Tequila
Tequila is a spirit distilled from the blue agave plant. Most plants are grown around the city of Tequila, in the center of Mexico primarily because of the rich volcanic soil.. The plants are chopped with blades and the centers are gathered to be fermented in bulk. The centers, or heads can weigh up to 350 lbs.
Here you can see harvesters cutting the plant to the center, where all the juice is located to distil.
Tequila is actually a variety of mescal, an ancient drink made from distillation of maguey, a form of agave. Pulque is a milky alcoholic drink also distilled from the maguey plant that was introduced to explorers from the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. While these are not as popular as tequila, they are still produced today in much smaller operations.
The Mexican government has rights to the word ‘tequila’ along with regulations to where the alcohol can be produced. Many of the large brands that are nationally known are 35-40% alcohol, others can consist of up to 60% alcohol. When buying tequila, be sure to see if the manufacturer labels it as 100% agave. Tequila is a very important export to Mexico and attracts many tourists.
Everyone has heard about the worms in tequila bottles, and the tradition that the last shot must be taken with the worm in it. The worm some producers put in the bottle is a larval form of the Hypopta agavis that lives in agave plants. It is believed that finding the worm in the agave heads during distillation indicates poor quality and an infested crop. The worm was used as a marketing gimmick and is still used today.
My favorite drink is Tequila, and whenever we travel to Mexico I always purchase my duty limit. We have traveled to the groves and watched them harvest, it is really very cool. The Mexican people are a beautiful people, and we are always treated like royalty when we go. Always say that is where we should retire! Not yet!
Thanks for a great article.