Tequila is the drink that most identifies Mexico in the world. Tequila is one of the most popular drinks in the United States, the main buyer of tequila abroad. To show his love for tequila, he has dedicated a day to celebrate it, the 24 July is National Tequila Day.
Tequila is one of the traditional Mexican drinks produced by the agave. It is a distillate made exclusively from the “blue variety tequilana weber agave”, whose maturation requires between six or seven years.
The origins of tequila date back to pre-Hispanic times
Tequila is a mixed drink that arises from the 16th century. The origins of tequila date back to pre-Hispanic times. The Chichimecas, Otomíes, Toltecas and Nahuatlacas already tasted the fermented agave juices but the subsequent distillation process was not carried out. It was at the arrival of the Spanish, when the European distillation process was incorporated, thereby obtaining tequila.
The Secretariat of Tourism of Mexico indicates that the first distillery was established in 1600 but it was not until the end of the 18th century that it emerged as an industry. The cradle of tequila is Tequila , a Magical Town of Jalisco that is part of the UNESCO World Heritage. The name means “place of tribute.”
In 1758 the King of Spain grants Don José Antonio de Cuervo land to cultivate and harvest the blue agave. Cuervo obtains in 1795 the first concession from King Carlos IV for the commercial production of tequila and in 1812 the Cuervo distillery, the La Rojeña factory, was established.
Formerly tequila was called mezcal wine, later it would be named “tequila” by Don Cenobio Sauza who in 1873 acquired “La Antigua Cruz”, one of the oldest distilleries in Tequila.
How tequila is made
To obtain tequila, the agave is cut and the leaves are removed until only the pineapple remains ( heart), a process known as “jima”. After cooking in stone ovens, the juices (musts) are extracted, and once fermented they are subjected to distillation.
Categories and classes of tequila
Categories : Tequila 100% agave and Tequila.
Classes:
White or silver (silver). Obtained from the distillation to which dilution water is added for required commercial graduation.
Young or gold (gold) . Result of mixing the white with the aged, aged or extra aged.
Reposado (aged). Submitted The maturation process, at least two months in direct contact with the wood of oak or oak containers.
Añejo (extra aged). For less one year in direct contact with the wood of oak or oak containers.
Extra aged (Ultra aged). Subjected to ripening process ation, at least three years in direct contact with the wood of oak or oak containers.
Denomination of Origin
An authentic tequila has to be produced in Mexico as indicated by its Denomination of Origin (DOT). This covers all the municipalities of the state of Jalisco, in addition to certain regions of Nayarit, Michoacán, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas. Any other distilled tequilana agave beverage weber blue variety made in other areas is not legally tequila.
The protection granted by the DOT involves different aspects, among which the extraction, production and elaboration of tequila stand out.
–
It may interest you:
10 myths about tequila, what you should and what you should not believe