Category: tequila

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Sauza

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

    Tequila sauza agave nursery2_tn
    (First we visited the agave nursery. Sauza is unique in that they propagate their agave not by using baby plants but by… fancier scientific means.)

    Sprouted agave tequila sauza agave nursery_tn
    (This is what an agave looks like if allowed to propagate.)

    Sprouted agave tequila sauza agave nursery2_tn
    (You can see close-up that instead of producing seeds, the mother plant produces little baby plants.)

    Talk about sprouting sprouted agave tequila sauza agave nursery2_tn
    (We had a lecture about plant propagation.)

    Cooked juice tequila sauza distillery_tn
    (I just like this picture from the distillery.)

    Diffuser tequila sauza distillery_tn
    (This is the diffuser. Super clean at Sauza.)

    • The blue color of agave comes from a wax on the plant. This wax covers the pores of the plant to protect it from drying out in the dry season.
    • Unlike most tequila distilleries, at Sauza they shred agave and use the diffuser before they cook the agave juice in autoclaves.
    • Then they only cook the juice for 3-4 hours.
    • They ferment in covered fermentation tanks
    • The first distillation is in a column still, second in a stainless steel pot still
    • The Tres Generaciones line has a third distillation in a copper pot still

     

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Herradura

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

    Stacks of agave tequila herradura distillery_tn
    (Here they split the agave in two before baking.)

    Fermentation tanks tequila herradura distillery_tn
    (The magic of Herradura is that it ferments naturally- no yeast is added.)

    Barrel aging tequila herradura distillery_tn
    (Sleeping tequila.)

    • Agave grows for 7-10 years before harvesting
    • Jimadors work for 6 hours a day and harvest about 120 plants
    • They use clay/brick ovens, each one holding about 48 tons
    • Agave cooks for 26 hours then cools for 24
    • They use a rollermill to shred the agave after cooking, then a diffuser to get out the last bits of sugar
    • The fermentation takes about 4 days
    • The first distillation takes 3 hours, the second 6
    • They use stainless steel stills
    • They don't move the barrels around, refill them where they are. Use same barrels for about 10 years before replacing
    • Between Herradura, El Jimador, and Antiguo, all of which are 100% agave products, they say the only difference is the amount of aging and the percent of alcohol. [That's not quite true, here is a chart that spells out the differences.]
    • They age in all new American oak barrels. 
    • The reposado is aged for 11 months
  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Jose Cuervo

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

    Tequila jose cuervo agave fields2_tn(First we visited an agave field.)

    Sharpening coa tequila jose cuervo agave fields_tn
    (The jimador harvested the agave plant to get the pina, or pineapple, center.)

    Camper english planting agave at tequila jose cuervo field4_tn
    (I planted my own agave from the cuttings of a mother plant. I'll need to go back there in 7 or so years and drink that sucker.)

    Loading agave ovens tequila jose cuervo distillery2_tn
    (After harvesting, they load the agave pinas into the ovens. I didn't notice at the time, but it appears they put the whole agaves into the ovens without chopping them into smaller pieces.)

    Copper pot stills tequila jose cuervo distillery2_tn
    (Copper pot stills.)

    Barrel sample tequila jose cuervo distillery_tn
    (We sampled some Reserva de la Famila out of the barrel.)

    • April and May are the planting months for agave
    • Agave is harvested year-round, though they usually avoid the rainiest month
    • Cuervo irrigates their agave
    • They prune the leaves of their agave plants for three reasons: Because they're sharp, to avoid insects laying eggs in them, and to help the heart grow faster
    • For Reserva de la Familia, they cut out the cogollo, not for the mixto
    • Cuervo owns 4 distilleries
    • The distillery had 110,000 visitors last year
    • They use only oven, no autoclaves
    • The product of the first distillation, called ordinario, is cloudy
    • Heads and tails are called vinasas. They are mixed with the agave fibers and made into fertilizer. This happens here and at most distilleries we visited.
    • Reserva de la Familia agave is grown in special fields. It is aged in a combination of French and American oak barrels.

     

     

    Crow in cage tequila jose cuervo distillery_tn
    (I think it's a raven and not a crow, but hey look, I took a cool picture!)

    Horse and lasso show tequila jose cuervo distillery4_tn
    (We had a horse and lasso show before dinner. )

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Cazadores and Corzo

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

    Autoclaves tequila cazadores_tn
    (Autoclaves cook agave much faster than traditional brick/clay ovens.)

    Tequila pipes tequila cazadores_tn
    (It's a huge operation here. The liquids travel in pipes through a tunnel beneath a road separating parts of the distillery.)

    Stainless steel stills tequila cazadores (2)_tn
    (Stainless steel stills.)

    • In 1922 the recipe for Cazadores reposado was created
    • They process 200 tons of agave per day in the distillery
    • The autoclaves cook agave for 10 hours at 120 Celsius. Soon they're reducing the cooking time to 8 hours. 
    • After shredding the agave (after cooking it in autoclaves), they put it in a diffuser; a relatively recent technology that gets the last bits of the sugar out of the agave
    • They allow the agave to ferment for about 4 days. The tequila undergoes an alcoholic then a malolactic fermentation
    • The first distillation takes about 10 hours, the second takes about 24 hours
    • The stills are stainless steel
    • They do have a column still that they use "when demand is high"
    • Corzo starts from Cazadores reposado. It is then redistilled and re-aged.
    • They aged in new white American oak, with some French oak for Corzo

    Dancers tequila cazadores10_tn
    (After the tour, dinner and a dance show in the distillery.)

  • Hot Buttered Fun

    Hot_buttered_anejo_med_lg Hot Buttered Fun would be a good party band name, right? 

    My latest post on FineCooking.com is up. It's a recipe for the Hot Buttered Anejo, which is a hot buttered tequila that I had one night when the brand Avion was pouring drinks at Elixir. 

    Check it out here

  • Tequila Distillery Visit: Casa Pedro Domecq

    In November I visited seven tequila distilleries in Mexico. Here are some pictures and notes from my visit to Casa Pedro Domecq in the town of Arandas.

    Olmeca altos agave ovens2_tn(Agave being loaded into ovens. They use the same agave for treatment with rollermill as with tahona.)

    This distillery makes Tezon tequila, Olmeca Altos, and a mixto tequila for the Mexican market. I believe Tezon is all tahona tequila. This was distributed by Pernod Ricard in the US, but it appears they've abandoned it and are pursuing sales of Olmeca Altos, which is about half the price, instead. This tequila, also 100% agave, is made by blending agave that has been processed with a roller mill with tahona agave. 

    Tequila olmeca altos agave roller mill_tn(In the rollermill process, after the agave is baked to break up the complex into simpler, fermentable sugars, the agave is shredded using a rollermill.)

    Tequila olmeca altos tahona crushing agave4_tn
    (The tahona method. After baking the agave, the chunks of agave are placed in this pit. The large volcanic stone wheel rotates around in it, crushing the agave to expose the sugars before distillation. In olden times, the tahona would have been pulled by a mule.)

    Tequila olmeca altos tahona crushing agave2_tn
    (This is the post-tahona agave. Gross. The fibers actually reabsorb the liquids here. All of it is thrown into the fermentation tanks.)

    Fermenting agave tequila olmeca altos_tn
    (Fermenting agave juice.)

    Copper stills for tahona agave tequila olmeca altos (2)_tn
    (These stills are for the tahona agave- the big opening is so they can put in the fibers.)

    Barrels with plastic to prevent evaporation tequila olmeca altos_tn
    (In the warehouse, they cover the lids of some barrels with plastic to reduce evaporation.)

    • Agave for Olmeca Altos is 7-8 years old before harvest. 
    • They cut out the cogollo (the interior of the plant where it would sprout to reproduce if it could) in the field. 
    • They heat the agave in ovens, though they own an autoclave that is sometimes used for the mixto. 
    • They use larger pot stills for the mixto. 
    • They ferment and distill the tahona agave with the agave fibers, not the rollermill agave.
    • The reposado tequila is aged in ex-bourbon barrels for 6-8 months.
    • They replace the barrels after 9-10 years. They tried recharring the barrels but didn't like the results.
    • The last agave shortage was in 2000 and 2001. Some people predict another shortage in a year or two. 
    • Lowland soils are sandier, darker, and more volcanic
    • 60-70% of agave for tequila is grown in the highlands
  • The Tequila-Sherry Connection

    Every time I look for sherry I find tequila there too. What is it with the tequila people and the sherry people being the same people?  

    Steven Olson aka Wine Geek is both a tequila and mezcal ambassador and also a sherry ambassador. 

    Jacques Bezuidenhout, Partida tequila brand ambassador and sometimes sherry ambassador, also created of the La Perla cocktail with both tequila and sherry. 

    George Sandeman of the Sandeman sherry and port family is a huge tequila fan. 

    On a recent trip to Spain with Steve Olsen were Phil Ward and Katie Stipe of Mayahuel, the tequila-and-mezcal bar in New York. 

    Gitane restaurant in San Francisco has a drink with tequila, PX, lime, and ginger beer. 

    And just the other day I got a recipe pitch from Espolon tequila with this recipe from H. Ehrmann of Elixir:

    Ashes to Ashes

    1.5 oz. Espolón Tequila Reposado
    .5 oz. Pedro Ximenez Sherry
    1 oz. Lemon Juice
    1 tsp. Sweetened Cocoa Mix
    .25 oz. Agave Nectar
    1 pinch Ground Cinnamon

    Place all ingredients in a mixing glass, fill with ice, cover and shake well for 10 seconds. Strain up into a cocktail glass. Garnish with cinnamon dust.

    I also love both sherry and tequila, but I don't know what they have to do with each other. 

    What gives? 

  • Latin, Packing, Pisco: A Few Articles I’ve Written Lately

    I've had several stories come out recently, so I thought I'd share them here. This blog is also my resume, after all. 

    Friday I wrote about my recent piece in the daily email Tasting Table San Francisco. This one is about Encanto Pisco, brought to us by a bartender, a sommelier, and a distiller. 

    Attention people attending Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans this July: My story about what to pack for the week (for media, speakers, bartenders, PR, and brand reps) in the June issue of Tasting Panel Magazine is now online. 

    Executivetravelmaycover  In the July issue of Executive Travel Magazine I have a story on the Latin libations that are hot and the ones that soon will be. 

    I have recently become a regular contributor to SilverKris, the in-flight magazine for Singapore Airlines. Unfortunately the magazine is not online. Recent stories have focused on new classic cocktails, the return of absinthe, and where to drink in Wellington, New Zealand. 

  • Home Bar Recommendations: One of Each

    OneofeachWhen Jonny Raglin and Jeff Hollinger were looking to open Comstock Saloon (hopefully this month), they had a big limitation to work with: the size of the back bar. It only has room for one or two types of each base spirit. This is a challenge for Raglin in particular as between his former post as Bar Manager at Absinthe and his consultant gig at Dosa on Fillmore he was working with probably 30 different types of gin alone. 

    This inspired a story I wrote for the April edition of 7×7 magazine. I also spoke with Martin Cate of Forbidden Island who had the luxury of choosing over 200 rums for the bar, but that didn't leave room for much else. Before opening he sent out an email requesting advice on one of each tequila (blanco, reposado, anejo) for the bar. I also spoke with Marcovaldo Dionysos, who was very selective when choosing the bottles for Clock Bar. He said he had to balance familiar brands that consumers know with less-recognized spirits he'd prefer to work with. 

    In the story I asked each of Raglin, Cate, and Dionysos to pick one of
    each- vodka, tequila, rum, whisky, and gin- that would work the best in
    the most cocktails, while also being good enough for sipping. The
    results should point home mixologists who may also not have room for 30 brands of gin toward the one bottle to buy.

    The Ultimate Five-Bottle Bar, Perfect for Apartment Dwelling

    by Camper English

    What happens when the city’s top bartenders are forced to choose? Introducing the ultimate five-bottle bar, perfectly sized for apartment dwelling. 

    Click the link above to read the story. In the print edition there are also recommendations for one each of sweet and dry vermouth and an orange liqueur/triple sec.

  • Drinks With: Francisco Alcaraz of Patron Tequila

    A few months back I had a very long lunch with Francisco Alcaraz, Paton Tequila's Master Distiller and Blender at the restaurant Kokkari in San Francisco. Alcaraz is not only the current master distiller, he created the recipe for Patron.

    Franciscoalcaraz

    Alcaraz studied chemical engineering at the University of Guadalajara then went to work as an inspector for an organization that was sort of a precursor to the CRT, the tequila regulatory commission. After that he went to work in a distillery and as a tequila consultant.

    Alcaraz developed the recipe for Patron at the distillery Siete Leguas (another brand still producing delicious tequila), where Patron was made from 1989 until 2002 before building their own distillery. Siete Leguas had both the traditional tahona (a giant grinding stone that crushes baked agave before fermentation and distillation) and a mechanical shredder (roller mill) that accomplishes the same thing, though these produce tequila with different flavors (and the topic incites long tequila nerd arguments). Patron uses a combination of tahona-crushed and shredded agave in its recipe.  

    Other differences from Siete Leguas' recipe include the type of yeast used and the source of the agave.

    The agave for Patron all comes from the Highlands of Jalisco, but it is not estate-grown. (That would be a darn big estate!) Alcaraz says they have contracts with seven large growers, and they do buy other agave on the open market. Another brand told me that they were required to buy some agave from small producers, but Alcaraz says that there is no requirement. There is, however, an incentive: The government (not sure if local or state) subsidizes part of the price of the agave to support these smaller farms. 

    Furthermore, Patron has long-term contracts with their growers to ensure that they will not be susceptible to the frequent agave market shortages that take place in cycles. (Another way they're preparing for future shortages is to store extra tequila in large stainless tanks to be bottled when needed.)

    After agave is delivered to the distillery, it is slow roasted in brick ovens (compared with faster autoclaves that some brands use), fermented in wood fermentation vats, and double distilled. Contrary to industry gossip, Alcaraz says that Patron distills all their own agave, and it is all made at their facilities.

    Gran-Patron-Burdeos-bee-stopperss

    Beyond the regular Patron range, they have two super-ultra-mega=-expensive premium options: Gran Patron Platinum and Gran Patron Burdeos. For the Platinum, they use agave with the highest sugar content, triple distill it, and age it in a large new, uncharred oak tank for one month.  The Burdeos is made from the same raw material as the Platinum, but is aged one year in American oak, then redistilled, then aged 10 more months in French oak, then finished in an ex-Bordeau wine barrel for two more months.

    Alcaraz says he doesn't drink tequila out of the Riedel Tequila Glass
    not because it's not good, but because it's too good. He says it makes tequila taste better than it is. "If there is something wrong I want to taste it!" he said.

    He also said something I've never heard before: that tequila improves in the bottle. That's a surprise, but one I don't think I'll ever be able to test- not only do you have to have a long and great sensory memory, I can never wait around while there's a bottle of tequila nearby.