Category: tequila

  • (Almost) All the Cocktails & Spirits Books Published in 2015, For Reading or Gifting

    Throughout the year I post new drink books to Alcademics, because I love drinking and books. Below is all of them put together so that you can make your holiday wish list for yourself or see them all together to pick presents for friends and family.

    Know of a book I missed? Let me know and I'll add it.

     

    Culture and Fun

    Party-like-a-president-2d-high-resjpg-f9aeaf69d8544ad7You Suck At Drinking: Being a Complete Guide to Drinking for Any and All Situations in Your Life, Including But Not Limited to Office Holiday Parties, Weddings, Breakups and Other Sad Times, Outdoor Chores Like Deck-building, and While in Public, Legally and Illegally  By Matthew Latkiewicz

    Toasts: The Perfect Words to Celebrate Every Occasion By June Cotner and Nancy Tupper Ling

    Party Like A President: True Tales of Inebriation, Lechery, and Mischief from the Oval Office By Brian Abrams

    The Field Guide to Drinking in America By Niki Ganong 

    You Deserve a Drink: Boozy Misadventures and Tales of Debauchery by Mamrie Hart

    A Visual Guide to Drink by Pop Chart Lab: Ben Gibson, Patrick Mulligan

     

    Vintage Reprints

    ImgresHoffman House Bartender's Guide By Charley Mahoney

    The Ideal Bartender By Tom Bullock

    W. C. Whitfield's Mixed Drinks and Cocktails: An Illustrated, Old-School Bartender's Guide by W. C. Whitfield (Author), Tad Shell (Illustrator), Joaquín Simó (Foreword)

    Shaking Up Prohibition in New Orleans: Authentic Vintage Cocktails from A to Z
    By Olive Leonhardt and Hilda Phelps Hammond

     

    Historical Books

    Cocktail Noir: From Gangsters and Gin Joints to Gumshoes and Gimlets by Scott Deitche

    UrlLost Recipes of Prohibition: Notes from a Bootlegger’s Manual by Matthew Rowley

    To Have and Have Another Revised Edition: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion by Philip Greene

    Gone with the Gin: Cocktails with a Hollywood Twist by Tim Federle

    Cocktails of the Movies: An Illustrated Guide to Cinematic Mixology by Will Francis , Stacey Marsh

    Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar (Updated and Revised Edition)
    By David Wondrich

    Contraband Cocktails: How America Drank When It Wasn't Supposed To by Paul Dickson 

     

    UrlNarrative Cocktail Books

    The Cocktail Chronicles: Navigating the Cocktail Renaissance with Jigger, Shaker & Glass by Paul Clarke  

    Drinking the Devil's Acre: A Love Letter from San Francisco and her Cocktails by Duggan McDonnell

    Ten Cocktails: The Art of Convivial Drinking by Alice Lascelles 

     

    Cocktails from Specific Bars

    6a00e553b3da20883401b8d17a925a970cThe Dead Rabbit Drinks Manual: Secret Recipes and Barroom Tales from Two Belfast Boys Who Conquered the Cocktail World by Sean Muldoon, Jack McGarry, Ben Schaffer

    Experimental Cocktail Club: Paris, London & New York by Romée de Goriainoff, Pierre-Charles Cros, Olivier Bon, Xavier Padavoni 

    Cuban Cocktails: 100 Classic and Modern Drinks by Ravi DeRossi, Jane Danger, Alla Lapushchik 

    Tujague's Cookbook: Creole Recipes and Lore in the New Orleans Grand Tradition by Poppy Tooker 

    Cocktails for Dingdongs Vol. 1. by Dustin Drankiewicz and Alexandra Ensign

     

    Themed Cocktail Books

    51bB5UXlUyL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_Summer Cocktails: Margaritas, Mint Juleps, Punches, Party Snacks, and More! By MarТa del Mar Sacasa and Tara Striano

    The Negroni: Drinking to La Dolce Vita, with Recipes & Lore  By Gary Regan

    Cocktails on Tap: The Art of Mixing Spirits and Beer By Jacob Grier

    The Tippling Bros. A Lime and a Shaker: Discovering Mexican-Inspired Cocktails by by Tad Carducci & Paul Tanguay with Alia Akkam

    Classic Cocktails by Salvatore Calabrese

    Tea Cocktails: A Mixologist's Guide to Legendary Tea-Infused Cocktails by Abigail R. Gehring

    The Mason Jar Cocktail Companion by Shane Carley

    Tiki Drinks: Tropical Cocktails for the Modern Bar  by Robert Sharp and Nicole Weston 

    The Manhattan Cocktail: A Modern Guide to the Whiskey Classic by Albert W. A. Schmid

    Paris Cocktails: An Elegant Collection of Over 100 Recipes Inspired by the City of Light  by Doni Belau 

    Wild Drinks & Cocktails: Handcrafted Squashes, Shrubs, Switchels, Tonics, and Infusions to Mix at Home by Emily Han

    The Periodic Table of COCKTAILS by Emma Stokes 

    Forager's Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients by Amy Zavatto

    Bitters and Shrub Syrup Cocktails: Restorative Vintage Cocktails, Mocktails, and Elixirs by Warren Bobrow

    The Essential New York Times Book of Cocktails  by Steve Reddicliffe 

    Good Things to Drink with Mr Lyan and Friends by Ryan Chetiyawardana

    The Craft Cocktail Party: Delicious Drinks for Every Occasion by Julie Reiner

     

    Whisky and Whiskey

    51YffZpl9ML._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_Whiskey: What to Drink Next: Craft Whiskeys, Classic Flavors, New Distilleries, Future Trends By Dominic Roskrow 

    Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker by Fred Minnick

    Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey by Reid Mitenbuler 

    Spirit of Place: Scotland's Great Whisky Distilleries by Charles MacLean 

    The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All: Know Your Booze Before You Choose  by Richard Betts

    The Birth of Bourbon: A Photographic Tour of Early Distilleries by Carol Peachee

    American Whiskey, Bourbon & Rye (New Edition): A Guide to the Nation's Favorite Spirit by Clay Risen

     

    Other Spirits

    51VHrm7ytCL._SX359_BO1,204,203,200_Bitterman's Field Guide to Bitters & Amari: 500 Bitters; 50 Amari; 123 Recipes for Cocktails, Food & Homemade Bitters  by Mark Bitterman

     

    How the Gringos Stole Tequila: The Modern Age of Mexico's Most Traditional Spirit By Chantal Martineau

    Divided Spirits: Tequila, Mezcal, and the Politics of Production  by Sarah Bowen

    Gin: The Manual by Dave Broom 

    Vermouth: The Revival of the Spirit That Created America’s Cocktail Culture by Adam Ford

    Branca: A Spirited Italian Icon by Niccolo Branca di Romanico

     

    Science-Minded

    Cognitive Cooking with Chef Watson: Recipes for Innovation from IBM & the Institute of Culinary Education

    Hidden Scents: The Language of Smell in the Age of Approximation by Allen Barkkume 

     

    Miscellany

    51u5h1zPGDL._SX258_BO1,204,203,200_Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break with Recipes for Pastries, Breads, and other Treats By Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall

    The River Cottage Booze Handbook by John Wright

    The Beer Bible by Jeff Alworth

    Cider Made Simple: All About Your New Favorite Drink  by Jeff Alworth

    Discovering the New York Craft Spirits Boom by Heather D. Dolland

    Branding: Distilled by Cynthia Sterling

     

     

  • Paloma Recipe Round-Up: 20+ Paloma Variations

    In my research on the Paloma I have come across many variations on the drink, so I thought I'd link to them here.

    Paloma3Typically the Paloma is made with tequila (always use 100% agave!), grapefruit soda such as Squirt or Jarritos, a squeeze of a lime wedge and a pinch of salt. Esquire's standard recipe is here. A version using fresh grapefruit and soda water is here.

    Here are some Paloma variations from around the internet. 

    Blood Orange and Thyme Paloma by Airda Molenkamp [recipe]

    Nuestra Paloma by Thad Vogler of Beretta, SF. It contains St. Germain, bitters, Cointreau, and grapefruit juice. [recipe]

    The Charred Grapefruit Paloma by Warren Bobrow [recipe]

    Paloma, Mi Amante by Paul Clarke – A Paloma using strawberry-infused tequila. [recipe]

    Paloma Variation – A Paloma using IPA beer, plus tequila, grapefruit cordial, and lime. [mentioned here; no recipe]

    Palomita – A Paloma without tequila; just using Coinreau, lime, and grapefruit. [recipe]

    Green Palomarita – Mezcal, lime, grapefruit, Chartreuse [recipe]

    Dove & Daisy – Tequila, lime, Aperol, orange liqueur, salt, soda water. [recipe]

    La Paloma – Grapefruit liqueur, tequila, grapefruit juice, lime, soda. [recipe]

    Cantarito – A Paloma variation using lemon, lime, and orange juices in place of the lime squeeze. [recipe]

    Paloma Brava by Dushan Zaric – Contains tequila, lime, orange, grapefruit, grapefruit soda, agave nectar, and salt. [recipe]

    La Canterita by Ashley Miller – Tequila, triple sec, agave nectar, grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange. [recipe]

    Strawberry Paloma with strawberry-infused tequila, honey, lime, and grapefruit. [recipe]

    Reunion Cooler by Jennifer Colliau- Tequila, peppercorns, pineapple, grapefruit peel, lime. [recipe]

    The 212 by Aisha Sharpe and Willy Shine – Tequila, Aperol, grapefruit [recipe]

    Siesta by Katie Stipe – Tequila, Campari, lime, grapefruit, simple syrup [recipe]

    Acapulco by Salvatore Calabrese – Tequila, rum, grapefruit, pineapple. [recipe]

    Cardarita by Ago Perrone – Tequila, almond-cardamom sugar, grapefruit, Galliano, ginger ale [recipe]

    Salty Chihuahua – Tequila, grapefruit juice, salt [recipe]

    Ginger Paloma – Ginger-grapefruit syrup, tequila, lime, club soda [recipe]

    Tequila Fresa Punch – Starwberry-infused tequila, triple sec, orange, lime, grapefruit soda, orange bitters [recipe]

     

  • A Few Things Learned in the Agave Fields in Mexico

    On my recent trip with the Tahona Society, we visited took ATVs into the agave fields and "helped" harvest some agave. 

    IMG_1832

    There, Olmeca Altos tequila Master Distiller Jesus Hernandez filled me in on some details about agave I didn't know, so I thought I'd share them:

    • The quiote, the giant asparagus-shaped sprout that shoots up from a mature agave plant in order to spread its seed, only comes from the female plant. This is nearly always cut soon after sprouting so that it doesn't drain energy from the agave heart.
    • After the quiote sprouts, you have a year and a few months to harvest the plant – it can go through one rainy season after sprouting but not two.
    • Only the male plants that do not sprout quiotes have a cogollo, a dense circle of leaves where the quiote would have been. Most quality producers make sure to cut out the cogollo when harvesting or before baking the agave, as this negatively impacts the flavor of tequila.
    • Agave can be harvested year-round but they tend to harvest less/none in the rainy season. This isn't because the agave are waterlogged and therefore have a lower sugar-to-weight ratio, as Hernandez says that mature plants aren't effected so much by this, but because logistically it's hard to get the trucks in  and out of the muddy fields to collect the heavy agave after harvest. 
    • Sometimes you'll see an agave field with the tips of all the spiky leaves cut off. Hernandez says that some producers think that this helps the heart of the agave grow stronger, but he doesn't believe this is true. However, he says it is common to cut off the tips of the leaves when they come through annually to apply pesticides and herbicides, just so that they can get through the dense rows of agave without getting cut on the leaves.
    • The leaves of the agave plants grow and die annually and new ones grow above them, much like how a palm tree grows with rows of dead leaves left lower down. I always thought they were the same leaves just growing bigger each year!
    • They apply pesticides and herbicides annually up until the year before harvest, as they don't want any of that residue around for harvest. 
    • At the base of agave plants sprout rhyzomes, little baby agaves called hijuelos. These are cut and replanted after the mother agave plant is 3-4 years old.

    I also learned something from Guillermo Sauza, distiller/owner of Fortaleza Tequila. 

    • You can get huge agave hearts in the Lowlands, you just have to fertilize the fields. Sauza says that people don't usually do that in the area anymore since the current prices are so low for agave. 

    IMG_5582

  • A Visit to the Sauza Distillery in Tequila, Mexico

    Today on the Tahona Society trip to the tequila regions of Mexico we visited the distillery of Sauza. Yesterday’s visit to La Fortaleza was an example of the most primitive/traditional production methods for tequila. Today at Sauza we say the most high-tech.

    I last visited Sauza about a year ago, and that post on Alcademics is here, and probably a bit more thorough than this one. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take pictures in most of the distillery, so mostly text will have to do.

    Sauza uses what they call “soft extraction” of the sugars from agave plants. While almost every tequila maker bakes agave plant hearts (pinas) then crushes the baked plants to extract the fermentable sugars from the plants, at Sauza first they crush the plants then they cook the liquid.

    The agave is first run through a big roller mill, and then a diffuser, a huge machine that specializes in getting the most of the sugars out of agave. Then this liquid is cooked at 120 degrees Celsius for 4-5 hours.

    This sugary liquid is then fermented super fast- 24 to 26 hours- then it is distilled.

    Distillation for Sauza products takes place first in a column still, where they distill up to anywhere from 24 to 35 percent alcohol depending on the product, and then in a copper-lined stainless steel still up to 56-65%.

    An interesting fact I learned on this trip is about their mixto tequila – tequila distilled from the fermented sugars of at least 51% agave and 49% other sugars, usually sugar cane. However at Sauza, where they do use the minimum 51/49 percent ratio, the sugar used is corn syrup, not sugar syrup.

     

  • La Fortaleza Distillery Visit

    Yesterday I visited the La Fortaleza distillery. This tiny distillery makes 100% tahona tequila, in the heart of the city of Tequila in the Lowlands.

    The distillery was rebuilt in a 100 year old distillery site by Guillermo Sauza, 5th-generation Sauza family. His grandfather sold Sauza to the company who sold it to Jim Beam. Guillermo decided to return to distilling the traditional way.

    The tahona is a volcanic stone wheel that is rolled in a pit to crush baked agave. Most distilleries use a diffuser, rollermill, or a combination of rollermill and tahona.

    The fibers are removed and the sugary water and pulp remain. These are fermented in wooden fermenters.

    Then they are distilled in the tiniest little pot stills.

    The aging room is about as big as a two-bedroom apartment.

    The view from the hill behind the distillery is amazing- they own 80 acres right in the city of Tequila.

    There are caves underneath this hill. In the caves they’ve put a bar. We were in there for a good two hours.

    Short blog post, but an amazing distillery and a great night!

     

  • Filtration in Spirits: A Primer

    For CLASS Magazine online at DiffordsGuide.com, I wrote an article about filtration in spirits. This was based on the research I did for my talk on the subject at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic earlier this year. 

    Don't Forget the Filtration Factor
    By Camper English 

    Nearly every spirit undergoes some sort of filtration, yet we rarely acknowledge it as part of production. But filtration makes vodka what it is today, practically defines Tennessee whiskey, is the standard in making white rum, and is changing the look of tequila. Filtration is important.

    Generally speaking, filtration refers to the mechanical process of passing a liquid or gas through a medium that keeps out solids of a certain size. But in spirits, we include carbon filtration (sometimes called carbon treatment) as filtration too. Carbon filtration works differently: by absorption, the adhesion of particles to a surface, like flypaper. 

    I researched filtration in spirits for a talk at this year's Manhattan Cocktail Classic. While I can't claim category-wide or hands-on expertise in this matter, I spoke with several industry sources who know their stuff. Consider this an introduction to the subject.

    The article covers filtration in vodka, rum, tequila, whisk(e)y, and cognac. I hope you'll find it interesting. Get the full story here.

    Filtration in Spirits Diffords
    Update: The story came off the site, so here it is in its entirety:

     

    Filtration in Spirits

    Camper English

     

    Nearly every spirit undergoes some sort of filtration, yet we rarely acknowledge it as part of production. But filtration makes vodka what it is today, practically defines Tennessee whiskey, is the standard in making white rum, and is changing the look of tequila. Filtration is important.

     

    Generally speaking, filtration refers to the mechanical process of passing a liquid or gas through a medium that keeps out solids of a certain size. (Think of a screen door.) But in spirits, we include carbon filtration (sometimes called carbon treatment) as filtration too. Carbon filtration works differently: By adsorption, the adhesion of particles to a surface. (Think of flypaper.)

     

    I researched filtration in spirits for a talk at the Manhattan Cocktail Classic in May 2012. While I can’t claim category-wide or hands-on expertise in this matter, I spoke with several industry sources who know their stuff. Consider this an introduction to the subject.

     

     

    Vodka, Charcoal, Tequila, and Rum

     

    Early vodka was surely very different from the perfectly clear, nearly-neutral spirit we know today. True, distillation was cruder, performed in pot stills rather than in today’s hyper-efficient columns, but filtration helped rid vodka of lots of nastiness. Much early vodka filtration seems to resemble “fining” in wine and beer – a fining agent speeds up precipitation of impurities in the liquid. Fining agents have included egg whites, milk, gelatin, fish bladders, something called “blood powder.” Vodka has also been filtered through sand and other soils (this process is still used in water treatment), felt, and other materials.

     

    But activated carbon (charcoal) seems to have the largest impact on vodka and other spirits, or at least it is the most commonly used filtration method. In vintage vodka, charcoal derived from trees was used to clean up the liquid, but today charcoal for filtration may come from wood, nut shells (coconut especially), and even bones. (Fun fact: some white table sugar is clarified using bone charcoal, rendering it non-vegetarian.)

     

    Vodkas today advertise a range of other material to complement the carbon. These include birch charcoal, quartz sand, and algae (Ladoga), Herkimer Diamonds (Crystal Head), freeze filtration, Z-carbon filter, and silver (Stoli Elit), Platinum (Platinka), Gold (Lithuanian), Lava Rock (Hawaiian, Reyka), and marble (Akvinta). Though many of these methods sound like pure marketing, in fact some of these precious materials like platinum and silver do improve filtration efficiency. (For very detailed information on some vodka filtration technologies, this site https://www.vodka-tf.com/ is quite a read.)

     

    Charcoal filtering is also commonly used in tequila. According to one tequila producer, this is because the law for tequila production (the NOM) specifies amounts of impurities like esters and furfural that may be present in tequila, and these numbers are difficult to consistency hit with distillation alone. Thus, charcoal filtration cleans up the impurities in tequila a little bit – but also removes some flavor with it.

     

    Charcoal filtration can remove color as well as flavor and impurities. Many ‘white’ rums are aged a year or more in ex-bourbon barrels, and then filtered for clarity. Charcoal filtration (and other new-at-the-time technologies such as aging and column distillation) helped make Bacardi the popular and later global brand of rum that it is today. This lighter, clear style of rum born, in Cuba, is often called the ‘international style’ that won out in popularity over regional production methods.

     

    All charcoal isn’t created the same, however. Should you take a dark rum and run it through a water filter repeatedly, you may not lose any color. (I tried.) Some parameters that distillers investigate in choosing the right carbon filtration material include the base material (bone, nut charcoal, wood, etc), the “iodine number” and the “molasses number,” the latter a measurement of decolorization. Activated carbon meant for cleaning up water may not be of any use in stripping color from liquids.

     

    Decolorization has allowed for a new trend in tequila: aged tequila filtered to clarity. Probably the first tequila to do so was Maestro Dobel, a blend of reposado, anejo, and extra-anejo tequila filtered to near-clarity. In recent months, new brands have followed suit, including Casa Dragones (blanco and anejo mixed together and clarified), Milagro Unico (blanco with ‘aged reserves’), and Don Julio 70th Anniversary Anejo Claro (clarified anejo). In the opposite direction, the first tequila that I’ve seen labeled as ‘unfiltered,’ a special cask-strength bottling of Ocho, has also just hit the market.

     

    Whisky and Cognac

     

    In both scotch and in bourbon, there is an increasing trend toward unfiltered whiskey, while chill filtration is still very much the norm. Chill filtration prevents cloudiness in spirits (particularly at low temperatures) and precipitation of particulates in the bottle. It is purely an aesthetic choice, not meant to affect the flavor of the spirit. However, many experts argue that it does alter (flatten) the flavor to some extent. (For a very nerdy analysis of chill filtration, we refer you to this information from Bruichladdich https://www.bruichladdich.com/library/bruichladdichs-guide-to-chill-filtration.)

     

    As far as I have been able to learn, in chill filtration activated carbon is not used. The spirit is chilled to a certain degree, and then a cellulose or other paper filter is used to remove the esters and fatty acids that are less soluble at low temperatures. Whiskies bottled at higher proofs tend not to cloud, so many cask-strength whiskies and many (if not most) whiskies bottled at 46 percent alcohol or higher are non-chill filtered. Outside the bottle, however, when ice or water is added and they dilute, they may get cloudy.

     

    Tennessee whiskey has its own style of filtration. After the spirit is distilled but before it goes into the barrel for aging, the whiskey is dripped through or soaked in tubs with about ten feet of charcoal made from sugar maple trees. Contrary to popular opinion, this is in no way required by law, but both Jack Daniel’s and George Dickel employ this technique. Gentlemen Jack is unusual in that it undergoes charcoal filtration a second time before bottling.

     

    One cognac distiller revealed that filtration in cognac is also standard: cognac is run through paper filters of a specific (depending on the product) pore size to filter out undesired molecules. While most cognac is not chill-filtered, one producer said that when bottles are destined for cold-weather countries (cognac is popular in Scandinavia), it is often chill-filtered to prevent cloudiness in the bottle. It might be interesting to taste chill and non-chill filtered versions of the same cognac. The opportunity is rarely, if ever, afforded in scotch.

     

    So, some form of filtration is used in about every type of spirit, whether that’s to change the color, clean up undesired impurities or clean out off flavors, to prevent cloudiness, or just to keep out chunks of stuff from floating in your bottle. As with the water used in fermentation, the type of still, and the location/condition of aging barrels, filtration is an important part of the process of making spirits and shouldn’t be so often overlooked.

  • Tequila is the New Vodka; Tequila is the New Scotch in LA Times Magazine

    I've brought up one side of this topic before here on Alcademics, but now both sides are in a magazine.

    In today's Los Angeles Times Magazine I have a story on tequila, looking at how brands are being produced and marketed – some like vodka; others like scotch. 

    As our preference for 100 percent agave tequila grows, it’s no surprise that brands are now popping up to take advantage of that trend. But what is really interesting are the niches tequila is carving out: Some are being bottled in sleek vessels complete with the same marketing and mystique that seems to be inspired by premium vodkas, while other new tequilas are promoting the artisanal, historical and romantic notions of the agave spirit, akin to scotch whisky—even if the brands were created within the last week.

    It's a whopping 1,000 word story. Please give it a read and let me know what you think. 

    Tequilastoryphoto
    (Photo: BRIAN LEATART for LA Times Magazine)

  • Casa Noble Distillery Visit

    Way back in February I took a quick trip to Mexico to visit the distillery La Cofradia, where they make Casa Noble tequila. They make other brands there too, but I was there as the guest of their flagship brand Casa Noble.

    A Beautiful Distillery

    La Cofradia is located about a mile outside of the town of Tequila in the Lowlands of Mexico about 45 minutes outside Guadalajara. In Mexico a few distilleries cultivate a garden-like environment but here they take it to another level. There is a central courtyard with trees, a duck pond, a little cafe, and a set of four cottages where visitors like me can stay. 

    La cofradia sign2_tn

    Casa Noble Tequila Production

    Casa Noble is a certified organic 100% agave tequila. In order to be organicaly certified you need to prove that the land has been organically farmed and not had chemicals used on it for a certain number of years. Casa Noble avoided that problem by purchasing virgin land in Nayarit and planting fresh agave there. Nayarit is one of the five states where it is legal to grow agave, though nearly all of it comes from the state of Jalisco where the distillery is located.

    Thus Casa Noble uses estate-grown agave. This is a growing trend in the tequila industry; producers owning or renting the agave fields so they can control the both the care and harvest of it, but also the price, avoiding the dramatic gluts and shortages of agave in the industry as a result of its long, 6-11 year growing cycle.

    Casa Noble jimador5_tn
    (Agave pina (pineapple))

    The fields in Nayarit are at an elevation of about 4000 feet, higher than some of the Highlands. Yet the agaves I saw at the distillery were much smaller than Highland agave I've seen. Those are often 200 pounds compared with the 110 pound or so average at Casa Noble (and thus only had to be split in half before baking; some Highland producers split theirs into quarters). They purposefully chose an isolated location for their fields, because they are organic: they wouldn't want airborne agave diseases to spread to their fields.

    After harvest, the agave pinas are brought to the distillery where they'll be baked, shredded, fermented, and distilled. Baking converts the complex sugars in the agave into simpler, fermentable sugars.

    Agave fibers1 Casa Noble_tn
    (Closeup of piece of agave. You can see the fibers. The sugars are stored between these fibers which is why agave is shredded after baking to release them.)

    Baking and Shredding

    La Cofradia has 5 hornos (ovens), 3 large 40-ton ones and 2 smaller 20-ton ones. The agave is steam baked for 36-38 hours. Then it cools before the next step. They hasten the cooling process by using large fans blowing through the two sides of the oven.

    Ovens Casa Noble distillery_tn

    When agave is cooking with steam, the first water than runs off the bottom is called "bitter honey" and it is discarded. The next mass of water is called the "oven honey" and this is collected. We sampled this water- its sweet, watery, and has a vinegar note to it. (David Yan, Marketing Director there, says he's used a refined version of this as a vinegrette on salads.)

    Baked agave Casa Noble distillery2_tn
    (Baked agave.)

    After baking the agave is shredded to expose the fermentable sugars that can be washed out and fermented. At La Cofradia they have a unique system: First the baked agave pinas are put through a sort of wood chipper (not a roller mill) with water. This water is collected and they call it the "fat extraction."

    Next the chipped agave goes into a two "extractors" that are shaped like horizontal metal tubes. The first part of the extractor is like a corkscrew that compresses the fibers in the agave. Then it passes through to a set of paddles on a central axis that spins the agave fibers outward and washes them with water.  Apparently this helps separate the fibers without neccesarily shredding them.

    Extractor diagram
    (Diagram of extractor from my notes.)

    Fermenting and Distilling

    Now, onto fermentation. They ferment the combination of the oven honey, fat extraction, and agave juice from the extractors. Yeast is added that feeds on the fermentable sugars and converts it into alcohol plus CO2. While filling the fermentation vats, they bubble air into the tank, which they say makes the yeast reproduce more. This increases their alcohol conversion by an extra 1-2%.

    Agave juice about to be fermented Casa Noble distillery_tn
    (Ready for fermentation.)

    After fermentation (3-5 days, depending on the time of year), the yeast has died and the juice is called "mosto muerto." Now it's time to concentrate the alcohol through distillation.

    At La Cofradia they have large and small stills for the first and second/third distillations. The first, large stillas are called "destroyers" and their job is to get rid of most of the heads and tails.The resultant spirit is 22% alcohol.

    Large and small stills Casa Noble distillery_tn
    (Destroyer stills closer, smaller stills further away.)

    The smaller stills are used for both a second and third distillation that refine the spirit. Though the first distillation cuts most of the heads and tails, there are smaller cuts on the second and third distillations. Both bring the alcohol to 55% ABV. (For most of the other brands that are produced at La Cofradia, they distill only twice. As this is the flagship brand they refine it more.)

    After distillation (or, in the case of the aged tequilas, after aging) the tequila is filtered through micro-cellulose fibers and diluted to proof. The blanco (only?) is oxygenated before bottling for 8-12 hours.

    Aging and Tasting

    The barrels for aging Casa Noble come from the Taransaud cooperage in France. They're new French oak with a light #1 char, and nobody else in Mexico uses these barrels.The tequila goes into the casks at 55% ABV from the still (not watered down before barreling).

    French oak barrels casa noble distillery2_tn
    (New French oak barrels.)

    Interestingly, the tequila destined to be anejo (minimum 1 year aging) goes into new casks. The reposado (2 months to 1 year aging) goes into refilled caks. (More often, brands will use newer casks for reposado tequilas and older ones for anejo so that the wood affects the spirit more in a shorter time for the reposado.) They refill these casks for reposado 7-8 times.

    Cristal/Blanco: This tastes of nickel and minerals, white and red pepper, and "agave sticks" according to my tasting notes.

    Reposado: The reposado is aged for 364 days, the maximum amount before it would be in the anejo category. Reposado is aged in all 228-liter barrels. My tasting notes were: Boo-berry, strawberry cream popsicle, and white flowers.

    Michael B Dougherty casa noble3_tn
    (Tasting.)

    Anejo: Here's where Casa Noble separates itself from the pack yet again. Though all barrels are new French oak from Taransaud, they actually use three different sizes of barrels: 114 liter, 228 liter (about the size of bourbon barrels), and 350 liter barrels. These are blended together to create the anejo.

    The anejo is aged for 2 years. (Anejo is aged a minimum of one year. Extra-anejo starts at three years.) You can definitely taste all three of the below flavor profiles in the anejo.

    We were given the opportunity to taste tequila aged in each of the three sizes of barrels, each of them for a little under two years.

    114 liter: bitter wood, used peanut oil
    228 liter: fruit, dusty Boo-Berry, most similar to the reposado
    350 liter: floral, strawberry juice, light

    Now, besides Casa Noble, I can only think of one other set of brands that ages their spirit in similar casks of different sizes: Jim Beam. Laphroaig and Ardmore both do "quarter cask" programs.

    So, Wow.

    This is a distillery that uses traditional methods in many ways (stone ovens, gentle agave processing) yet has built their system from the ground up (new agave fields, agave processing methods, distillation, aging). And it's all done in a lovely setting to which I'd love to return someday.

    Casa noble hotel5_tn

     

  • Sherry is to Tequila as Vermouth is to Whiskey

    Sherry and tequila are showing up together on more and more cocktail menus. I wrote a story about that in the Sunday, February 20th San Francisco Chronicle. 

    Del rio
    (Del Rio cocktail by Josh Harris of the Bon Vivants. Photo: Craig Lee)

    More drinks including Tequila and Sherry
    Camper English, Special to The Chronicle

    Sherry and Tequila are having a love affair. Bartenders are using more of each ingredient lately, but increasingly you'll see the two sneaking off in a drink together, canoodling in a corner of the cocktail menu.

    One of the first outward signs of this attraction came in the form of La Perla, a drink created several years ago by beverage consultant Jacques Bezuidenhout, which is still on the menu at Bourbon & Branch. The cocktail contains reposado (lightly aged) Tequila, manzanilla Sherry and pear liqueur.

    A not-too dissimilar flavor combination has popped up recently. At the Hideout at Dalva, a tiny backroom cocktail bar in the Mission District, Josh Harris serves the Del Rio. The drink is made with blanco, or unaged, Tequila, fino Sherry, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, plus a dash of orange bitters and a grapefruit zest.

    At Gitane, the Sherry-centric Claude Lane restaurant, bar manager Alex Smith and two other bartenders collaborated on a drink called the Flor Delice, made with reposado, manzanilla, St. Germain and orange bitters, plus maraschino liqueur.

    In New York, this combination shows up yet again on the menu at Mayahuel, a bar dedicated to Tequila and mezcal. The Suro-Mago uses blanco, manzanilla, elderflower and orange bitters, and adds a rinse of mezcal to give it a smoky touch.

     Read the rest of the story and get the recipe for the Del Rio, a simple and delicious drink.

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Patron

    In November I visited seven tequila distilleries in Mexico. Here are some pictures and notes from my visit to the Patron distillery in the town of Atotonilco.

    Patron tequila distillery_tn(The distillery is on a huge plot of land. It's a huge distillery. This is the front gate.)

    Hacienda patron tequila distillery2_tn
    (This is the hacienda, which is the center of the distillery. Nice place.)

    Roller mill patron tequila distillery_tn
    (This is agave going in to the rollermill. Patron is 50% rollermill agave and 50% tahona agave.)

    Tahona agave wooden fermentionation tanks patron tequila distillery_tn
    (Fermenting tahona agave. Tahona agave ferments and is distilled with the fibers.)

    Composting machines patron tequila distillery_tn
    (Outside the distillery they prepare the spent agave to be fertilizer.)

    Aging casks patron tequila distillery_tn
    (They use a mix of barrels for Patron.)

    • The distillery is actually 12 distilleries operating independently. 
    • Most of the agave comes from the highlands
    • They recycle the first agave juice out of the ovens, don't use it for fermentation
    • Ferment in pine wood, not stainless
    • Have unusual stills designed by master distiller
    • Tahona agave takes 2 hours to crush
    • Patron silver is 75% of sales, reposado accounts for 10 percent and anejo accounts for 15