Tequila Trivia
According to an old tale, during Mexico's pre-Hispanic times, tequila was discovered when a bolt of lightning struck an agave field. The bolt tore into the heart of one of the plants and the heat of the lghtning was so intense that it burned the heart for several seconds, causing the plant to not only become cooked, but also naturally feremented. The shocked natives noticed an aromatic nectar coming out of the plant. They drank the nectar which they deemed to be a miraculous gift from their gods. The mysterious drink was named vino mezcal, the mezcal wine.
Over five hundred million kilos of agave are harvested each year for use in tequila production.
It takes an agave plant approximately 8 years to reach a muturity level that makes it suitable for harvesting and using in tequila production.
Mature harvested agave plants can weight between 80-175 pounds
Tequila Types
BLANCO TEQUILA - Also known as Silver or Plata (the terminology is interchangeable. Blanco tequila is in it's purest form. It is the product of the fermentation and distillation process without the effects of barrel aging. Legally, Blanco tequila must have been aged for less than 60 days. Most producers will store Blanco tequila in stainless stell tanks to avoid the flavor transfer of the wooden barrels. Blancos can be either 100% agave tequila or mixed tequilas.
REPOSADO TEQUILA - Reposado literally translated means "rested". By law reposado tequilas must be aged for at least sixty days. They are almost always aged for less than one year. While sixty days is the legally required minimum aging time, the aging period of the typical reposado ranges anywhere from two months to nine months.
ANEJO TEQUILA - Anejo literally translated means "aged". According to Mexican law, an Anejo tequila must be aged for a minimum of one year and it must be aged in government sealed barrels that are no larger than 600 liters. While one year is the legally required minimum aging time, Anejo tequilas are typically aged from one to three years (usually in old whiskey barrels from Kentucky)
JOVEN ABOCADO (GOLD) TEQUILA - These are almost always mixed tequilas. Gold or joven (young) tequila is an unaged tequila blended with colors and flavors after the distillation process to give the appearance of an aged tequila.