How It's Made: Tequila

tequila is an interesting distillate from the One of a Kind agave plant it's enjoyed all over the world with a unique taste strict production regulations and aromatic aftertaste that give tequila its special appeal let's see how it's made interesting process Weber Blue Agave is the only Agave used in all Tequilas and the bottle marked 100 Weber Blue Agave is the purest tequila you'll find usually tequila is poured meat also mixed in cocktails such as the famous Margarita hot pollen or spicy sangria tequila truly deserves a lot more respect than it often gets and the process of making tequila is as interesting as the liquor itself as it can convert non-believers the beauty of the landscape and the painstaking process of creating them have earned this Spirit great respect for tequila to be tequila it must be brewed in one of Mexico's five authorized regions and Jalisco the most famous and where most tequila comes from Agave fields are scattered throughout Jalisco and when it's time to harvest you'll see himadores dumping what looks like giant spiny pineapples this is the Pina or heart of the plant used to make tequila and appears after the spiny blue gray leaves fall off geographical origin distinguishes the spirit from all other Agave based Liquors made around the world this also allows the tequila Board of Trustees to comply with strict regulations for its production standards must be followed and met for every tequila brand intended to be sold under this title any Agave based drink may be made outside of these designated areas but may not be labeled as tequila the lowlands near the town of tequila are home to some of the biggest names in the industry including Jose Cuervo and salza competing distilleries that stand side by side but even though they are neighbors the process and end product are very different in Los Altos or the mountains of Jalisco around the towns of Arandas and Jesus Maria you will find many lesser known and boutique brands of tequila the red clay in this area produces the Agave giving these Tequilas an entirely different profile here you you'll find distilleries producing premium Brands such as casamigos casadores Corazon and tezon the agave plant is the most interesting part of the tequila making process it's Unique to the distilled Spirits made in Mexico and different varieties are used for the various Agave based drinks made in the country Agave is the secret the agave plant is not a cactus but a succulent from the lily family long spikes grow above the ground in rosettes these leaves are thick and fleshly with small half-blunt Thorns that run up and down a larger Spike extends from the tip of each leaf and this one is not blunt beneath the ground lies the heart of the plant or Pina the part that himadores hunt after being dug these large garlic cloves are roasted and pressed in The Distillery all plants are pruned by hand no Machinery is visible and a very sharp COA that Hema is used to clean the plant plants and open the hearts a single agave plant can reach five to seven feet in height and a similar range they become sexually mature at the age of seven to ten years if the plant is left untouched a tall tower called a quiet will grow from its Center which can reach 15 feet or more in height and produce flowers most of the coyote is removed so the plant can focus its energy on producing the highest possible concentration of sugar in the Pina after the Agave livers are harvested and shipped back to their Distillery they begin their transformation into tequila the goal is to convert the carbohydrates and starch from raw Pina Agave into fermentable sugars much like nuts are turned into a MASH which is then fermented into whiskey each Pina can weigh anywhere from 50 to 150 pounds and goes directly into the oven the first step in the process is roasting the Agave traditionally the liver is is baked in a stone-line pit and this is still seen in Mezcal making but today's tequila makers have moved above ground using one of two types of ovens clay brick or stainless steel the Orno or clay Brick Oven retains some of its old world charms and is used by several tequila distilleries such as Cuervo Mundo many distilleries today use stainless steel autoclaves as a substitute for Brick cullins these modern ovens are often towering structures that can roast incredible amounts of agave at once and fit adults with more than four feet of Headroom in both ovens when the baking process is complete after two or three days of steaming the Agave Pinas are reduced to a fraction of the original size they turn dark brown and look like caramel like a sweet mushy honeycomb if you ask several tequila makers you'll get different opinions on the contribution each type of oven makes to the final product this is a great debate some people will compare the modern microwave autoclave and Brick Oven to using a traditional oven in your kitchen each step has its sweetness the sweet juice contained in the roasted Agave now needs to be extracted like every other step in the process tequila distilling uses a different method most often mechanical Crushers are used to crush and separate the Agave fibers so that the sweet or musty juice can be collected for fermentation some tequila breweries have opted for the old-fashioned method of using a tahona a large wheel often made of volcanic rock that rolls around the mine crushing the agave and extracting the juice the use of the tohona wheel is very traditional and very originally drawn by horses mules or oxen today's Thomas is powered by a tractor or Central engine that slowly moves an arm attached to a wheel around the whole button and requires a worker or two to work the hole while the two-ton Wheels Shred the Agave because the tahong wheel is a very laborious and time-consuming process only few tequila distillers use it in the fermentation room the process of making tequila reflects other spirits of the distilled the sugar bridge is placed in a fermentation tank with water and yeast during fermentation the yeast converts the sugar from the diluted Bridge into alcohol this is the same process used to make other alcoholic beverages including spirits and is an important step distilleries use wooden or stainless steel fermentation tanks strict water to month ratios and often proprietary yeast the process usually takes two to five days key to the tequila keeping the yeast happy is key at The Distillery where Cazadores and Corazon tequilas are made yeast is accompanied by classical music during fermentation at San Nicolas home of tequila Corazon Pleasant instrumental music fills the fermenting room in the relaxation room tequila becomes tequila the ferment should contain four to ten percent alcohol and the goal is to distill it to a concentration of around 55 percent the liquid that comes out of the Distillery consists of three parts the upper part is called the head the middle part is called the heart and the lower part is called the tail distillers usually only redistild the essence captured in The Distillery most distillers remove the head and tail because they contain the most impurities the liver contains the best alcohol after the final distillation the head and tail are removed and the heart is placed in a barrel or bottle most tequilas are aged and used barrels often from bourbon Productions where the barrels can only be used once other barrels used are white or French Oak barrels and new and used Sherry casks each task imparts a distinct note to the finished tequila and is carefully selected by The Distillery it's also important to understand that like whiskey and rum tasks give tequila its final color and Oak flavor because of this Blanco tequila is clear Reposado tequila is golden and anho tequila is yellow click on one of the two videos on your screen right now we'll catch you guys in the next one

Channel: How It's Made

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Id: 12Fok4txmdU

Length: 8min 49sec (529 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 18 2023