TEQUILA PURO:
UNRAVELING THE MYSTERY OF 100% AGAVE TEQUILAS
By Robert Plotkin

In Mexico, it is referred to as Tequila Puro. In the United States, we know them as 100% agave tequilas. They have captivated the imagination of the American drinking public, making them the fastest growing category of spirits in the country. Interest in tequila has been nothing short of phenomenal. To meet demand, more than 30 new brands of tequila have made their way into the American market in the past eighteen months.

The proliferation of brands of tequila, however, has left many consumers feeling overwhelmed. “We carry well over a hundred different tequilas on our back bar, the majority of which are 100% agave tequilas,” says Raymon Flores, president of El Charro Cafe, a landmark eatery in Tucson, Arizona. “Consumer interest in these tequilas is huge. But as the number of new brands continue to increase, more and more people are asking us what’s the difference between the brands. If they’re made from nothing but agave, then how can there be such a huge disparity between quality, taste and selling price?”

Premium, 100% agave tequilas are single-ingredient products. They essentially contain nothing but blue agave and a fractional amount of demineralized water. Contrary to several marketing campaigns, there are no closely held family recipes for tequila puro passed down from one generation to the next.

While technology has made our lives better in countless ways, it has done nothing to improve the process of making tequila. With few exceptions, those who employ the traditional methods continue to produce the most flavorful and highest quality tequila. Cutting corners or speeding up the process may make financial sense, but it doesn’t make great tequila.

THE CRAFTING OF 100% AGAVE TEQUILA

The differences between brands of 100% agave tequilas are years in the making. From the planting of the agave to unbarreling the añejo, the production cycle can take in excess of a decade to complete. It is a time-honored process, steeped in tradition and culture, one in which every decision made along the way will impact the finished tequila.

“You can make a bad wine from great grapes, but you can’t make a great wine from bad grapes. The same is absolutely true for tequila,” contends Martin Crowley, producer of Patrón Tequila. “Making a great tequila begins with mature, hand-cultivated agaves grown under optimum conditions. It’s expensive to keep the plants in the ground for the 8-12 years it takes them to reach maturity, which is why many companies harvest early. Only mature agaves though can produce a genuinely flavorful, exuberant tequila.”

Related to the aloe, the agave thrives in rich volcanic soil and a warm and dry micro-climate. Agaves mature at their own pace. An agave is deemed ready for harvesting several months after the plant produces its central flower stalk. The stalk is cut away, forcing the agave to concentrate its sugars in the plant’s core. It is the sugar within the agave that is fermented and distilled. When the plant begins to shrink in size and rusty brown spots appear at the base, the agave is ready for harvesting.

Premiere tequila distillers cultivate and hand-select their own agaves to ensure the highest degree of quality. Many tequila producers sub-contract their agaves from outside farming collectives that grow and harvest bulk agaves. Maintaining strict quality standards under these circumstances is difficult.

After harvesting, the agave cores are split into quarters and then must be baked to convert the plant’s natural starches into fermentable sugars. The traditional method of baking agaves is in a large stone oven called an hornos. It takes 3 days of roasting to fully convert the agaves’ natural starches into fermentable sugars. This slow process ensures that the agaves are properly cooked and that the sugars don’t caramelize.

While baking agaves in stone ovens is time and labor intensive, the process is thought to yield the best results. In an effort to reduce costs and speed up production, many brands use stainless steel autoclaves to pressure cook the agaves. While faster, these huge autoclaves fail to properly hydrolyze the starches and don’t totally convert the starches into sugars. As a result, the finished tequila won’t be as flavorful.

The agaves are then removed from the oven and taken to the crusher. The machine crushes the agaves, splitting open the plant’s fibers and extracting the juice. The juice, called aguamiel, is separated from the crushed fibers and transferred to a large fermentation tank. Water and yeast are added to the tank to start fermentation, a process that takes approximately 72-96 hours. During this process, the juice bubbles and boils as the sugars are slowly converted into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.

The premiere distilleries precipitate fermentation using wild, airborne yeasts. While these yeasts take longer to bring about fermentation, they lend an intriguing flavor to the tequila. Some producers use artificially prepared yeasts, or yeast nutrients called accelerators that are designed to speed up fermentation, reducing the process down to a mere 36 hours. These yeasts, however, do nothing to improve the flavor of the finished product.

The size, volume and exact shape of the still plays a role in how the finished tequila will taste. “Distilling tequila in traditional alembic stills produces a much more flavorful spirit,” states Jose Chacon, marketing director for Sauza Tequila. “We produce our 100% agave tequilas in hand-tooled, copper alembic stills because we believe they deliver more flavor. While distilling in alembic stills is a slow and labor-intensive process, making 100% agave tequilas isn’t something that can be rushed.”

By law, tequila must be double distilled. For quality assurance, the alcohol obtained at the beginning and the end of the distillation, referred to as the “heads and tails,” is discarded, or re-distilled in the next run. When it leaves the still, the tequila is as clear as water. It is transferred into a holding tank, typically for less than 24 hours. At this point, some of the tequila is sent on to be aged in oak, with the remainder being bottled as blanco or plata (silver) tequila.

“Aging tequila is a masterful skill, one that’s more art than science. It requires many years and an exceptionally keen palate to do it really well,” claims Robert Denton, importer of Chinaco and El Tesoro de Don Felipe 100% Agave Tequilas. “Our tequilas are aged in 180-liter oak bourbon barrels. The smaller barrels allow for greater quality control and impart more wood character to the tequila.”

Some companies opt to age their reposados in large, wooden 10,000-liter tanks known as pipones. While more expedient and cost-effective, these huge vats often produce a reposado lacking in mellowness and maturity.

Reposado (rested) tequila is aged in wood for a minimum of two months, although most remain in the wood four to eight months. Añejo tequila must legally be aged a minimum of one year in barrels 600 liters or smaller. Most añejo tequilas are aged in oak barrels that have previously been used to age bourbon. Used barrels impart fewer tannins into the tequila and imbue the spirit with a subtle whiskey character.

The production of 100% agave tequilas is closely scrutinized by the government to ensure exacting quality standards are maintained. The aging of both reposados and añejos are closely scrutinized. Seals are affixed to the opening of the barrels to certify when the tequila was barreled and to guarantee that nothing is added to the tequila as it ages.

TEQUILA PURO AS IT HITS THE SENSES

The first sip of a 100% agave tequila quickly reveals why it’s the current craze. The taste and aroma of the agave is remarkably alluring. These tequilas are so rich and vibrant that you’re left with the unmistakable conclusion that this is how tequila is meant to taste.

“We’ve taken every step possible to ensure that our tequila has the authentic flavor of agave,” contends Jack Atchison, importer of Zafarrancho 100% Agave Tequila, a new arrival to the United States. “It’s taken over a decade to accomplish that, between cultivating our agaves to aging our reposado. The proof, however, lies in how our tequila looks, smells and tastes.”

Mark Norris, general manager of Left at Albuquerque in Burlingame, CA, knows about tequila. “With over 150 labels of tequila on our back bar, we’re constantly fielding questions on which brands are the best. Quality issues aside, much of the answer is up to personal preference. So we help our guests define their palates and determine their own preferences by offering them tasting flights.

“They select a sampling of several different tequilas—usually a horizontal tasting of three or four different labels of reposados, for example. The best way to assess the inherent character of a tequila is to sample it neat, so we present the tequilas in snifters. It’s a great way to lock in on what house styles you like from those that don’t conform with your tastes.

“We feel we’re ready for the millennium,” observes Norris. “We’re already known as a ‘great tequila bar.’”