Real tequila is made from blue agave - a succulent plant that can be found in the Mexican regions. How to make tequila? Its production is divided into seven stages: harvesting, heat treatment, fermentation, distillation, aging and bottling.
Each stage is regulated by the manufacturer in compliance with a number of rules necessary to ensure the best quality and taste. Each distillery has its own source of agave, and also has its own developed methods, processes and quality control, which in their own way affect the taste of tequila.
Some people think tequila is made from cactus. In fact, the drink is made from a cactus-like plant - agave. In addition to the production of alcohol, it is used for medicinal and decorative purposes. In order to turn into tequila, agave goes through several processing steps. Each of them is worth staying separately.
Harvesting
What are tequila made of? The photo in the article allows you to make sure that the agave only slightly resembles a cactus. Planting, growing and harvesting is still manual labor, which is based on centuries-old inherited knowledge. Agave, used for real Mexican tequila, is cultivated in its own fields of the distillery. Succulents are planted in even rows, grown for six to ten years. They are taken care of all the necessary time until the plants mature and are ready for harvest.
Collect the plant using a special machine. She removes agave leaves with a sharp curved instrument until a peeled, fleshy stem remains. Only the stems are used to make tequila. In mature form, they can weigh from 40 kg or more. However, the size of the agave stem is not as important as its sugar content. The older the plant, the longer it could accumulate starches, which would turn into fermentable sugars. On average, about 7-8 kg of agave stems will be needed to produce one liter of good tequila.
Treatment
At this stage, the culinary processing of the plant from which the tequila is made. To do this, steam is injected into traditional brick ovens or stainless steel autoclaves are used. This is necessary to activate the chemical process in the stems of the plant, which turns complex carbohydrates into simple fermentable sugars. Cooking also softens plants, making sugar extraction easier.
After cooking, the agave is transported to the grinding zone to extract sugar. Cooked stalks are crushed to release juice, or aguamine, which will be fermented. The traditional method is to crush them using tachyons - a giant grinding wheel driven by mules, oxen or tractors in a circular pit. Modern distilleries use a mechanical crusher to separate fiber from juices. Once the stalks are chopped, they are washed with water and squeezed to remove the juices.
Fermentation
In the fermentation process, sugars are converted to alcohol in large wooden vats or stainless steel tanks. How to make tequila today? In modern plants, yeast can be added to accelerate and control fermentation. Traditionally used are microorganisms that grow naturally on agave leaves, however many plants add a cultivated form of wild yeast. Fermentation usually takes seven to twelve days, depending on the method used.
Distillation
The fifth step in tequila production is distillation, in which the enzymes are separated by the pressure of heat and steam in stainless steel tanks. While some types of drink are distilled three times, most of them undergo this treatment twice.
The first distillation takes a couple of hours and gives a liquid with an alcohol level of about 20%. The second process takes three to four hours and gives a drink with a strength of 55%. After the second distillation, tequila is considered “silver” or “blanco”. How do tequila "golden"? Additional flavorings and caramel are added to it. Therefore, it is more fragrant and sweetish in taste.
Maturation
Almost all the tanks used in tequila aging are French or American white oak barrels that were previously used for bourbon maturation. Some varieties of the drink are aged from two to twelve months, but can ripen for more than three years. The greater the age of tequila, the more color and tannins will be in it. The condition of the barrels (for example, their age, previous use, etc.) will also affect the taste of the drink.
Bottling
Like champagne, this drink is assigned the Origin status, which limits production to five Mexican states: Guanajuato, Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. These are the only regions where they make tequila in its classical sense.
At the same time, the state of Jalisco is very proud that it is the center of production of this drink. It is considered the place where tequila was first created and where standards were defined. All tequila from 100% agave is necessarily bottled in the above Mexican regions and be marked with the labels “Hecho en Mexico / Made in Mexico”. Other types of drink can be sold and produced around the world, but they are not considered original.
Can I make a drink on my own?
It is noted above that, contrary to popular belief, real tequila is made from agave, and not from cacti. This plant can only be found in Mexico, and in very limited quantities in other countries where it is used for decorative purposes. Therefore, connoisseurs of homemade alcohol found a way out. They came up with the idea of using a plant chemically similar to blue agave - aloe vera. So, how to make tequila at home? You will need only a few aloe vera leaves from a home flower pot.
This recipe imitates only the taste of the drink, but actually does not allow you to make real tequila. Some will not be able to distinguish aloe tincture from real tequila. But still there is a difference in taste.
Agave has a specific fructan (fructose polymer) - inulin. After fermentation, it turns into ethanol with a characteristic plant taste and smell. Mixing vodka with plants with a high content of inulin allows you to make drinks very similar to tequila.
Jerusalem artichoke, chikori, aloe, banana, onion and garlic contain a lot of this polymer. However, many of these plants have a pungent smell, so they are unsuitable for the production of homemade tequila. You can achieve acceptable results only with aloe. So you will need:
- aloe vera leaves - 150 grams;
- vodka (moonshine, diluted ethanol) - 3 liters;
- sugar - 3 tsp.
How to do it?
How to make tequila at home? To do this, cut aloe into small pieces (1 to 1 cm). Then put them in a jar and pour vodka. To soften the taste, add sugar.
Seal the contents of the jar and shake it well. After that, leave for 14-17 days in a cool, dark place. During cooking, homemade tequila will first be green and then golden. Filter the drink through a cotton wool filter. Pour into a bottle and let it brew for 1-2 days.
After filtering, the tequila will remain golden (sometimes with a green tint). If you do not like this appearance of the drink, leave it in a well-lit place for 20-30 days. When exposed to sunlight, chlorophyll will evaporate and the tequila will become transparent.
How to drink this drink?
It is believed that tequila is used with salt and lemon or lime. To do this, a little salt is poured onto the hand, a glass of the drink is drunk in one gulp, after which the salt is poured off the hand. After this, you should eat a slice of lemon.
It is believed that the "golden" variety should be seized with orange. In this case, the salt is replaced with cinnamon.
Of course, one should not forget about the famous Margarita cocktail. It mixes tequila with lemon juice and orange liquor. There is also a strawberry cocktail variation.