| Tequila- Montezuma's Legacy | | | | By: Ron Kapon |  Page 1 of 3 next >> |
Tequila comes in several varieties and may be referred to in some circles as Montezuma's Legacy, but the fact of the matter is that it was crafted and refined by the Spanish.
Like Mexican culture itself, Tequila is the result of a creative encounter between two worlds although it is likely that Mexicans would not be inclined to refer to it as creative as much as confrontational, an imposition and, reluctantly, a conquering. The ancient indigenous peoples of this romantic country drank the fermented juice of the agave in the same way that Europeans drank beer or wine. In colonial times, the Spanish came, they saw, and they introduced the distillation process to obtain the liquor now known as Tequila. It may be referred to in some circles as Montezuma's Legacy, but the fact of the matter is that it was crafted and refined by the Spanish who, while spreading their culture, were intent upon maintaining their love of intemperance and serious drinking.
I am not suggesting that you open a still in your basement in an attempt to improve the vintage, but for those who wish to know a bit more than simply savoring Tequila, it is a spirit made by fermenting and distilling the juice of the blue agave plant. It is grown in an officially delimited region of west-central Mexico, including the town of Tequila, in the state of Jalisco. The end product must be - make that should be - at least 51% derived from that plant, although most bottles will be labeled 100%. The blue agave, contrary to what many are led to believe, either by guessing or being told by misinformed self-proclaimed experts, is not part of the cactus family so stop looking around the deserts of Arizona to impress those traveling with you. Mezcal, interestingly enough, is the Aztec word for the agave plant but it is not a Tequila, although Mezcal comes from the agave plant it is from outside the delimited area. Sometimes it is bottled with a worm, and for the pedestrian enjoyment of a cocktail before, or during, dinner, this is not the most appealing vision one could hope for. Ignore it.
The blue agave plant is grown in an officially delimited region of west-central Mexico, including the town of Tequila, in the state of Jalisco, located between Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta.
By way of comparison and analogy, think of Cognac produced in a specified geographic area of France and French brandy produced outside that area. Hence all Tequila is mescal, but not all Mezcal is Tequila. If that is confusing to any degree, no need to store it in some memory bank or even refer to it when enjoying Tequila. Just enjoy.
On the other hand, if you are getting ready for that next tasting party at your home or simply are desirous of furthering your education about Tequila, know that it takes eight to 10 years for a blue agave plant to reach maturity. The juice-filled cores are then harvested, trimmed, cut in quarters, baked in steam ovens until their starch converts to sugar, at which point they are pumped into fermentation tanks and combined with cane sugar and yeast. So much for the calorie count. The more sugar that is added (up to 49% of the mixture) the less pungent the Tequila will be. All Tequilas are double distilled in pot stills (a few utilize a triple distillation, and several use a continuous still), and the second distillation converts the liquor into clean, white high-proof spirit. This Tequila is filtered and its alcohol strength adjusted with demineralized water that brings it to its bottling proof. (Usually 80).
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