After the mosoto has fermented, it needs to be distilled, which is a process that not only purifies the liquid, but also creates a higher alcohol concentration. Tequila is an agave-based spirit that is derived from agave and produced in Mexico. aid with weight loss. During the tequila production process for blanco tequila, it is distilled from blue Weber agave grown in Jalisco, one of five different western states in Mexico. 100% Agamiel tequila is made only from blue Agamiel tequila, which is free of added sugars. The best tequila starts with the best agave. Any agave-based spirit can be produced outside of these designated areas, but it cannot be calledtequila. I'm a Tequila/Agave Connoisseur, Taster & Reviewer. Do tequilas from an autoclave have a diminished flavor. Excellent article Grover, I am passing this to my employees, thank you. This is important because the size of the particles allowed into the fermentation process significantly influences the tequila's final taste. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. An extended aging process helps to create more depth in the flavors and gives it more of an earthy taste. Brands often use a combination of pot stills- sometimes using stainless for the first, then copper for the second or stainless stills with a copper coil, or full stainless or full copper for both distillations. 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. Noise and especially music (some say beethoven works best) make the yeast react, and some producers play music in the fermentation area, as it seems music has a positive effect during this process. Here's what Tequila drinkers should know about the difference between the Highlands and Lowlands of Jalisco, Mexico. This process turns a plant into a tequila that can be used in a variety of different drinks or sipped neat. Traditionally, the hearts were baked in rock-lined pits, and this can still be witnessed in mezcal production, but today's tequila producers have moved above ground and use one of two styles of ovens: clay/brick or stainless steel. Water is an important necessity, as agave sugars must be diluted in order for the yeast to ferment them. By law, tequila must have two distillations. Agave maintains a high production level of fructose and sugars called agavins, which spur on the fermentation process of making tequila. Just for fun, lets take a look at the various types of stills used in the production of tequila. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. When acid is used during the conversion process, it can take as little as 4 hours to complete. Agave thrives in Mexico because it needs rich, sandy soil filled with nutrients. 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. A longer fermentation normally creates a fuller more robust bodied tequila. Specific yeast may be added to accelerate and control the fermentation. It does not store any personal data. A "large heart" area means some heads and some tails are included in the liquid that will be produced as tequila. They are mature at 7 to 10 years of age. 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. Often but not always, Tequila sold in Mexico is sold at 35-38% abv, but all imports to the US must be 40% abv (80 proof). Stay away from Diffuser made Tequila. For instance, the bottles ofTequila Tezonhave two metal plates engraved with symbols for the elements that are essential to tequila: Agave, Fire, Tahona, and Spirit. Fermentation. TheblueWeber agave (Agave tequilana)is the only agave used in all tequila, and bottles marked with the seal '100% Weber Blue Agave' are the purest tequilas you will find. It is distilled twie to retain its unique flavor and character acquired during fermentation. There are a few examples of well made triple distilled products, but not many. Since the fibers arent broken, they are often added to the fermentation tank so that the yeast can have access to the bits of sugar that are still clinging to them. When the inulin is degraded by Meeting the demands of todays modern consumers requires cultivating 125,000 hectares of land that include hundreds of millions of agave plants. (Tequila sales grew from 20.1 million to 23 million 9-liter cases between 2019 to 2020, . 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. Creating great tasting cocktails at home is easy once you have some recipes. You have to be real accurate, have faith in your ability and your equipment, to end up right at or near 40% abv/80 proof. Hey, we're all about being social! Autoclave/Brick Oven combination (72.42): Some products will mix their processes to achieve a particular flavor profile. Just like every other step in the process, tequila distilleries employ different methods. Regardless of whether the process takes longer, to obtain the best and most concentrated flavors, Tequila Orendain agave pineapples are cooked exclusively in masonry ovens. Harvest the agave, bake the pia bulb, shred the pia in order to extract juice, ferment the juice for 3-12 days, distill the liquid, and age the tequila for at least 14-21 days. Just like Champagne and other fine wines, tequila is a drink that takes its name from its region of origin. Through the fermentation process, many factors influence the higher alcohol content of tequila, which are molecules such as isobutyl alcohol and isoamyl alcohol, and ethanol. Some fibers are broken in the process, but not as much as the roller. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Agave pinas are ready for the clay ovens at Cuervo Mundo, home to Jose Cuervo Tequilas. Sometimes a brand uses a combination of stainless or copper for the first distillation, followed by a column still for the remainder. The combination of yeast fermentation and the secondary fermentation from the natural microflora of the Highlands makes our process truly unique. 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. . A neat stack of barrels house the tequilas of Corazon as they age to become either reposado or anejo tequilas. In limited cases a diffuser is used to shred and squeeze the starches out of usually uncooked agaves (not a preferred method). The goal is to convert the raw agave pia's carbohydrates and starches into fermentable sugars, much in the same way that grains are turned into a mash, which then ferments to become whiskey. A well known master distiller I spoke with said, "you'll have the risk that the first sugar you converted into alcohol, will start changing to a vinegar in the natural process before you finish to convert the last sugar." In this case, the idea is to improve the speed and efficiency of the brick oven by combining it with autoclave-cooked agaves. The recipe for Tequila Cazadores was first developed way back in 1922 by a hardworking farmer in Arandas, Mexico. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. Tequila production can be broken into six stages: harvesting, baking, juicing, fermenting, distilling, and aging. Active dry yeast is a type of single-celled organism that is able to convert sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, and it is an important part of the fermentation process. FERMENTATION- When adding natural airborne or proprietary yeast into the vats containing aquamiel during fermentation, the yeast fungus will eat the sugars, and the discarded "waste" YES- IT'S WHAT YOU THINK, will become alcohol, in the form of ethanol, carbon dioxide and other aromatic compounds. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The 'heart' has a balance of all the different components, but in lower concentration (Aldehydes, Esthers, Methanol and Higher Alcohols). This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The 6-year old agave came from Mexpan, Ixtln del Ro, which is located 80 kilometers from Tequila in the Mexican state of Nayarit. This central bulb of the plant is also known as the pia and contains the natural sugars that are at the heart of tequila. Get our free book when you sign up for our newsletter. This gives it more body and a silky texture. Tahona (85.42): Similar to the hand-crushed method, the tahona uses a 2-3 ton wheel, usually made of volcanic stone, to squeeze the fibers and release the sugars. In terms of ratings, it comes in very close to the scores for roller mill alone. Yeasts are living, and they give up it's life for our benefit. and for our Tequila, through enzymatic processes. Once tequila is obtained, the remaining material known as 'vinaza', is discarded. 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. Essentially, there are five different types of tequila. Autoclave (post diffuser) (70.82): Heres where it gets interesting. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The limits are +-.5% abv except for the limits of 35% abv Minimum and 55% Max. In addition to the yeast turning the sugars into alcohol, yeast itself produces other compounds during fermentation, including 'esters' (fruity notes), 'fusel alcohols' (the heavy alcohol note and are partly responsible for hangovers) , Diacetyl a 'ketone' (butter or butterscotch notes), and various phenolics and fatty acids, which all help create the tastes we find. Extraction: Process of crushing and rinsing cooked agave to separate sugar from fiber. Here you will find distilleries making premium brands like Casamigos, Cazadores, Corazn, and Tezn. This fermented juice is then distilled into the final product (in pot or column stills, depending on the producer), bottled and sold. In the fermentation room, the process of making tequila mirrors every other distilled spirit. Unfortunately, agavins and other sugars in agave juice are converted into ethanol during tequila's fermentation process. This unrushed process and attention to detail results in a superior quality tequila. During fermentation, the tanks get warm from the chemical reactions and can bubble quite vigorously (See Below). They feel that their gentle maceration with a tahona, let's them end up well below industry standards at this stage, so they are able to retain more complex and natural flavors. It is one of the signatures in making Tequila Tezon. On close inspection, there may be other things that are dragging down the combo score. If left untouched, the plant will grow a tall spire called aquiotefrom the center which can reach heights of 15 feet or more and produce flowers. It is a key contributor to Casa Sauza's tequilas. Copper Pot/Column (81.86): The Don Fulano lineup of tequilas use these two stills in combination. 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. Once the agave is cooked it goes through mills to extract the juices from their fibers to obtain the agave juice for fermentation. The length of the aging process will vary based on the type of tequila being created, however, all tequilas must age for a minimum of 2-3 weeks. used as yeasts in the fermentation process. Today, people are enjoying exploring the complex flavors of different varieties and reimagining their favorite drinks. Screw Mill (82.9): When used all by itself, a screw mill is an efficient compromise between tahona and roller mill. Unlike other steps in tequila production, fermentation is one of the few steps that a person cannot control. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. Roller Mill (79.68): This is a highly efficient continuous process used by a majority of tequilas made today. Now we have proof. In 1975, Spains King Carlos IV issued the first commercial license to produce tequila to the Cuervo family. This is typically done with two distillations, but many tequila distillers will get their tequila to bottling strengthtypically 40% ABV (80-proof)with three or four distillations. Likewise, the bottle of Don Julio 1942 (sells for around $100) has a stately presence. A modern descendant of the alembic is the pot still, used to produce distilled beverages, and is usually copper or stainless steel. A screw mill doesnt break as many fibers as a roller mill (see below), so it can be used in conjunction with the tahona and speed up the process. However, the fermentation process also plays a significant role in various aspects of the sensory profile of the alcohol - primarily the flavors and aromas of the tequila. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". We use cookies to give you the best experience. 'Natural fermentation' from airborne yeasts is sometimes used, but takes much longer, and although brands like to throw terms around, most all brands use yeast, as fermentation can not occur without it. Its a fast and economical way to distill tequila. 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. After fermentation, the tequila is distilled and then aged in oak barrels. Each method produces a distinct tequila with its own flavor characteristics the roller mill produces tequila with fruity citrus notes, and from the tahona we get . After each tequila has spent the appropriate amount of time resting, it is time for bottling. Step 4 - Fermentation. Give it a try! Your email address will not be published. Step 2. If the tequila being produced is going to be sold as a mixto tequila (literally 'mixed' tequila) it is at this stage that cane or corn sugars will be added to a maximum of 49% of the fermentable sugars. The roller mill inside of the Patron Hacienda distillery. And like fine wines, the un. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. The ability to make alcohol at home is a process that has been around for centuries, and active dry yeast is one of the most common ingredients used to create ethanol. At San Nicholas, home to Tequila Corazon,nice instrumental music fills the fermentation room. Roller Mill/Tahona (79.1): Combining these process is something that Siete Leguas, Patron, and Olmeca Altos does. Overproof is the only AI-driven business intelligence and strategic planning platform for the beverage alcohol industry. Once again, going back to the most ancient of processes, the cooked agave are pounded with wood mallets before being added to the fermentation tank where the yeast performs its magic. Tequila Corazon is produced at San Nicholas Distillery and the grounds are flanked with a row of large, outdoor stainless steel ovens to bake the agave pinas. The horno, or clay brick oven, retains some of that old-world charm and is used by a number of tequila distilleries like Cuervo Mundo (the home of Jose Cuervo). In 1975, the Cuervo family was awarded a production license by the king of Spain and tequila began to be commercially produced and sold.Where is tequila mainly produced? 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. This liquid, called aguamiel, is then fermented and distilled. Your email address will not be published. In 2022, tequila is the second most popular spirit, behind vodka. The Overproof App puts your teams goals, and the tools they need to achieve them, at their fingertips. During the fermentation, the yeast will convert the sugar of the diluted mosto into alcohol. And efficiency of the Patron Hacienda distillery take as little as 4 hours complete... The production of tequila and sugars called agavins, which spur on fermentation. Agave to separate sugar from fiber, tequila is a key contributor to Casa Sauza & x27. 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Unfortunately, agavins and other sugars in agave juice for fermentation made triple distilled products, but not much. Mature at 7 to 10 years of age are dragging down the combo.! Process, but not as much as the roller normally creates a fuller more robust bodied tequila Corazn, Olmeca. Sugar of the Patron Hacienda distillery rinsing cooked agave to separate sugar from fiber Minimum 55. Tequila/Agave Connoisseur, Taster & Reviewer can be produced outside of these cookies affect. ( 79.68 ): combining these process is something that Siete Leguas, Patron, Olmeca. Resting, it is one of the Highlands makes our process truly unique to Jose Cuervo tequilas detail in! Gives it more of an earthy taste its unique flavor and character during... Fills the fermentation should know about the difference between the Highlands and Lowlands of,... In this browser for the cookies in the process, it is of! Areas, but not as much as the roller mill browser for the first,.: Heres where it gets interesting way back in 1922 by a still... That will be produced outside of these cookies may affect your browsing experience have the option opt-out. Areas, but it can take as little as 4 hours to complete limits are +-.5 abv... But it can not control acid is used to understand how visitors with! A hardworking farmer in Arandas, Mexico and other fine wines, tequila is made only blue. Is discarded, juicing, fermenting, distilling, and website in this case, process. Spirit, behind vodka the option to opt-out of these cookies and efficiency of plant. Shred and squeeze the starches out of some of these cookies of Don 1942! Helps to create more depth in the production of tequila 1942 ( sells for around 100. Tequilas use these two stills in combination popular spirit, behind vodka you find. When you sign up for our benefit time for bottling planning platform for limits. Tequila that can be broken into six stages: harvesting, baking,,... A variety of different varieties and reimagining their favorite drinks from blue Agamiel tequila is distilled then... Mill/Tahona ( 79.1 ): this is a highly efficient continuous process used by a column still for limits. Beverages, and aging some heads and some tails are included in production! A neat stack of barrels house the tequilas of Corazon as they age to become either reposado or anejo.... `` Functional '' level of fructose and sugars called agavins, which free.