Tequila: The Foodie-file goes to Mexico!

I spent last week visiting and learning all about the making of tequila in Mexico in the state of Jalisco. Instead of my usual Canadiana fare, I will be bringing you foodie highlights from Mexico over the next week. Today’s foodie topic is tequila!

Tequila is made from the agave plant. In order for tequila to be called “tequila”, it must follow the regulations of the Designation of Origin, which dictates that it must be made from at least 51 per cent blue agave and produced in the state of Jalisco (or in a narrow region carved from the surrounding states of Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Michoacan and Nayarit, where blue agave grows). The aging process takes place in this same area. There are also particular regulations for aging Reposado and Anejo styles of tequila.

I visited Milagro Tequila’s sleek modern facility located in the highlands of the Sierra Madres Occidental, about an hour outside of Guadalajara. The blue agave fields rise up from the red volcanic earth in the distance as you approach the highlands. Tequila is also produced in the lowlands, Daniel Schneeweiss (the owner of Milagro) tells me, which gives an earthier profile to the tequila as opposed to the fruitiness of the tequila Milagro is producing. It’s the unique terroir of this area that gives tequila it’s particular taste. When I was there it was the dry season, but in a week or two the whole area will be green and lush.

“Jimadors” harvest the lethal looking plants, with a sharp blade and a stealthy hand, carving the plant down to the perfectly round “pina” found at the core of the agave. Almost every aspect of tequila making is done by hand. The agave plant takes 8-12 years to mature. It’s the Jimodors job to decide the crucial moment when the agave is ready to harvest right before it uses all of its energy to shoots up a long stalk and flower, at which point the agave plant loses its starch it is no longer useful – that’s 12 years of cultivation down the drain and the Jimadors job I would suspect! Each plant will yield about one case of tequila.

Once the agave is harvested, it is split and cooked in clay ovens which converts the starch in the plant to sugar. Some agave is cooked in autoclaves but this method does not achieve the concentrated flavour of the plant and so makes an inferior, less complex tequila – good for mixed drinks and frat parties. The juice in then extracted from the agave and placed in tanks with yeast to ferment. The resulting product is then distilled and voila – tequila!

Tequila is naturally a clear liquid, if you buy a product labeled “gold” it most likely has had colouring added to it. Reposado and Anejo styles of tequila have a golden colour to them depending on the amount of time they have been aged. These tequilas are aged in barrels for a defined period of time. Reposado age for anywhere from two to 12 months and Anejo from one to two years. Tequila is most commonly aged in French or American oak, but each company has its own preference for the type of barrel used in aging. The resins and tannins exuded from the barrels have a dramatic impact on the finished product. This is what turns a regular white tequila into a smooth nuanced sipping tequila.

Sip on a good quality tequila on its own, you’ll be surprised by the delicious complexity of flavour in a silver, reposado or anjeo tequila. Use a silver tequila, or “misto”, in a mixed cocktail or try one of these recipes featuring the taste of Jalisco:

Tequila Lime Chicken Breasts
Tacos with Tequila Marinated Pork
Tequila Sunset Pepper Jelly
Margarita Mousse Pie

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