tequila

Intro

Probably Mexico's most famous export, tequila is produced in only two designated regions in the country, one near the town of Tequila, the other near Tepatitlan. Tequila is distilled from the sap of the mature blue agave plant also called the century plant. There are other varieties of agave, from which mezcal is produced, but by Mexican law, only blue agave can be used for tequila. Mexican law also dictates that tequila must contain 51% blue agave, with the remainder coming from cane or other sugars. Tequila made from 100% blue agave requires government inspection to certify it authenticity.

White tequila is ready for export immediately after distillation, requiring no aging. Gold tequila is usually aged in white oak casks for 2 to 4 years, although Mexican regulations do not stipulate a minimum aging period. Tequila anejo, however, must be aged at least 1 year.

Tequila's popularity has exploded in the last few years and the Margarita is, without question, the most popular way tequila is consumed. Fuelled by Americans' ever-growing taste for Mexican and southwestern cuisine, the Margarita is the specialty drink most often ordered in bars and restaurants across the country. Plain, salted, or sugared, straight up, on the rocks, or frozen, Margaritas are now made in a mind-boggling array of flavours and colours.

The famous "worm" that is found in some bottles of Mezcal (con gusano -- "with worm") is actually the larva of one of two moths that live on the agave plant. The reason for adding the worm to the bottle of Mezcal is obscure. But one story, that at least has the appeal of logic to back it up, is that the worm serves as proof of high proof, which is to say that if the worm remains intact in the bottle, the percentage of alcohol in the spirit is high enough to preserve the pickled worm. Consuming the worm, which can be done without harm, has served as a rite of passage for generations of fraternity boys. As a rule, top-quality mezcals do not include a worm in the bottle.

Among the pantheon of Aztec gods was Tepoztécal, the god of alcoholic merriment. Tequila, and Mezcal, trace their origins back at least two thousand years. Around the first century A.D., one or more of the Indian tribes that inhabited what is now central Mexico discovered that the juice of the agave plant, if left exposed to air, would ferment and turn into a milky, mildly alcoholic drink. News of this discovery spread throughout agave-growing areas. The Aztecs called this beverage octili poliqhui, a name that the Spaniards subsequently corrupted into pulque (POOL-kay).

In Aztec culture pulque drinking had religious significance. Consumption by the masses was limited to specific holidays when large tubs of pulque were set up in public squares. The ruling elite was not subject to the same restrictions, however, and drank pulque throughout the year-- a privilege shared by captive warriors just before they were sacrificed to the gods.

When the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the early 16th century, they soon began to make and drink pulque, but the low alcohol content (around 3% ABV) and earthy, vegetal taste made it less popular among the conquistadors than European-style beers and brandies. Early attempts to distill pulque were unsuccessful, as the resulting spirit was harsh and acrid. It was soon discovered, however, that cooking the agave pulp resulted in a sweeter juice which, when fermented, became known as Mezcal Wine. This "wine" was then distilled into the spirit that we know today as Mezcal.

Early Mezcal distilleries in the Spanish colony of Mexico operated in a manner similar to modern-day brewpubs. The distilling plant was usually small, and its production was consumed primarily in the distillery tavern (taberna). As the colony grew, the Mezcal wine industry followed apace and soon became an important source of tax revenue for the Crown. Periodic attempts by Spanish brandy producers to shut down the Mezcal industry were about as unsuccessful as similar efforts by English distillers to inhibit rum production in the British colonies of North America.

In 1656 the village of Tequila (named for the local Ticuilas Indians) was granted a charter by the governor of New Galicia. Tax records of the time show that Mezcal was already being produced in the area. This Mezcal, made from the local blue agave, established a reputation for having a superior taste, and barrels of the "Mezcal wine from Tequila" were soon being shipped to nearby Guadalajara and more distant cities such as the silver-mining boomtowns of San Luis Potosí and Aguascalientes.

The oldest of the still-existing distilleries in Tequila dates back to 1795, when the Spanish Crown granted a distiller’s license to a local padrone by the name of José Cuervo. In 1805 a distillery was established that would ultimately come under the control of the Sauza family. By the mid 1800s there were dozens of distilleries and millions of agave plants under cultivation around Tequila in what had become the state of Jalisco. Gradually, the locally-produced Mezcal came to be known as Tequila (just as the grape brandy from the Cognac region in France came to be known simply as Cognac).

Mexico achieved independence from Spain in 1821. But until the 1870s it was a politically unstable country that experienced frequent changes in government, revolutions, and a disastrous war with the United States. Marauding bands of soldiers and guerillas extracted "revolutionary taxes" and "voluntary" contributions in kind from the tabernas and distilleries. In 1876 a general named Porfirio Díaz, who was from the Mezcal-producing state of Oaxaca, came to power and ushered in a 35-year period of relative peace and stability known as the Porfiriato.

It was during this period that the Tequila industry became firmly established. Modest exports of Tequila began to the United States and Europe, with Jose Cuervo shipping the first three barrels to El Paso, Texas in 1873. By 1910 the number of agave distilleries in the state of Jalisco had grown to almost 100.

The collapse of the Díaz regime in 1910 led to a decade-long period of revolution that inhibited the Tequila industry. The return of peace in the 1920s led to the expansion of Tequila production in Jalisco beyond the area around the town of Tequila, with growth being particularly noteworthy in the highlands around the village of Arandas. This period also saw the adoption of modern production techniques from the wine industry such as the use of cultivated yeast and microbiological sanitary practices.

In the 1930s the practice of adding non-agave sugars to the aguamiel, or "honey water," was introduced and quickly adopted by many Tequila producers. These mixto (mixed) Tequilas had a less intense taste than 100% blue agave Tequilas, but this relative blandness also made them more appealing to non-native consumers, particularly those in the United States.

From the 1930s through the 1980s, the bulk of the Tequila being produced was of the blended mix to variety. The original 100% agave Tequilas were reduced to a minor specialty product role in the market. But in the late 1980s the rising popularity of single malt Scotch whiskies and expensive Cognacs in the international marketplace did not go unnoticed among Tequila producers. New brands of 100% blue agave Tequilas were introduced and sales began a steady growth curve that continues to this day. This sales growth has resulted in the opening of new distilleries and the expansion of existing operations. Tequila is on an upswing.

Alamo Splash

Big Red Hooter

Pour tequila and amaretto over ice into collins glass. Fill with pineapple juice and top with grenadine. Garnish with a cherry and serve with a straw.

Bloody Maria

Shake all ingredients with cracked ice. Strain into old-fashioned glass over ice cubes. Add a slice of lemon.

Blue Margarita

Rub rim of cocktail glass with lime juice. Dip rim in coarse salt. Shake ingredients with ice and strain into glass.

Shake with ice and strain into old-fashioned glass over ice cubes. Add a slice of orange.

Hairy Sunrise

Mix all ingredients in blender except grenadine. Pour into collins glass and float grenadine on top. Garnish with a lime slice.

Hot Pants

La Bomba

Shake all ingredients except grenadine with ice 3 times ONLY. Pour into sugar rimmed cocktail glass. Add grenadine and garnish with a lime wheel.

Margarita

Rub rim of cocktail glass with lemon or lime rind and dip in salt. Shake ingredients with ice and strain into salt rimmed glass.

Mexicana

Mexican Madras

Pour juices and tequila into shaker 1/2 filled with ice. Shake well and strain into old-fashioned glass. Garnish with an orange slice.

Mexicola

Fill collins glass with ice cubes. Add tequila and lime juice, fill with cola and stir.

Pacific Sunshine

Mix with cracked ice and pour, with ice, into chilled parfait or hurricane glass with a salted rim. Garnish with a lemon wheel.

Purple Gecko

Shake with ice and pour into salt-rimmed cocktail or margarita glass. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Purple Pancho

Shake with ice and pour into salt-rimmed cocktail or margarita glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Rosita

Stir in old-fashioned glass with cracked ice. Add a twist of lemon peel and serve with short straws.

Shady Lady

Combine ingredients ove ice in highball glass. Garnish with a lime and a cherry.

Silk Stockings

Shake ingredients with crushed ice. Strain into cocktail glass and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Sloe Tequila

Blend ingredients at low speed with 1/2 cup ice in blender. Pour into old- fashioned glass, add ice cubes and a twist of cucumber peel.

South of the Border

Strawberry Margarita

If desired, rub rim of cocktail glass with a rind of lemon or lime and dip in salt. Shake ingredients with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

Tequila Canyon

Pour first 3 ingredients over ice into collins glass and stir gently. Top with pineapple and orange juices. Garnish with a lime wheel. Serve with a straw.

Tequila Collins

Shake with ice and strain into collins glass. Add several ice cubes, fill with club soda and stir. Decorate with slices of lemon and orange, and a cherry. Serve with a straw.

Tequila Manhattan

Shake ingredients with ice and strain over ice cubes into old-fashioned glass. Add a cherry and an orange slice.

Tequila Matador

Tequila Mockingbird

Tequila Old-Fashioned

Mix sugar, bitters, and water in old-fashioned glass. Add tequila, ice, and club soda. Decorate with a pineapple stick.

Tequila Pink

Tequila Sour

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Decorate with a 1/2 slice of lemon and a cherry.

Tequila Straight

Put salt between thumb and index finger on back of left hand. Hold jigger of tequila in salted hand and lemon wedge in the other. Lick salt, slam the tequila, then suck lemon. Hmmmmmm.

Tequila Sunrise

Stir tequila and orange juice with ice and strain into highball glass. Add ice cubes. Pour in grenadine slowly and allow to settle. Before drinking, stir to complete your sunrise.

Tequini

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Serve with a twist of lemon peel and an olive.

Tequonic

Pour tequila over ice cubes into old-fashioned glass. Add fruit juice, fill with tonic water, and stir.

Tijuana Taxi

Pour tequila, curacao, and schnapps over ice into large highball glass. Fill with lemon-lime soda and garnish with orange slice and a cherry.

T.N.T. No. 2

Toreador

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Top with a little whipped cream and sprinkle lightly with cocoa.

Traffic Light Cooler

Into pilsner glass filled with ice cubes, first pour the melon liqueur, then the tequila, to create a green layer. Add sour mix. Slowly pour orange juice against side of glass to create yellow layer. Add a few more ice cubes, if needed. Carefully float sloe gin on top for the red layer. Garnish with a cherry and lemon and lime wheels. Stir just before drinking.

Viva Villa

Shake with ice and strain over ice cubes into old-fashioned glass rimmed with salt.