🇲🇽 TEQUILA

The official town of Tequila – a 3 hour drive from the Coast – Museum Tasting and how it is produced barrels and Tequila Tastings.

The 34,658 ha site, between the foothills of the Tequila Volcano and the deep valley of the Rio Grande River, is part of an expansive landscape of blue agave, shaped by the culture of the plant used since the 16th century to produce tequila spirit and for at least 2,000 years to make fermented drinks and cloth.

Within the landscape are working distilleries reflecting the growth in the international consumption of tequila in the 19th and 20th centuries. Today, the agave culture is seen as part of national identity. The area encloses a living, working landscape of blue agave fields and the urban settlements of Tequila, Arenal, and Amatitan with large distilleries where the agave ‘pineapple’ is fermented and distilled.


The property is also a testimony to the Teuchitlan cultures which shaped the Tequila area from AD 200-900, notably through the creation of terraces for agriculture, housing, temples, ceremonial mounds and ball courts.

Tequila is produced by removing the heart of the plant in its seventh to fourteenth year
Harvested piñas normally weigh 80–200 pounds   This heart is stripped of its leaves and heated to convert the inulin to sugars.

True tequila is made from blue agave. The production of tequila is divided into seven steps: harvesting, cooking, fermentation, distillation, aging and bottling

 

Best to stay overnight and savor the offerings.

 

 

HOW TO MAKE TEQUILA ?

Making tequila (reposado) from scratch is a complex and labor-intensive process that requires specific ingredients, equipment, and adherence to legal regulations, especially if you want to produce it authentically in accordance with Mexican standards. Below is a simplified overview of the process:

Ingredients:

1. Blue Weber Agave: The primary ingredient.
2. Water: For fermentation.
3. Yeast: For fermentation.

Equipment:

1. Oven or Autoclave: For cooking the agave.
2. Crusher or Mill: To extract the agave juice.
3. Fermentation Tanks: For fermenting the agave juice.
4. Distillation Equipment: For distilling the fermented juice.
5. Oak Barrels: For aging the tequila to make it reposado.

Process:

1. Harvesting:

• Agave Plants: Harvest mature Blue Weber agave plants (usually around 7-10 years old). The heart of the agave, known as the piña, is used.

2. Cooking:

• Cook the Piñas: Cook the agave piñas in an oven or autoclave to convert the complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars. This usually takes about 24-36 hours in a traditional brick oven or around 6 hours in an autoclave.

3. Extraction:

• Extract the Juice: Crush the cooked agave piñas to extract the sugary juice, called aguamiel.

4. Fermentation:

• Ferment the Juice: Transfer the agave juice to fermentation tanks. Add water and yeast to initiate fermentation. This process can take several days, during which the sugars are converted into alcohol.

5. Distillation:

• Distill the Fermented Juice: Distill the fermented juice twice. The first distillation, called “destrozamiento,” separates the alcohol from the solids. The second distillation, called “rectification,” refines the alcohol further.

6. Aging:

• Age the Tequila: Transfer the distilled tequila to oak barrels for aging. To be classified as reposado, the tequila must be aged for a minimum of two months but less than one year.

7. Bottling:

• Bottle the Tequila: Once the aging process is complete, the tequila is filtered, if necessary, and then bottled.

Legal Considerations:

• Regulations: If you want to label your product as tequila, you must comply with the regulations set by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT) in Mexico. This includes producing the tequila within designated regions of Mexico and adhering to specific production standards.

Notes:

• The quality of the final product depends significantly on the quality of the agave, the fermentation process, the distillation techniques, and the aging process.
• Making tequila at home for personal consumption is legal in some places, but commercial production requires appropriate licenses and adherence to local laws and regulations.

Additional Tips:

• Experimenting with different types of oak barrels can influence the flavor profile of your tequila reposado.
• Pay attention to the fermentation temperature, as it can affect the flavor and quality of the tequila.

This is a basic overview of making tequila reposado. For a more detailed and precise process, especially if you plan to produce commercially, consider consulting with experts and referring to official guidelines.