Transcript tequila

TEQUILA
Tequila
Tequila is an agave-based spirit made
primarily in the area surrounding Tequila, 65
kilometres in the northwest of Guadalajara
and in the highlands (Los Altos) of the
western Mexican state of Jalisco.
Tequila
• The volcanic soil in the region surrounding
Tequila is particularly well suited to the
growing of the blue agave, and more than
300 million of the plants are harvested there
each year.
Blue Agave
• The blue agave grows natively in Jalisco,
favoring the high altitudes of more than
1,500 m and sandy soil.
• Commercial and wild agaves have very
different life cycles.
• Both start as a large succulent, with spiky
leaves, which can grow to over two meters
in length.
Blue Agave
• The flowers are pollinated by a native bat
and produce several thousand seeds per
plant.
• The plant then dies.
• The shoots are removed when about a year
old from commercial plants to allow the
heart to grow larger.
Blue Agave
• Tequila is produced by removing the heart
of the plant in its twelfth year, normally
weighing between 35–90 kg (77–198 lb).
• This heart is stripped of leaves and heated
to remove the sap, which is fermented and
distilled.
• Sap - šťáva
Seven-step process
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1. Harvest
2. Cooking
3. Shredding - drcení
4. Fermenting
5. Distillation
6. Ageing (reposado and añejo types)
7. Bottling
Harvest (Jima)
• Harvesting the agave plant remains a
manual effort, unchanged by modern
farming technologies.
• The agave is planted, and harvested by
hand.
• The men who harvest it, the "jimadores",
contain generations of knowledge about the
plants and the ways in which they need to
be harvested.
Cooking
• Once the piñas have been harvested, they
are usually split into halves or even
quarters, depending on their size.
• These are carefully stuffed by hand into the
ovens for cooking.
• Traditional distillers let the piñas soften in
the steam ovens or for 50-72 hours at
moderate heat.
Shreding
• Crushing the baked agave to extract the
juices
• Originally, the manufacturers beat the piñas
with large wooden mallets to break them up
once they were soft and cool, then
stomping on them like grapes to get the
juices out..
• Mallet – palice, dřevěná palička
• Stomp on it - šlápnout na to
Shreding
• After baking the cooked hearts are taken to
the crusher where they are broken up,
mashed and squeezed by a variety of
imperfect methods.
• The most common approach is to beat the
material with huge wooden clubs, before
trampling it to release the juice.
• Club – palice, hůl, klacek
• Trample – rošlapat, dupat (po)
Shreding
• Modern distilleries use a mechanical
crusher, or shredder, like a giant woodchipping machine to process out the waste
bagazo (the agave fibres, usually given
away as animal food or used as fertilizer on
the fields).
• wood-chipping - štěpkování
Fermentation
• There is a step in the production of alcohol
that is outside the control of the humans
who so carefully manage every other stage.
• It is almost magical, in that it occurs even
without our intervention.
• That step is fermentation.
Fermentation
• In technical terms, fermentation is the
conversion of sugars to alcohol by yeast in
anerobic conditions.
• Yeasts are funny creatures: a plant that
seems willing to sacrifice itself for our
benefit.
• They can take the sugars and
carbohydrates and, through various
enzymatic processes, turn them into alcohol
as a waste product.
Fermentation
• Fermentation has other limits such as
temperature.
• Greater than 27°C kills the yeast less and
than 15°C results in yeast activity which is
too slow.
• Too high an amount of sugar in the solution
can prevent fermentation.
• Solution - roztok
Distillation
• Distillation also varies among tequila
distillers.
• Most claim to distill their ferment twice and
some will proudly claim triple distillation.
• The first distillation is always a rough, low
grade distillate and the second or third run
is used to purify it.
Ageing
• Of the five types of tequila, blanco (also
called plata, white or silver) and joven (a
mixto) are not aged.
• Blanco tequilas may be stored in sealed,
stainless steel tanks, but this does not age
the tequila.
Ageing
• Reposado, añejo and extra añejo are all
aged in wooden (oak) barrels.
• The most common barrels in use are
previously-used American whisky barrels
(Jack Daniels is the most commonly seen).
• However, there are also Canadian and
French barrels to be seen in use.
Ageing
• Wood also darkens the tequila, so newer
barrels can rapidly make an añejo very
dark.
• Barrels last 25-30 years, but each has only
a five-year lifespan for any batch of tequila,
after which all of the tannins are fully
immersed into the tequila.
• Tannin – tříslovina
• Immerse - uložit
Bottling
• Bottling is done using automated filling
machines, and may also include a
production line for washing bottles
(automated), placing cork (sometimes done
manually), applying labels, and checking for
clarity and quality control.
• In some cases, labels are even handpainted.
Types of Tequila
• Tequila can only be produced in Mexico, in
the Tequila Region, and must comply with
strict Mexican government regulations.
• Tequila must be made with at least 51%
blue agave juices.
• This tequila may be exported in bulk to be
bottled in other countries.
• It may be Blanco, Gold, Reposado, or
Añejo.
Mezcal
• All liquors distilled from any agave plant are
"mezcal", but only those made from the
blue agave are branded as Tequila, all the
others are mezcal.
• The most famous mezcal is distilled from a
variety of agave grown in the state of
Oaxaca in southern Mexico.
Types of Tequila
Tequila 100% Agave
• Must be made with 100% blue agave juices
and must be bottled at the distillery in
Mexico.
• It may be Blanco, Reposado, or Añejo.
Types of Tequila
Blanco or Silver
• This is the traditional tequila that started it
all.
• This type of tequila must be bottled
immediately after the distillation process.
• It is usually strong and is traditionally
enjoyed in a "caballito" (2 oz small glass).
Types of Tequila
Oro or Gold
• Is tequila Blanco mellowed by the addition
of colorants and flavorings, caramel being
the most common.
• It is the tequila of choice for frozen
Margaritas.
• Mellow - změknout
Types of Tequila
Reposado or Rested
• It is Blanco that has been kept (or rested) in
white oak barrels for more than two months
and up to one year.
• The oak barrels give Reposado a mellowed
taste, and its pale color.
• These tequilas have experienced
exponential demand and high prices.
• To experience - zažít
Types of Tequila
Añejo or Aged
• It is Blanco tequila aged in white oak casks
for more than a year.
• Maximum capacity of the casks should not
exceed 600 liters (159 gallons).
• The amber (žlutá) color and woody flavor
are picked up from the oak, and the
oxidation that takes place through the
porous wood develops the unique bouquet
and taste.
Types of Tequila
Reserva
• Although not a category in itself, it is a
special Añejo that certain distillers keep in
oak casks for up to 8 years.
• Reserva enters the big leagues of liquor
both in taste and in price.
• Cask - sud
The End