Tequila and Mezcal Flashcards
How and where do the Agave plant live?
It’s a native plant to Central America, it grows into the ground from a hard, central core that is covered in long spiky waxy-textured leaves.
What’s the name of the fructans that the distillers are after when talking about the carbonhydrate in agave plants?
Inulin
How long can a agave plant live?
15-20 years
When do they harvest the agave?
Right before they flower, when the plant core has the greatest quantitys of fructans.
Which aromas do you get from agave?
bell pepper, vegetable, olive, black pepper
What’s the center of the core on an agave plant called?
a pina
To be able to cook a pina, how do you cut it?
into halves, or quarters
Which are the two traditional methods for cooking agave?
Steaming and roasting
What’s an autoclaves?
a modern pressurised steam oven used for cooking pina’s
Which is the modern way of cooking the agave?
steam cook in a pressurised steam oven.
which is the traditional way to cook the agave for tequila?
Steaming them in brick ovens. develops aromas that are antive to the agave
which is the traditional way to cook the agave for mezcal?
Roasting in stone-lined pits.
gives it a smoky intensity.
What’s a tahona?
It’s a large stone wheel that is rolled around a fixed path within a circular stone pit, where the pinas are placed on the path of the stone to crush them.
Where is Tahona most commonly used?
Within the production of Mezcal, in the state of Oaxaca
What’s a diffuser and how is it used?
It’s a machine where whole uncooked pinas are placed inside and out comes a sugary liquid.
What’s fomulation?
Creating the sweet liquid for fermentation is called formulating
When is ambient yeast used in Tequila and Mezcal production?
it’s widely used in Mezcal production but only in the highest quality Tequilas.
Which still is used in production of Tequila and Mezcal?
It can be distilled in either pot or column stills.
Top-quality Tequila and Mezcal are double distilled in pot stills.
How is Tequila and Mezcal stored or matured?
Most agave spirits are stored in inert vessels prior to bottling, but some may be matured in large oak vessels for a short time. It gives a greater smoothness and flavour complexity to develop.
What’s abocante?
A typ of caramel colour that also mimic the effect of maturation. Used sometimes in the Agave spirits. Only allowed in stored tequila.
Where is the production of agave spirits dominated?
Mexico
Which agave species is made for Tequila production?
Agave tequilana Weber, blue agave
Which state in Mexico is mot important for the Tequila production?
Jalisco
How does the Tequila production look like step by step?
- the pinas are cut into halvs or quarters
- the pinas are steamed (brick oven/autoclave)
- the fermentation of the agave fibers
double distilled in pot stills and collected at low strengths
Which are the two categories of Tequila which indicate the minimum amount of agave suger that was used to make the Tequila?
Tequila 100% - all the fermentable sugers have some from agave
Tequila - minimum of 51% of the sugars must have come from the agave.
What’s a mixto?
A Tequila where they’ve used maximum 49% of other sugers.
Which five classes of Tequila is there and what do they mean?
Blanco, Plata (silver) - no minimum ageing requirements
Joven, Oro (gold) - no minimum ageing requirements
Reposado (aged) - two months in oak
Anejo (extra aged) - one year in oak
Extra anejo (ultra aged) - three years in oak
Which one is the most important state for the Mezcal production?
Oaxaca in Mexico
Which agave species are used in the Mezcal production?
They can use any one of all the different species but the one most common used is Agave espadin: Agave angustifolia Haw
Which still is used in the production on Mezcal? and what character will it give the spirit?
Both pot and column stills are used, but the best Mezcal can only be made in a small pot still that are directly heated.
These stills produce a low-strength, pronounced distillate.
Which three factors combined will give the best Mezcal?
- a pronounced intensity and a unique combination of smoky, earthy, vegetable flavours
- the use of agave fibers in the fermentation
- the distillation in simple pot stills to a low strength
Which three categories do they divided Mezcal into?
Mezcal -any production techniques are allowed, column stills are permitted
Artesanal Mezcal - only allowed to use rosting pits, brick ovens, simple milling machinery, hand crushing or tahona. They are required to use directly heated copper, wood or clay pot stills.
Ancestral Mezcal - only allowed to use roasting pits, hand crushing or tahona, directly heated wood or clay pot still.
Which three classes of Mezcal is there when it comes to ageing and what do they mean?
Blanco, Joven - unaged
Reposado - two months in oak
Anejo - one year in oak barrels
