Spirits: Everything Agave Flashcards
5 original states of the Tequila DO
Jalisco
Nayarit
Tamaulipas
Guanajuato
Michoacan
4 additives are permitted by the tequila DO?
- Caramel coloring
- Natural oak or encino oak extract
- Sugar-based syrup
- Glycerin
Tequila agave variety
Agave tequila weber azul
Mexican states for tequila AND Mezcal (3)
Tamaulipas
Michoacan
Guanajuato
Name 3 states for Mezcal production
Tamaulipas
Michoacan
Guanajuato
Durango
Zacatecas
San Luis Potosi
Guerrero
Oaxaca
4 digit code on Tequila bottle - what does it tell you?
NOM: Norma Oficial Mexicana
* Identifies the distillery
* it is a certification that the product is authentic. All 100% agave Tequila must carry one.
of distillations for Tequila
2 or 3x
% of fermented sugar in Tequila must come from blue agave?
51%
Max. size barrel for aging Tequila Anejo
600L
How long must a Tequila age to be labelled Extra Anejo?
3+ years
Bacanora
Sonora
* Agave Pacifica
* similar to Mezcal in production
Sotol
- plant name
- 3 regions of production
- alt name
Dasylirion Wheeleri
(desert spoon)
* Chihuahua, Coaihuila, Durango
If made elsewhere, known as Cucharilla
Tequila ABV
USA = min. 40%
Tequila DO = 35% - 55%
Raicilla
- where from
- what is it
“little root”
Mezcal from Jalisco (and part of Nayarit). Strong link to Puerto Vallarta.
* 100% agave.
- Raicilla de la Costa: Agaves Angustifolia Haw & Rhodacantha
- Raicilla de la Sierra: Agaves Maximiliana Baker, Inaequidens Koch & Valenciana
Charanda
100% sugarcane juice, piloncillo or molasses
*this isn’t agave, obviously
Michoacan - DO since 2003
* Charanda = “red colored soil”
* sugar cane is crushed, wild yeast fermented, distilled 2x in copper pot still
ABV for Mezcal DO
36 - 55%
Aging for Mezcal Anejo
Min 12m in oak (max 220L)
Aging for Mezcal Repasado
min 2 months
Mezcal Madurado en Vidrio
Ages in glass 12m+
* little light/temp. Softens Mezcal without losing ABV
4 things required on a Mezcal label
- class
- category
- Agave species
- name of the production state
*Anejo/Matured in glass must give age in years
permitted Mezcal additives
Up to 5% of volume:
Insects
Fruit
Herbs
Honey
Coloring agents
Meat
Mezcal categories
- Mezcal
- Mezcal Artesenal
- Mezcal Ancestral
Bagazo
Agave fiber left over after milling, fermentation, and distillation. It may be used to insulate the hot rocks of the pit oven, and to seal joints on clay-pot stills
Distillation methods for basic Mezcal category
- alembic still
- continuous still
- copper still
- stainless steel tanks
*can include bagazo
(only ancestral is required to use bagazo)
Mezcal Artesenal
- agave cooks in pits or stone ovens
- can be milled by mechanical shredders (vs tahona, mill)
- ferments in wood, clay, hide, animal skins, tree trunks
- distillation in clay pots OR copper stills
Can be made with or without the bagazo
Mezcal Ancestral
- agave is cooked in pits
- milled by mallets, tahona, mills
- fermented in rock pits, wood, clay, animal hide, or tree trunks
with bagazo - distillation occurs in clay pots with bagazo
(artisanal can cook in stone overs, doesn’t need to include bagazo, and can use a copper still)
Most common agave variety for Mezcal?
Espadín
~80 - 90% of production
Mezcal agave varieties
Tobalá
Espadín
Cuishe
Tepeztate
Cenizo
Pechuga
Mezcal
Pechuga = breast
Special occasion Mezcal flavored with fruits, nuts, spice and distilled with meat. Usually chicken, but could be rabbit iguana etc
Term for a mezcal distillery
palenque
Abocado con Raicilla
Raicilla with added ingredients to directly incorporate flavors
Racilla Reposada, Anejada aging
Reposada: 2-12 months in oak
Anejada: min. 12 months in oak
Blanco/Silver Tequila aging
MAX 2 months in encino or American oak
Reposado Tequila aging
MIN. 2 months in American or Encino oak
Añejo Tequila aging
MIN 12 months in American or Encino oak
* max barrel = 600L
Extra Añeja Tequila aging
MIN 3 years in American or Encino oak barrels
* max 600L
Mezcal Reposado
2 - 12 months
Mezcal’s 1st distillation - 3 terms for it
ordinario, común, or shishe
3 primary types of Oaxaca Mezcal still
- Copper Alembic
- Alembic with a refrescadera
- Fillipino clay-pot still
Tahona
Mills cooked agave
Bagazo
Leftover agave fiber from milling, fermentation, distillation
* required to be included in Ancestral; optional for Artesenal
Quiote
Agave flower stalk (signifies ready to reproduce then die)
* Maguey capón: severed quiote = stronger flavor, more sugar
stone wheel pulled by horse to crush agave
Molino
Tepache
fermented maguey juice ready to be distilled
tool to harvest agave
coa de jima - machete
Capon
Cutting of the mature agave stalk, or quiote, early on to prevent the flow of sap, keeping it stored in the piña until harvest for mezcal production
Cazo/Cazuela
traditional distillation vessels
Mezcal from 2 or more agave species
Ensamble
(would be combined during fermentation, not after)
Horno Cónico
stone oven for roasting agave
Hoya de Barro
“clay pot” - distillation
Agave harvester
Jimador
Pulque
fermented drink made from fermented agave sap (aguamiel)
Names for the 2 Mezcal distillations
- Ordinario/Comin/Shishe
- Refinada
How is Tequila’s agave cooked? Pressed?
Autoclave or brick oven
then
diffuser OR Rollermill (modified sugar cane mill)
Tequila term for sweet liquid from cooked agave? Name for it after distillation?
Aguamiel
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