7 Steps of Agave Distillation
HARVESTING
1. The planting, tending and harvesting of the agave is the most labor intensive part of the process. The plant has to be tended and grown for 6 to 30 years before mature enough to harvest, depending on the agave type. Blue Weber agave takes 7-15 years to reach maturity. The harvester, or “jimador”, trims the 200 plus leaves off the plant to reveal the heart of pina. They use a long curved knife called a “coa”. The heart can weigh anywhere from 80 to 300 pounds.
The stalks are saved as they are also quite valuable. They’re used to create needles, pens, thatch for housing, ropes, clothing and so much more. #dontgetwasted
COOKING
2. This process is done in traditional brick ovens or stainless steel autoclaves for tequila. For the other agave distillates, such as mezcal, raicilla, and bacanora, the agaves are cooked in large underground pits over wood and hot rocks. Cooking softens the pina, converts the sugars into starches, and makes the extraction process easier.
EXTRACTING
3. Once cooked, the pina is crushed using the traditional method with a tahona. A tahona is a giant grinding wheel operated by animals, tractors, or mechanisms revolving a circular pit. Modern distilleries use a machine operated tahona to separate the fibers from the juices.
The pulp is retained as feed for animals, used to make paper, or used as fuel for the ovens.
FERMENTATION
4. This is the part of the process that actually transforms the sugars into alcohol. The fermentation process takes anywhere from 7 to 12 days. Some producers, add a small amount to the fermentation batch (like sour mash) to add extra ‘agave’ flavor. Other producers add “inoculum”, often called a starter, to speed up the fermentation process by up to 6 days. You can have one cycle of fermentation done after 20 hours if done correctly. When making mezcal, raicilla and bachanora, the fermented agave juice is distilled in clay pots or copper stills while covered and enclosed in a volcanic rock lined pit. This in addition to the roasting of the agaves while being cooked is where the “smokey” flavor comes from.
Humans have been fermenting beverages for at least 8,000 years. There is evidence of winemaking in modern day Georgia dating back to 6,000 BCE.
The yeast is considered the hero of the process because it sacrifices itself for our benefit. The yeast is alive and they take the sugar and carbohydrates and turn them into alcohol as a waste. There are 2 parts to fermentation. The first part is aerobic, which takes 24-48 hours typically. The second part is anaerobic, where no oxygen is present. This process is slower and where the yeast converts the sugars to alcohol. This process can take days to weeks depending on the intended outcome.
Distillation
5. This process uses heat and steam pressure to separate the ferments and sugars. Some tequilas distill three times but the standard is two. That being because the first distillation only yields a 20% alcohol content, here as the second step yields up to 55%.
The types of stills used are two types; the alembic still (pot still) and the column still (coffey still). Alembic was used first, due to the fact that the coffey still wouldn’t be invented until 1830. The technology was brought to Mexico by the Spanish, but before it was brought over mezcal was produced in Filipino-style stills made from whatever resources they had locally. Although column stills are more efficient it is less popular in the agave industry, where pot stills are the most used.
The master distillers of tequila say the copper imparts too much flavor on the spirit and often opt to use stainless steel. Copper is still used, but as a second cheaper option.
Aging
6. Tequila uses French of American oak barrels that have previously housed bourbon, although there is no requirement as to which type of barrel needs to be used. Of the 5 type of tequila, Silver (also called plata or blanco) and Joven (mixto) is aged 0 to 2 months. Silvers will often keep the tequila in airtight stainless steel containers but this does not age the spirit. Reposados are aged 2 to 12 months, anejo is aged for 1 to 3 years, and extra anejos are aged for over 3 years and all are aged in types of oak.
The CRT must be the one to inspect, approve, and be present for the sealing of the barrels. The most common barrels used for tequila are actually Jack Daniels barrels, but Canadian and French barrels are also used.
Bottling
7. Tequila by law has to be made, distilled and bottled in one of the 5 Mexican states assigned to the Appellation of Origin. The type of bottle is not regulated and in fact is what makes other brands stick out more so than others. There are many companies that have such popularity due to the rare design or material of the bottles. Empty bottles sell for as much as the spirits sometimes to collectors.
In collaboration with Joe Nicol of The Occasional Bartender