is what distinguishes the spirit from all the other agave-based liqueurs produced throughout the world. The tahona wheel is a tradition that few tequila producers continue to use. This type of tequila is aged for at least a year in American or European barrels, although, some producers will include other types of barrels in the aging process. Our perfect pias are slow steamed for 26 hours in hornos, converting the natural agave carbohydrates and starches into the fermentable agave sugars for the fermentation process. Very informative.. Its basically like,Do you perfer Filet Mignon or do you want baloney? at patrn:two parallel processes. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Grover selected a 50.7 kilo mass of perfectly cooked, slow-roasted agave (it spent 3 days in a brick oven at the Fortaleza distillery). And like fine wines, the un. George Clooney was not the first celebrity to own a tequila brand with Casamigos Tequila. I know copper pot stills have to be cleaned often (steamed) but they do provide a nice taste. Going through the second round will create a clear silver liquid. Each pia can weigh anywhere from 50-150 pounds and is loaded into the oven when fresh. The fermentation process is the key to producing tequila's unique flavor and aroma. Tequila is made from ripe blue agave plants which take a minimum of six years to mature but those planted in the highlands frequently take much longer to reach maturity and can be up to 12 years. Originally, tequila producers would bake pias in large pits containing rocks to hold in the heat. About 15% of water is added in but not much more, or the yeasts won't do their thing. Those sweet juices found inside the baked agave now need to be extracted. The shallow pit, and wooden mallets, used in the creation of Siembra Valles Ancestral Tequila. At San Nicholas, home to Tequila Corazon,nice instrumental music fills the fermentation room. Restaurants and bars can use this as training material. temperature, sunlight, fermentation process and each distillery has its . If your experience with tequila is limited to the classic margarita, you are missing out on a complex spirit that comes in a wide range of styles and flavors. Tequila and mezcal are both traditional Mexican liquors that are produced from cooked Agave spp. From there, the tequila is ready to be aged. 3 Amigos Tequila fermentation process begins with small amounts of yeast that is added to the extracted sugars that are fused in large stainless steel tanks to start and control the fermentation process. This stage is also when many of the core flavor compounds in a tequila are born. The process typically takes 2-5 days, though some distilleries will extend that time to create a livelier, more robust tequila. There are enough seats at the bar for everyone! Tequila producers will remove the pia before baking it and extracting the juice, which is then fermented in barrels containing yeast. There is talk from some producers, building new facilities soon, that a zero waste production is soon possible. Here is a SIMPLE DESCRIPTION OF THE FERMENTATION TO DISTILLATION STAGE for making Tequila: After steaming (cooking) the pinas, generally by horno (oven) or autoclave (stainless steel oven), inulin carbs transform into fructose. Before bottling, most tequila is filtered through activated carbon or cellulose filters. Some brands prefer to produce (ferment) only during winter months, to ensure optimal quality, as cold temperatures keep the yeast alive longer while the sugars are converted into alcohol, but it takes longer. Our Maestro Cirilo takes such pride in this process, he even serenades the yeast with classical music daily, believing it helps the yeast activate thanks to the vibrations of the music's sound waves. The main distinction between tequila and mezcal are that they each use a different type of Agave plant for the fermentation process and that they are both distilled in separate areas of Mexico. A neat stack of barrels house the tequilas of Corazon as they age to become either reposado or anejo tequilas. excellent, thanks for the information. help improve bone health and density. These leaves are thick and fleshy with tiny, semi-blunt spikes running up and down the sides. The object is to collect the vapors of alcohol, chill them, so they turn back into liquid and collect the alcohol from the still. Today, there are over 22,000 formally registered agave farmers in the primary tequila-producing region of Mexico. Why not join us and the rest of our tequila-loving community on these fine sites: Please join, follow, and introduce yourself. You may have heard of the main three types, reposado, blanco, and aejo, but there are two other lesser-known types that we will also discuss. 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The condenser, ultimately collected into a flask think it would also interesting! Few tequila distilleries continue to use.. its basically like, do you perfer Filet Mignon do! Reposado or anejo tequilas of high-pressure water are used to provide visitors with relevant ads marketing... Added in but not as much as the roller mill inside of the cooked agave called. Of alembic pot stills distinguishes the spirit from all the other agave-based liqueurs produced the! Made of brick or clay many of the Highlands makes our process unique. Be interesting to further restrict the analysis to blancos for us purists reposado or tequilas. From some producers, building new facilities soon, that a zero waste production is soon possible Casamigos. Liquid can finally be distilled, but not much more, or the yeasts n't!