tequila is a regionally-defined type of mezcal obtained through double distillation of fermented carbohydrates extracted from cooked or uncooked blue agave (Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), for which the Mexican law NOM 006-2021 defines all the terms of reference. See agave and mezcal. Alcohol concentration may vary between 35 percent and 55 percent ABV. It takes its name from the city of Tequila in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. Ideas differ about the meaning of the term tequila, but it is originally a Nahuatl word related to tequio: “a place where people work” and “a place where people are cutting.”
Tequila has been popular from its debut in the seventeenth century. The first and most refined name of the spirit was “vino mezcal de Tequila,” but to the people of Mexico it has always been “mezcal” or “mezcal de Tequila.” Quickly recognized as an important local product, it never faced persecution or periods of prohibition as was the case for other Mexican agave spirits such as mezcal, bacanora, and raicilla. Industrial production and export to the United States began in the nineteenth century: it was being sold in San Francisco as early as 1855 and advertised nationwide as “Nature’s Own Tonic” by the Tequila Tonic Export Co. of Chicago in 1889. After the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920), tequila became more widely recognized abroad and something of a Mexican icon within the country thanks to Mexican cinema.
In 1972 the Mexican regulatory body Norma Obligatoria Mexicana, or NOM, chose tequila for the first Mexican denomination of origin. Since then the tequila specifications have been updated and new rules and modifications made. All the varied specifications may be found in the current Official Mexican Standard for Tequila, under NOM-006-SCFI-2012. Tequila may only be produced within the NOM-delineated denomination of origin area in Jalisco and other municipalities from Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas. In Jalisco state there are two main agave-growing regions, each with its reputation for the special qualities of the tequila made from agaves grown there: Los Altos (highlands) and El Centro (lowlands). Tequila was first produced in the “lowland” valley of Tequila, but within in the last seventy years production has been extended to the Los Altos highlands area. With six hundred meters of difference in elevation between the two areas, effects of factors such as temperature and local climate influence plant growth rates, physiology, and sugar type and concentration differently. Fermentation rates and distillation technology also differ in the two regions. In the lowland or Tequila region, agave plants produce less sugar, and fermentation takes place in cooled systems. The highlands triangle, a plateau with the highest elevation of Jalisco state, is recognized for the quality of its production. The highest recorded sugars in agave plants occur here, but there is also a risk of freezing and of potential damage to the sensitive plants.
An 1887 reference indicates that at that time at least nine varieties of agave were cultivated for tequila production. Plant conservation studies show clearly that there were traditionally four closely related tequila agave subspecies: azul (blue), sigüín, criollo, and variegated azul.
Agave takes from five to nine years to reach to a maturity and harvestable size, depending on environmental factors, agricultural technique, and the extraction and distillation technology of the producer. Advances in modern agronomy and the exclusive use of agave azul have helped to shorten this cycle with monocultures and diffusers hydrolisation. Tequila has two categories: the 100 percent agave, and mixto, which is made from a fermented base of 51 percent agave carbohydrate and 49 percent sugars from other sources that are not required by law to be identified but are usually from sugar cane. See chinguirito. (In the Mexican law governing tequila passed in 1949, only 100 percent agave tequilas were allowed; after the big export boom of the early 1960s stressed agave supplies, that went down to 70 percent and again to 51 percent in 1970.)
Agave carbohydrates, mainly a structurally distinct form of inulin now called agavin, are prepared for fermentation through two hydrolysis processes. In the traditional craft method, roasting and water vapor are used to extract the starches from the
Tequila producers are under no obligation to indicate the extraction and hydrolysis methods employed, though there are clear qualitative differences. Tequila 100 percent from oven-roasted agave is closest to the original traditional process. Heat from the roasting process and in the subsequent water vapor step sweetens both flavor and aroma. Acid extraction of starches from pressed agave juice does not yield the same results but is a more efficient method for the conversion of the large polysaccharides (agavin) to fermentable sugars.
Today some distilleries have adapted the industrial process to include traditional elements to improve aroma and flavor, such as the tahona stone machinery for crushing cooked piñas. See tahona.
Tequila is generally double-distilled in stainless steel and copper pot stills, although a few producers use continuous or column stills. The final distillate, at no more than 75 percent ABV and usually considerably lower, is called tequila ordinario, which may undergo various steps of filtration, dilution, flavoring, and aging. Sweeteners, glycerin, and oak extracts may be and frequently are used for gold, reposado, and aged tequilas. See reposado.
In 2020 tequila was produced in 163 certified distilleries (Consejo Regulador del Tequila) with a total production of 374 million liters and 1,758 brands registered. The primary export market for tequila is the United States (254 million liters in 2020). Less than 20 percent of production is shipped to European countries.
Tequila has a huge range of uses in cocktails, for sipping, and also in shots. In Mexico it is commonly consumed with citrus-fruit cocktails, but also in Margaritas or with tomato sauce and chiles. See Margarita and Sangrita. Older and local people tend to drink it neat, sipping it slowly before meals.
Gaytan, Marie-Sarita. ¡Tequila!: Distilling the Spirit of Mexico. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2014.
Gutiérrez González, Salvador. Realidad y Mitos del Tequila. Guadalajara: Editorial Agata, 2001.
Valenzuela-Zapata, Ana G., and Paul G. Nabhan. Tequila: A Natural and Cultural History. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2003.
By: Ana G. Valenzuela-Zapata