Tequila Flashcards

(121 cards)

1
Q

How does the US define tequila?

A

An agave spirit distilled at less than 95% ABV and bottled at no less than 40% ABV, made in Mexico.

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2
Q

What status does tequila have in the EU?

A

GI status as a distinctive product of Mexico.

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3
Q

What is the NOM?

A

The Norma Oficial Mexicana, the official standards of Mexico regulating spirit production.

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4
Q

What are the two types of tequila?

A

Tequila
100% Agave Tequila

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5
Q

What must be on the label of 100% agave tequila?

A

One of the following:
100% de agave
100% puro de agave
100% agave
100% puro agave
Blue may be added.

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6
Q

What are the requirements for the production of both types of tequila?

A

Made from the Agave tequilana Weber plant.
Grown, harvested and produced in a designated tequila-producing area.
Bottled at between 35-55% ABV
Not “cold mixed” - no other added alcoholic beverage.

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7
Q

What are other requirements for 100% agave tequila?

A

Must be from 100% blue agave
Must be bottled in a bottling plant controlled by the authorized manufacturer and located in a tequila producing area.

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8
Q

What are the different requirements for non-100% agave tequila?

A

Must be produced with at least 51% blue agave. The remaining 49% may be from other sugars.
With approval, may be transported in bulk for bottling outside the designated tequila-producing areas.

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9
Q

Are additives allowed in tequila?

A

Yes, certain additives are allowed up to 1%, including caramel coloring, oak extract, glycerin and sugar syrup.

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10
Q

What is Abocado?

A

The process for softening tequila through the use of additives.

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11
Q

What is Abocante?

A

The set of additives chosen in tequila production for Abocado.

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12
Q

Are tequila producers required to list additives on their labels?

A

No.

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13
Q

What Mexican state is the largest tequila producer?

A

Jalisco.

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14
Q

Besides Jalisco, what other Mexican states are allowed to produce tequila?

A

Tamaulipas
Guanajuato
Nayarit
Michoacan

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15
Q

Which style of tequila is rarely of high quality and not an important export?

A

Joven Tequila.

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16
Q

What are the two main agave producing regions of Jalisco?

A

The Amatitán/Lowlands Region
Los Altos/Highlands Region

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17
Q

In which part of Jalisco is the town of Tequila located?

A

The Amatitán

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18
Q

Which of the two agave producing regions of Jalisco is the overall warmest?

A

The Amatitán

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19
Q

What agave producing area of Jalisco includes the town of Arandas?

A

Los Altos

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20
Q

What type of tequilas are produced in Los Altos?

A

Softer, fruitier and highly floral tequilas.

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21
Q

What type of tequilas are produced in the Amatitán?

A

Crisper, more vegetal, and earthy tequilas with black pepper spice flavors.

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22
Q

What are the main factors that effect the character of a specific brand of tequila?

A

Agave quality
Other base material (Mixto)
Water used
Fermentation
Distillation type
Maturation
Additives

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23
Q

What is Tequila Rosa (or Rosada)?

A

An unofficial labelling term for tequila aged in used red wine barrels.

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24
Q

What aromas and flavors may be brought about by the aging of Rosa (Rosado) tequilas in used red wine barrels?

A

Fruity and floral aromas.

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25
What is a diffuser process in tequila production?
An expensive, large, enclosed machine that can extract nearly all of the carbohydrates from pinas. They are used either with cooked or uncooked pinas.
26
How does a diffuser work with uncooked piñas?
The machine bypasses the initial cooking stage and mechanically shreds the piñas, allowing the raw extraction of sap, which then goes through a heating and cooking process.
27
How does a diffuser work with cooked piñas?
It is a more efficient method to extract sugar from pinas.
28
Do distillers process whole cooked piñas through a diffuse?
Sometimes, or they may pass leftover fibers from a run through the mechanized crusher. The liquid from fibers only is lower quality.
29
What is the formulation step in the production of Agave Spirits?
The step before fermentation, where distillers create their final sugary liquid.
30
In 100% agave tequila production, what may be added prior to fermentation?
Agave fibers Mieles
31
In Tequila (non 100% agave), what can be added prior to fermentation?
Agave fibers, Mieles, and non-agave sugars, often from sugar cane or corn. 51% of the total amount of sugars must come from blue agave.
32
What is Mieles Armagas?
Spanish for "Bitter Honeys", the first part of the liquid Mieles that drains off the cooking pinas. It is typically discarded.
33
How is the agave juice fermented in the tequila making process?
Mostly in stainless, diluted with water to a sugar level of between 8-16%. Nearly all distillers use cultured yeast. Some artisanal producers add bagazo to their fermentation vessels.
34
How long does fermentation take in making tequila?
Varies wildly. Could be within a day with nitrogen-based yeast nutrients and cultured yeast, week if using ambient/wild yeast and pina fibres.
35
What is the normal ABV for mosto muerto (the fermented agave juice used to make tequila)?
4-8%
36
If a basic tequila (non-100% agave) is made, when is the non-agave sugar portion added?
It is added to the fermentable must of the agave juice just before the yeast is added.
37
What are the distillation requirements for tequila?
It must be distilled a minimum of 2 times. No limitation on type of still used.
38
What ABV does "el corazon" (the heart of the run) have after the first distillation in tequila production?
Around 25%
39
What Group 1 fraction has high levels throughout the second distillation, not just the heads cut?
Methanol.
40
What is Ordinario in tequila production?
The heart of the first distillation run. Sometimes called tequila primero.
41
What is the ABV for tequila coming off the second distillation?
Usually no higher than 55-60% ABV, sometimes down to 46%.
42
What is tequila primero?
The heart of the first distillation run. Sometimes called Ordinario.
43
What is mixto?
The original name for non-100% agave tequila.
44
Since when have flavored tequilas been on the market?
2004
45
What are the aging classifications for tequila?
Blanco Jove Oro Reposado Añejo Extra-Añejo
46
What type of tequila can use labelling terms for age?
Both Tequila and 100% de Agave.
47
What does Joven mean as a tequila labeling term?
A Blanco tequila that has been softened through abocado. No aging is required, but it is often an unaged tequila treated with caramel or other additives.
48
What is Joven Abocado on a tequila label?
It means young and smooth or young and mellowed, an unaged tequila with caramel coloring or other additives.
49
What is Oro tequila?
A blend of young/unaged tequila with older tequila. Sometimes used interchangeably with Joven.
50
What is Reposado tequila?
A tequila aged for a minimum of 2 months in oak.
51
What are some other possible labeling terms for Blanco tequila?
White, Silver, Plata
52
What are some other names for Reposado tequila?
Aged, rested.
53
What is Añejo tequila?
A tequila aged for at least 1 year in oak. May also be labeled Extra-Aged.
54
What is Extra-Añejo tequila?
A tequila aged for at least 3 years in oak. May also be labeled Ultra-aged.
55
What are the requirements for the size of the oak containers for aging Reposado tequila?
It is not regulated.
56
For what age categories is abocado not permitted in Tequila labelling?
Blanco or Plata (Silver)
57
What is the term for a tequila that is either unaged or aged in oak for up to two months with no abocado?
Blanco or Plata
58
What are the requirements for the size of the oak containers for aging Añejo tequila?
Must be no larger than 600 liters (160 gallons).
59
What are the requirements for the size of the oak containers for aging Extra-Añejo tequila?
Must be no larger than 600 liters (160 gallons).
60
What is Cristalino on a Tequila label?
Not an officially recognized term. Anejo or Extra Anejo Tequilas that have been filtered using activated charcoal to remove their color.
61
What are some terms used to refer to agave spirits other than tequila and mezcal?
Destilado de agave Aguardiente de agave Destilado de maguey.
62
Are Pipones still used for maturing Tequila?
They were traditionally, but usage is now in decline.
63
When did Don Julio register their first brand of tequila?
1951.
64
What was the first brand of tequila registered to Don Julio?
Tres Magueyes, a Mixto Tequila.
65
When was the first 100% blue agave tequila introduced by Don Julio?
1985.
66
Who currently owns Don Julio?
Diageo
67
What is Don Julio particularly known for?
It's horticultural practices. It grows agave on leased land to allow for soil replenishment through crop rotations.
68
How is Don Julio distilled?
Double distilled in copper pot stills.
69
Where is Don Julio produced?
Los Altos region of Jalisco
70
How is the agave for Don Julio cooked?
In masonry ovens.
71
What is El Tesoro?
A traditionally produced 100% agave premium tequila.
72
Where is El Tesoro produced?
The La Alteña distillery near Arandas in the Los Altos region of Jalisco
73
When was the El Tesoro brand first created?
1990
74
Who was Don Felipe Camarena?
Founder of El Tesoro.
75
Who were Robert Denton and Marilyn Smith?
Tequila importers who helped created the brand El Tesoro.
76
What was special about El Tesoro when it was first introduced?
At the time, most tequilas were mixto and consumed in margaritas.
77
What is Tapatio?
A brand of Tequila also produced by La Alteña distillery (the El Tesoro distillery)
78
How is El Tesoro produced?
With mostly estate-grown agave, baked in adobe hornos, milled in a traditional tahona, and fermented in open-top wood tanks with ambient yeasts.
79
When was Herradura founded?
1870
80
What does Herradura translate to in English?
Horseshoe
81
What is El Jimador?
A brand of Tequila produced by Herradura. The best selling tequila in Mexico.
82
Who currently owns Herradura?
Brown-Forman
83
What played a major role in Herradura becoming a popular brand in the US?
Julio Bermejo, owner of Tommy's Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco, made it his well tequila, using it in his famous Tommy's Margarita.
84
Who began importing Herradura into the US in 1955?
Bing Crosby and Phil Harris
85
Does Herradura make Mixto tequila?
No, only 100% blue agave.
86
What is Jose Cuervo?
The best selling brand of tequila in the world.
87
Who received the first license from Spain for tequila production?
Jose Cuervo
88
When did Jose Cuervo receive the license to produce tequila from Kin Carlos IV?
1795.
89
Who currently owns Jose Cuervo?
The Beckmann family, further decendants of Jose Cuervo.
90
Besides Jose Cuervo, what other major brand of spirits is owned by the Beckmann family?
Bushmills.
91
What is Cuervo Especial (Cuervo Gold)?
A mixto tequila colored with caramel.
92
Does Jose Cuervo make 100% Agave tequilas?
Yes, as well as mixto tequilas.
93
What is La Rojeña?
One of the two Jose Cuervo distilleries. Produces some 100% agave tequilas.
94
What is the best selling luxury brand of tequila world-wide?
Patrón.
95
When was Patrón founded?
1989
96
Who was John Paul DeJoria?
The founder of John Paul Mitchell hair systems, and co-founder of Patrón.
97
Where was Patrón originally produced?
The Siete Leguas distillery.
98
Who currently owns Patrón?
Bacardi.
99
Who received the first license to produce mezcal wine in the Tequila region in 1795?
Jose Maria Guadalupe Cuervo
100
When was the term "tequila" first used to describe Mezcal wine from the Jalisco region?
1873
101
What is the Altitude of the Amatitán?
About 4200 ft. (1300 m)
102
What administrative regions are included in Los Altos?
Altos Norte Altos Sur Portion of Cienéga.
103
What is the altitude of Los Altos?
6500 ft. (2000 m)
104
How much do Amatitán piñas weigh?
75-165 lbs. (35-75 kilos)
105
How much do Los Altos piñas weigh?
110-200 lbs. (50-90 kilos)
106
How long and at what temperature are piñas generally cooked in hornos?
36-48 hours at 140-185º F or Shorter time - 200º F
107
What is a diffuser process in tequila production?
An expensive, large, enclosed machine that can extract nearly all of the carbohydrates from pinas. They are used either with cooked or uncooked pinas.
108
What are some popular flavors of flavored tequila?
Chiles (Jalapeno, chipotle, ancho, etc.) Tropical fruit (Coconut, mango pineapple) Orange Strawberry Almond
109
How many brands of tequila are there in Mexico?
Over 350.
110
What are some popular cocktails made with tequila?
Margarita Tequila Sunrise Paloma Brave Bull Bloody Maria
111
What is Sauza?
The second largest tequila brand in the world.
112
When was Sauza founded?
1873.
113
Who owns Sauza?
Beam-Suntory.
114
What is the name of the tequila produced by Sauza's grandson?
Since he was not able to call it Sauza, he tried Los Abuelos in honor of his grandfather. Due to trademark issues, had to rebrand it Fortaleza, as it is stilled named today.
115
What is Fortaleza?
A tequila brand made by Sauza's grandson using traditional methods including a tahona for crushing.
116
Where is the agave used in Sauza grown?
The lowlands.
117
What is Siete Leguas?
A tequila brand named after the horse of Pancho Villa who could supposedly travel seven leagues (siete Leguas) in one day.
118
What is unique about Siete Leguas?
It has two distilleries.
119
What is El Centenario?
A Siete Leguas distillery that makes tequila using traditional and modern techniques.
120
What is La Vencedora?
A Siete Leguas distillery that uses modern techniques for tequila production.
121
How is Siete Leguas blended?
It is manually blended from the two different tequila distilleries.