Week 8: Agave Spirits Flashcards
How is agave also called?
Maguey
How do you call wild agave in Spanish?
Agaves silvestres
How long does it takes an agave to reach maturity?
Between 5 and 30 years
What is the purpose of cooking pinas?
- Convert fructans into fermentable sugars
- break open the cells where fructans are stored
What is the Spanish name for the brick/masonry steam oven used to cooked pinas?
Hornos de mamposteria
How do you call a pressurised steam oven in Spanish?
Autoclaves
How do you call the large crushing wheel in Spanish?
Tahona
How do you call the large oak vessels used for Tequila?
Pipones
What variety of agave must be used for tequila?
Agave tequilana weber (var azul) or blue agave
What variety of agave is commonly used for mezcal?
Agave Angustifolia Haw (var espadin)
What is cogollo?
A section at the top of the pina that can give unwanted waxy flavours
What is the Spanish term for fire pits?
Hornos de pozo
What is abocado?
A combination of caramel colour, oak extract. glycerol and sugar.
What are the GI allowed to produce the Agave for Tequila?
State of Jalisco
Municipalities in states of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit, Tamaulipas
Which Mexican state accounts for the vast majority of Tequila production?
Jalisco
What is the name of the solid body of plant material that remains after an agave has been harvested?
Piña
What is the Spanish term for agave harvesters?
Jimador
When cooking piñas, what is the Spanish term for the sweet liquid that is collected from the base of the oven?
Aguamiel
What two approaches to processing cooked piñas can be used by producers of Ancestral Mezcal?
Tahona and Mallets.
What two types of steam ovens are used in the production of agave spirits (Spanish terms)?
Horno de mampostería and autoclave.
In agave spirits production, what is the step before fermentation in which the distiller creates a final sugary liquid?
Formulation
What does the term abocado con… indicate for Mezcal ?
Abocado con… indicates that a Mezcal has been flavoured by maceration.
What is he maximum percentage of non-agave sugars that can be used in the production of Tequila?
49%
What substances can be used for sweetening, colouring and flavouring Tequilas since 2005?
Any substance so long as it is safe for human consumption.
What is a diffuser?
A machine that be used to either extract extract all of the sugars from cooked piñas or process and uncooked piñas to produce an inulin rich liquid.
What are the different classes of Tequila?
- Blanco or Plata
- Joven or Oro
- Reposado
- Añejo
- Extra Añejo
In Tequila production, what does the labelling term Blanco or Plata indicate?
Any period of storage in an oak vessel must be less than two months. The spirit may have a slight colour and the use of abocado is not permitted.
In Tequila production what does the labelling term Joven or Oro indicate?
A blanco Tequila that has been softened by abocado.
A blend of Blanco Tequila with reposado and/or anejo and/or extra anejo is also considered to be joven or Oro
In Tequila production what does the labelling term Reposado indicate?
- A Tequila aged for a minimum of two months in oak vessels. The use of abocado is permitted.
- A blend of Reposado Tequila with Añejo and/or Extra Añejo.
In Tequila production what does the labelling term Añejo indicate?
- A Tequila aged for a minimum of one year in oak vessels with a capacity of 600L or less. The use of abocado is permitted.
- A blend of Tequila Añejo and Extra Añejo.
In Tequila production what does the term Extra Añejo indicate?
A Tequila aged for a minimum of three years on oak vessels with a capacity of 600L or less. The use of abocado is permitted.
What categories of Tequila indicate that all the fermentable sugars come from the blue agave?
Tequila 100% de agave, 100% agave, 100% puro de agave, 100% puro agave.
What category of Tequila indicates that 51% or more of the fermentable sugars come from agave?
Tequila
From which Mexican state does the majority of Mezcal come from?
Oaxaca
What are the different classes of Mezcal?
- Blanco or Joven
- Madurado en vidrio
- Reposado
- Añejo
- Abocado con
- Destilado con
What five pieces of information must be stated on Mezcal labels?
- The state where the Mezcal was made
- The category and class of Mezcal
- 100% maguey or 100% agave
- If more than one agave was used, a list of the names starting with the species that made up the greatest percentage of the total agave.
What are the three categories of Mezcal?
Mezcal, Artisanal Mezcal and Ancestral Mezcal.
What types of vessels are used in the fermentation of Artisanal Mezcal and Ancestral Mezcal?
Stone or soil pits, hollowed tree trunks, masonry vessels, animal skins, wood or clay vessels.
What two categories of Mezcal must use directly heated pot stills?
Artisanal Mezcal and Ancestral Mezcal.
What category of Mezcal must use pot stills made of clay with the still head made from clay or wood?
Ancestral Mezcal.
In the distillation of Tequila, what is the abv of the intermediate product from the first distillation?
20-25%, the product is called ordinario.
