Tequila 101: What is tequila?

July 23, 3:26 PMTequila ExaminerRyan Kelley

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A field of blue agave plants in the highlands of Jalisco, Mexico.

Tequila is a spirit made from the blue agave plant. It usually contains 38-40% alcoholic content (or 76-80 proof).

The blue agave plant is grown, harvested, and distilled into tequila in Mexico, and the Mexican government has strict rules about where the agave must be grown and where spirit can be made. A pure blue agave tequila can only be produced in the state of Jalisco and in limited regions in the states of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas.

The agave plants are grown and harvested by hand by "jimadores," skilled farmers who possess an in-depth knowledge of the agave and know when a plant is ready for harvesting. It takes a whopping 8 to 14 years for the agave to grow to a point where it is ready to be harvested.'

During harvesting, the leaves of the agave are cut off and the heart of the plant (the piña) is removed and baked. It is then crushed to extract the plant's juices from the fibers. The agave juice - called the wort (or mosto) - is then fermented for several days until it contains about 4 to 7% alcohol. The fermentation process can take as little as two days and as long as twelve days, depending on yeast, sugar content of the harvested piña, and environmental conditions. The fermented wort (or musto) is distilled a first time, producing ordinario (or tequila primero) and then a second time to produce clear, raw tequila that is about 55-60% alcohol. It is then diluted with de-mineralized water to get the tequila to the desired proof.

After distillation, the tequila is ready for bottling (blanco), mixing (joven, oro), or aging (reposado, añejo and extra añejo). A joven (oro, or "gold") tequila gets flavor and color by mixing the tequila with caramel coloring or other additives. For reposado and añejo, the distilled tequila is pumped into oak barrels where the tequila begins to take on some of the flavors from the wood.