Wild Past, Prestigious Future

As far as premium beverages go, tequila probably has had the biggest image problem to overcome.

“It is hard to get some of the preconceived ideas on tequila out of people’s minds,” admits David Ravandi, COO for Casa Noble, a blue agave tequila dating back to the mid 1700s. “Our continuous effort in Casa Noble is to keep doing our best so people realize the difference and learn more about not just the taste, but the tradition and history of tequila as well.”

Tequila’s history is a rich one that began in the 1500s when Spanish Conquistadors came to the New World – with their mezcal in tow. Although different from tequila, mezcal, which also is made from agave plants, is considered “the grandfather of tequila.” The difference, according to Erik Rivera, tequilero at Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico, is in the roots.

“Mezcal is made from one of five different types of agave, but tequila is made only from blue agave,” he explains. “There are many different types of agave, and mezcal is going to have a stronger flavor.”

While mezcal is produced in many of Mexico’s thirty-two estates, tequila production is allowed only in five estates, Rivera says. Ninety-eight percent of the bottles come from the Jalisco region, which put the firewater on the map. In 1800, Jose Cuervo became Mexico’s first tequila exporter, and the United States has never been the same.

However, the tequila that first won Americans over – and developed a reputation as alcohol’s bad boy – is a far cry from what refined palates are craving today.

“The U.S. consumer has become increasingly knowledgeable about tequila, realizing the difference between tequilas,” notes Casa Noble’s Ravandi. “In recent years, we have seen large increases in sales of one hundred percent blue agave compared to mixto tequila.”

Mixto tequilas are largely responsible for shaping tequila’s reputation as mind-altering party juice. They are inexpensive and contain only about fifty-one percent blue agave; the rest of the ingredients are sugars and shoulder much of the blame for those memorable (if not painful) mornings after.

Premium tequila, on the other hand, is made of one hundred percent blue agave and is distilled twice before bottling. (Casa Noble was the first and is still one of very few distributors who distill the tequila three times before bottling.) The amount of time the tequila is aged will determine whether it becomes a blanco, reposado or anejo beverage.

The process actually takes years, beginning with the seven to ten years it takes to bring an agave plant to maturity for harvest. After harvesting, the traditional method requires baking the core of the plant – which looks like a large pineapple and is called a pina – in a stone oven for twenty-four hours. (Today, however, many larger distilleries use large steel containers, which allows them to condense the process to just four hours.)

After cooking, modern distilleries use machines to crush the agave heart and retrieve the juices, while traditional makers still use a horse-drawn stone to extract the juice. The yeast in the agave plant’s sugars turn to alcohol over the next two weeks, and then it is distilled.

“Most people, once they try a good tequila, enjoy sipping it,” Ravandi says. “Of course, our taste, just like people, vary and some will like blancos, which have the pure agave taste. Others will prefer reposados, with that influence of the barrel, while some will prefer anejos that have a more complex character.”

Changing Its Image

Who is drinking tequila is changing just as much as how they’re drinking it. Although premium tequilas have been in the U.S. for several years, it took an aggressive marketing push by Patron to truly catch America’s attention.

“A lot of people who didn’t ever drink tequila became aware of it because of Patron,” says Susan Brewster, group marketing manager for Luxco Inc, which produces El Mayor tequila. “It changed the way they thought about tequila and really altered the entire market.”

The numbers back up Brewster’s claims, showing a forty-one percent surge in the sales of ultra-premium tequila in the past year. At the same time, sales of mixtos dropped by a little more than three percent.

Globally, Mexico and the U.S. account for ninety percent of tequila sales worldwide. Experts predict that by 2010, the U.S. will account for more than fifty-four percent of global tequila sales.

“People are learning to drink tequila differently,” Brewster says. “It’s not about doing shots; it’s about sipping the beverage and enjoying its flavors.”

As a sipping beverage, tequila is served at room temperature and, particularly in the case of anejo, it can be swirled like a nice wine to see the beverage’s legs. As a more upscale alternative to the shot glass, Riedel has become the first company to manufacture a tequila glass, which looks like a stockier interpretation of the champagne flute.

“For the most part, it’s used in cocktails or for after-dinner sipping, but the way it’s being served is evolving all the time,” says Brewster. “It is attracting an affluent crowd that is willing to experiment with it.”

The market is responding with elegant packaging and super-premium offerings. El Mayor’s product arrives in sleek, decanter-style bottles that are hand-labeled and numbered; Patron’s Gran Patron Platinum comes in an etched crystal bottle housed in a handcrafted maple box. Even among premium tequilas there is an upper end, with longer-aged “Extra Anejo” brands now hitting the market. Don Julio’s rich, limited edition 1942 tequila can be found for around $140 a bottle, while the company’s Real, which comes in a decanter embraced with sterling silver agave leaves, retails for around $400.

By far the most expensive tequila is Cuervo’s 1800 Coleccion, named for the year that tequila was first exported. Aged for a minimum of ten years in French oak barrels, the rich Coleccion is a smooth beverage that has little of the tequila “burn.” The bottle, which sells for the memorable price of $1,800, is a striking pewter and glass masterpiece.

Next up, expect to see more flavored tequilas entering the market, taking a cue from the hugely successful flavored vodka market. Already, Jose Cuervo has launched the fruit-flavored assault with its Tropina (tropical), Oranjo (orange) and Citrico (citrus) tequilas.

“We’re going to see some additional market growth because of the flavors,” Brewster says. “That’s going to help the entire tequila market. It opens the door to educate people on what this product really is.”

Take Your Best Shot

Not all tequilas are created equal! Those who spend some time studying the different types of tequila quickly learn that some just seem to go down better than others.

“Tequila is a very personal thing,” says Erik Rivera, the tequilero at Las Ventanas al Paraiso in Los Cabos, Mexico, who offers instruction on tequila tasting. “People end up having a favorite; for sipping, reposado is the most popular, but you also have a lot of people who love the silver, because they think it’s the most pure. Every person just has to decide for themselves which one they like the best.”

When it comes to purity, however, Rivera reminds connoisseurs that if the bottle doesn’t say “one hundred percent blue agave,” proceed with caution. That means it’s a “mixto,” and nearly half of that bottle’s ingredients are added sugars that often add up to a headache the next morning.

To that end, here’s a rundown of the different types of tequila found on the shelves:
oro (“gold”) – An unaged tequila which is “joven y abogado” (young and adulterated) which means that caramel, fructose, glycerin and wood flavoring can be added to resemble aged tequila.
blanco (“white”) or plata (“silver”) – An unaged clear, white spirit that is bottled immediately after the distillation process is complete.
reposado (“rested”) – Tequila that is aged a minimum of two months, but less than one year, in solid oak barrels.
añejo (“aged” or “vintage”) – Tequila that has been aged a minimum of one year, but less than three years, in oak barrels.
maduro (“mature,” “ultra-aged,” or “vintage”) – This is a new category that was created in 2006 for tequila that is aged a minimum of three years in oak barrels. It is often labeled as “Extra Añejo.”