Top 3 Types of Tequila

by Mani Tyagi Mani

Tequila isn’t all about shots with salt and lime. Matter of the fact is sipping fine tequila should be a soul-enriching experience, which is not quite different than sampling a fine wine or appreciating a good scotch or whiskey.

Once you get to know good tequila, with a production process steeped in history and tradition, you will realize you have never truly known tequila at all.

What is Tequila?

Tequila is a distilled spirit made from the Agave tequilana Weber blue, blue agave or Agave Azul, and is produced only in 5 areas of Mexico: Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Tamaulipas and Nayarit.

There are 166 different species of agave, 125 of which can be found in Mexico but only the Weber Blue can be used to make Tequila.

 

Regulations

Tequila can only be made in certain parts of Mexico and the Mexican government has imposed strict regulation to control what can be called Tequila and how it is made.

There are two basic categories of tequila

·    Made from a minimum of 51% Blue Agave, with legislation allowing for the remainder to be made up of a neutral spirit made from sugarcane juice.

·    Made from 100% Blue agave. Tequila made with less than 100% is called "Mixto."

 

Top 3 Types of Tequila

1.   Blanco Tequila

This type of tequila is clear white spirit and also known as “silver” tequila or “plata” tequila. Blanco tequila is unaged, generally bottled and packaged directly after being distilled. Some distillers allow the spirit to settle and finish for a few weeks in the tanks before bottling. Blanco tequila is in its purest form and features the truest flavours of the blue agave plant since it isn't aged in barrels. Some of the distillers call Blanco tequila "the essence of tequila" because it offers the most genuine appeal of the blue agave's natural sweetness.

 

2.   Añejo Tequila

Añejo in Spanish means “old”, and añejo tequila is aged for a minimum of one year, but less than three years in oak barrels. The añejo tequila must rest in oak barrels with a maximum capacity of 600 litres for at least a year. Usually, this tequila is aged in whiskey barrels, French oak casks, or cognac barrels. Añejo tequila often has a toasty, vanilla and citrus flavour.

 

3.   Reposado Tequila

This tequila is known as “aged” or “rested.” Reposado tequila is aged in oak barrels for a minimum of two months, but less than a year after being distilled. The gold-coloured spirit is generally aged in white oak and French oak barrels where resins and tannins shape the flavour of the tequila.

 

If you are a true tequila lover then it is high time to adopt a "no mixto" policy. Whether you're drinking at a party or your favourite bar, it is time to drink the tequila made entirely from 100% Blue Webber agave. You can even order Blanco, Reposado and Anejo tequila online.

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Created on May 5th 2020 06:04. Viewed 150 times.

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