Tequila Training

Table of Contents

Origin 3

Production Process 4

Cultivation 5

Harvesting 6

Cooking 7

Juice Extraction 8

Fermentation 9

Distillation 10

Aging 11

Types 12

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Origin

To call a spirit TEQUILA it must:

• Be produced in Jalisco, or in some parts of Nayarit, Guanajuato,
Michohacan, and Tamaulipas.
• Be made from a specific agave: Agave Tequilana, also known as Maguey
Azul or Blue Agave.

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Production Process

1. Cultivation 2. Harvesting 3. Cooking

4. Juice Extraction 5. Fermentation 6. Distillation 7. Aging

4
Cultivation

• It takes six to 10 years to mature.

• It has a lifespan of 8-14 years, depending on soil, climate and cultivation methods.
• The size of the agave is not as important as its sugar content.
• The agave produces a tall, fast-growing stalk called the quiote. If left to mature, this stalk will
produce flowers and if left to grow, the flowering quiotes will take sugars and nutrients from
the piña and the plant will put all of its energy into the flower production.

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Harvesting

• Harvesting is done year-round because the plants mature at different stages in the fields.
• Scientific testing determine when the agave is at its best sugar content - at least 24% by law.
• The piña is ripe when it starts to shrink and develops a maroon tinge, and red spots appear on the leaves.
• When the plants are ready, the jimador chops the leaves back close to the head.
• A jimador can trim a large agave in about three to six minutes .

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Cooking

• Older ovens are stone or brick-lined, newer ovens are stainless steel autoclaves.
• Traditional distillers let the piñas soften in the steam ovens or for 50-72 hours at moderate heat.
• Large distillers prefer to cook their piñas faster in efficient steam autoclaves and pressure cookers
in as little as a single day (12-18 hours).
• Fresh from the oven, the piñas taste a bit like a sweet potato or yam, sometimes a little like burnt
honey, with a mild tequila aftertaste.
• The average piña can make 2-5 liters of 100% blue agave tequila.

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Juice Extraction

•The juices are extracted by a giant grinding wheel(Tahona) that can weigh up to two tons, operated
by mules, oxen, horses or a tractor and pulled in a circle in a cobble-stone-lined pit.
•As the tahona crushes the agave, the fibers are separated from the juices. (Aquamiel)
•The waste fiber is called bagaso, and may be used for compost, or fuel, and rarely for paper or
textiles.
•Modern distilleries use a mechanical crusher, the piñas are minced, washed with water and strained
to remove the juices them mixed with water in large vats.

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Fermentation

• Fermentation is the conversion of sugars to alcohol.

• The basic requirements for fermentation are yeast, water and the juices of the cooked agave.
• The basic liquid is called the mosto.
• The mosto is left to ferment in wooden or stainless steel tanks. This can naturally take seven to 12 days.
but modern plants add chemicals so fermentation only takes two to three days.
• More traditional producers use smaller, wooden tanks for fermentation.
• Longer fermentation results in a more robust body.
• The higher the sugar content, the more alcohol a batch will produce.
• Some manufacturers use cane sugar or the more traditional brown sugar cones to speed fermentation or
to be able to use immature or fewer plants. (mixto)
• After fermentation is finished, the must may be left another 12 hours to richen and settle before
distillation.

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Distillation

• There are two basic types of still: the traditional alembic, by far the most common type, also called pot stills,
and the modern column (or Coffey) still.
• All tequilas must be double-distilled by law, but some companies does triple-distillation.
• The first distillation takes 1.5-2 hours. The first product, called the ordinario is about 25% alcohol.
• During the distillation process, the first and the end portion of the distillate (the head and the tail) to come out
of the condenser is drained off.
• The heads and tails contain compounds that can contribute to the body and flavor of the tequila, so these are
often re-distilled once afterwards to capture any extra tequila.
• The desired portion is the middle section, el corazon, the heart, and it is saved for the 2nd distillation.
• The second distillation takes 3-4 hours. The result has about 55% alcohol and is called 'tequila‘.
• Most producers take the tequila away when it is at about 55-60% alcohol (110-120 proof), and dilute it with
de-mineralized water to the desired proof (38-40% or 78-80 proof).
• All tequila is clear right after distillation. Any color comes later, from aging in wooden barrels or from additives
like caramel (in mixto only) or wood essence.
• In 30,000 liters of liquid produced from the ovens, there are only 10,000 left after the first distillation, and
2,500 after the second.

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Aging

• Of the five types of tequila, blanco and joven are not aged. Blanco tequilas may be stored in sealed, stainless steel tanks, but
this does not age the tequila, only smoothes it.
• Reposado, añejo and extra añejo are all aged in wooden (oak) barrels or tubs.
• Reposados may also be aged in large wooden vats of 20,000 liters or more. The amount of wood contact per surface area is
much less in a vat than in a small barrel, so reposados from these vats tend to be lighter, with much less wood effect.
• All añejos are aged in small barrels no larger than 600 liters.
• The type of barrel used makes a difference to the flavor and color.
• Some distillers use French oak, others white (American) oak. Tequilas aged in American oak are sweeter than those aged in
French oak.
• Most distilleries buy used barrels: Scotch, Bourbon, Sherry, Redwood and/or Wine.
• The length of aging in the barrel affects the tequila - many distillers only age their tequila in barrels for the required days and
may rack it into stainless steel tanks after that to prevent further impression from the wood.
• At some distillers, new barrels are used for reposados which sit in the wood for a short while before being transferred to older
barrels. Then the barrels are used for añejos, or extra añejo.
• All aged or stored tequila must be kept in containers sealed by the CRT

11
Types

There are 2 types of tequila based on the % of Blue Agave they contain:

• Tequila 100% Blue Agave

Divided in 4 major categories: Silver, Reposado, Añejo and extra Añejo.

• Tequila Mixto 51% blue agave

Divide in 4 major categories: Blanco, Gold, Reposado, or Añejo.

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