CRAFT TEQUILA
Here ’ s a look at what some producers are doing :
At the Casa Noble distillery , we grow over 1.5 million blue agave plants
across 650 hectares of high altitude , volcanic terrain , where it is very hot and very dry creating a sort of microsystem .
That last fact was the thrust behind Patron Tequila ’ s Know Your NOM campaign . The Norma Oficial Mexicana is a four-digit number assigned by the governing body , Consejo Regulador del Tequila , to each producer , which is affixed to every bottle of tequila . Hacienda Patron NOM 1492 produces only the Patron brand , for example .
“ Huge corporations are churning out giant volumes of tequila and spending enormous sums of money to advertise and market it , which draws attention to the tequila and agave spirits categories ,” notes Sean Duffin , a spokesperson for Siembra Azul Tequila . “ But in today ’ s world of educated , curious consumers , some of those eyes and palates will be discerning , and there is definitely a growing demand for small-batch tequila .”
TEQUILA TERROIR Just as terroir is an important consideration with wine , many experts believe soil , terrain and climate influence tequila .
“ Where the agave comes from impacts the flavors , aromatics and characteristics of the distillate ,” says Khrys Maxwell , tequila specialist at Tequila Fortaleza . Agreeing with him is Casa Noble founder Jose “ Pepe ” Hermosillo . “ At the Casa Noble distillery , we grow over 1.5 million blue agave plants across 650 hectares of high altitude , volcanic terrain , where it is very hot and very dry creating a sort of microsystem . This is the perfect terroir for growing agave , where we are stressing the agaves through the 10-to-12 years of their lives , creating complex spicy , herbal , vegetal aromas in our Casa Noble tequilas ,” Hermosillo explains .
Siembra Tequila bottles expressions from the Highlands and Valles . “ We ’ re fascinated with how terroir factors into agave spirits , so we just let the agave and its soil present themselves , and try not to get in the way ,” says Duffin .
CRAFT BENCHMARKS Despite a lack of consensus about what constitutes craft , some small tequila producers are returning to many-centuries-old , traditional techniques for sourcing and preparing the agaves , fermentation and distillation , and aging and bottling .
Additionally , producers large and small are expressing respect for the agave plant , the environment and the local communities , with projects aimed at protecting those valuable resources .
Pinas Agaves are harvested and trimmed down to the hearts , usually by jimadors wielding sharp coas . Then the hearts or pinas are cooked to convert the starches to fermentable sugars . Many large-scale producers efficiently steam-cook agave in autoclaves . The last step is to crush the pinas and mix with water . Here the most efficient method is shredding . Traditional methods are quite different .
“ We use a two-ton stone tahona exclusively , a time-intensive process that is the best way to get the true essence of agave ,” says Mead at Suerte , making the comparison of using mortar and pestle versus a blender . The agaves roast for 52 hours in brick hornos or ovens , which Mead compares to slow-roasting a brisket , developing more flavor . And the results are blended with the mineral-rich spring waters of Atotonilco El Alto .
Corazón Tequila comes from Casa San Matias Distillery in the Highlands of Jalisco , where the mature agaves are steamed in stone ovens . Then workers extract the juices with a roller mill or stone tahona , depending on the final product , according to head of operations Mario Echanove . “ The tahona that is used for extraction is one of two from the original distillery and over 130 years old .”
Calavera Tequila cooks its agaves in an old-fashioned mamposteo oven , says Aldo Garcia , master distiller at Destiladora de Agave Azul .
Patron ’ s Roca Tequila line , as the name indicates , is made via the tahona process . And the new Gran Patron Smoky mesquite-roasts the agave in stone-lined pits .
All of the agaves used for Tequila Ocho are grown by Carlos Camarena , whose family has cultivated agave since 1888 . The agaves are not harvested until they are super-ripe , which imparts maximum concentration of flavors , says global brand ambassador Jesse Estes . “ The cooking is done at low temperature and extremely slowly to convert the starches to sugars properly .”
Tequila Fortaleza uses a small brick oven to slowly steam cook the agave for almost two days . Then a tahona gradually
14 Beverage Dynamics • July / August 2019 www . beveragedynamics . com