Agave Distillates

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Tequila

By law tequila must be made with blue weber agave in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, and Guanajuato. To qualify as tequila the resulting spirit requires at least 50 percent agave (which is considered tequila mixto), but the best tequilas are made with 100 percent agave. The Weber Blue agave is used for tequila because of its higher sugar concentration compared to other agave plants. It is also sustainably the best choice because its reproduction method, life cycle, and strength of the plant is all positive factors to the ecosystem.

About 99% of tequilas come from Jalisco.

Aging Requirements

Blanco/ Plata/ White Tequila- aged from 0-2 months
Reposado (or Rested)- aged from 2-11 months. provides a good balance between the agave and the wood.  can be aged in any type of wood, but normally it’s french or american oak (any size barrel) 

Anejo (or Extra Aged) - aged for at least 1 year (less than 600L)

Extra Anejo - aged at least 3 years (less than 600L)

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Mezcal

Mezcal is a local mexican tradition primarily produced by small families and villages. The name comes from the Nahuatl language and translate to “agave cooked”. One helpful thing to remember is that tequila is a type of mezcal, but mezcal is not a type of tequila. At the time of this writing, mezcal can only be produced in eight states. Most mezcal is made from Espadin agave grown in the state of Oaxaca, but it can vary on producer and region. The agave is harvested when it’s close to reproduction and when the piña is the ripest. The regions in which mezcal can be produced are; Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Michoacan, and the recently approved Puebla.

Traditional methods include one or 30 plus types of wild agave are allowed for mezcal production. There are over 215+ recorded types of agave plants. The amount of potential with this spirit is very expansive. Of course, not all are able to be distilled and some are used not for distilling at all. The distillation method is the same for mezcal, as with tequila, but with one important step added. The plants are roasted in a volcanic lined pit underground, in the stone and dirt. Then the fermented agave juice is distilled in wood-burning clay pots or copper stills above the fire. It is enclosed in and smoked with various vegetables, fruits, sacrificed animals, or sacrificios.  

Each of these agaves have their own qualities. In the U.S., the majority of mezcal bottles are made from Espadín, but the other agaves are much more complex and rising in popularity. Espadín also absorbs smoke more in the distilling process, giving it more of a charred aspect. Like tequila, mezcal easily picks up barrel flavors when aged. Mezcal production is much smaller than tequilas. This is due to the length of time it takes to mature the agave for mezcal compared to tequila. Also having to do with the approachability of tequila versus mezcal. Exports of mezcal have more than tripled in the last years and distillers are having to look for new methods or ways to grow agave to reach the demand. Some people are concerned that the demand will surpass the supply and we will be scrambling for mezcal.

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Raicilla

Raicilla is made in a similar method as mezcal. It is crafted in the mountains above Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco. Its origin predates the arrival of conquistadors! It is not controlled by Denomination of Origin. Raicilla means “root” in Spanish, so many assume that the spirit is made with the root of the agave verses the heart or pina. The producers of mezcal in that area decided to rename their elixir to avoid legalities regarding tequila and mezcal. After the Spanish conquest production moved underground to avoid heavy taxation from relentless collectors. They changed the name to avoid taxes and insisted the liquid was made from roots, instead of the hearts.

The types of agave used are; Angustifolia, Rhodacantha, Maximiliana, and Inaquiden agaves. It is typically a single distillation, in comparison to mezcal, which is almost always a minimum of twice distilled. Jalisco has the second highest biodiversity of agaves outside of Oaxaca. It wasn’t until 2014, after years of court and legal battles that Raicilla made it’s way, legally, to America. Thanks to Arik Torren, of Fidencio Mezcal, for his passion to bring the spirit to the United States. After years amid hurdles he was successful. Arik Torren now has seven expressions of raicilla, all available in the U.S.

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Bacanora

Bachanora is an agave distillate originated in North Mexico, in the Sonora region. The Sonora region has 36 municipalities in its area and bachanora can be produced in any of these. Although it can be produced in different regions, the type of agave must be A. Angustifolia, according to its NOM. The distillate is regulated by the Consejo Sonorense Promoter de la Regulacion. Similar to the CRT that regulates tequila, this council regulated the distillate.

It is distilled in the same style as mezcal and raicilla. It has been crafted the same way for hundreds of years without change, despite new technologies. The agave pina is roasted for 2 days in volcanic line pits, mashed, and then fermented for up to 2 weeks in air tight cement pits. Fresh water is added during fermentation. Distillation is done in stainless steel pots several times. Although bachanora has been around for hundreds of years, it wasn’t until 1992 when its production was legalized in Mexico. In 2000, it would garner it’s own Denomination of Origin.

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Sotol

SOTOL IS NOT AN AGAVE DISTILLATE

This is an interesting distillate and one that strikes arguments when brought up. Many think that sotol is an agave. Although it was considered to be one in the past its scientific classification changed from the Agavaceae to the Nolinaceae family genus. Meaning sotol went from an agave classification to an artichoke or asparagus classification. Sotol is native to desert-like, arid regions in the Sonora and Chihuahua regions of Mexico, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Its stalks can grow up to 16 feet in height. Unlike the agave, after flowering they remain alive and send up a new stalk. The plant is often called “the desert spoon or spoon flower”. It got its name from natives of its regions used the plant as a main food source. They would cook and eat the leaves much like you would eat an artichoke. The fibrous core of the plant is so dense and hard that they would often use it as a spoon to eat other ingredients. 

The sap of this plant is fermented and distilled to make sotol, but it has been used in fermented beverages for almost 9 thousand years. The amount of liquid produced from a plant is much smaller than tequila and mezcal. One plant will produce roughly one bottle of sotol. Another similarity to agave is that they have similar aging requirements. Plata or unaged, reposado or several months to a year age, and anejo or aged at least one year.


In collaboration with Joe Nicol of The Occasional Bartender

Sources | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |

Tim Dam-Richards