distilled | Cooking With Fire

Tequila is made from distilled sap from the hearts or “pinas” of the agave or maguey plant. Once harvested, the heart is cut into four or five pieces and then baked or steamed in a huge above-ground oven or autoclave for hours to obtain softness and sweetness.

The cooked agave is transported to the mill (similar to sugar cane mills) where the juice is extracted several times from the agave fibers. The agave juice is then pumped from the mill into special fermentation tanks where yeast is added to react with the juice to produce an alcoholic mixture.

The final product of fermentation then goes to distilling tanks to separate water from the tequila. Tequila is double distilled and a few brands even boast triple distillation. Distilling has a dual purpose: separate water from the alcohol, and separate any toxic substances and impurities from the final product. After this process, tequila is treated in different ways to obtain several varieties.

Tequila has been part of Mexican tradition dating back to the ancestral cultures. When natives discovered the blue agave plant and experienced its sweet and palatable flavor, they believed that this was a gift from their gods. Prehispanic towns learned to burn it and extract its juice, which was then fermented. The privilege to drink it was only given to high priests and monarchs to enjoy. Upon the arrival of the Spaniards, this precious liquid was distilled, giving us the tequila we enjoy today.

Tequila became the only Mexican product with the distinction of “Denomination of Origin” (D.O.) and can only be named “tequila” if produced in the central part of Mexico, mostly in the state of Jalisco. It must also be made from the “agave tequilana weber azul” or blue agave plant, one of 136 species of agave in Mexico. This plant has long narrow sword-looking leaves and bluish in color. It is one of the most exotic plants in nature and one of the fewest composed of “inuline”, a fructose polymer, which is a naturally sweet ingredient.

It usually takes from six to eight years for agave plants to be prime for harvest. Agave plants grown in the Los Altos region of the state of Jalisco are considered better that the ones of other regions because of higher fructose content. Agave are very similar to pineapple plants but stand from five to eight feet high and are seven to twelve feet in diameter. Often believed to be a member of the cactus family, they are actually a succulent and are related to the lily and the amaryllis.