TEQUILA PROCESS

 Young tequilana weber blue agaves(hijuelos) are removed from older agaves and planted separately to give room for them to grow.  The Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico known for its abundance in rain and rich, nutrient red soil has been tested to be a better region to cultivate these young hijuelos.  For the next 8-10 years and with no pesticides and irrigation, these hijuelos will grow into mature 55-75kg blue weber agaves, ready to be processed into rich premium tequila. 

 The process starts out with an operation called  “jimar”, in which the Pencas, the hard, pointy leaves of agave plants are carefully cut off to uncover the Pinas, the blue agave heads. Before the blue agave heads are allowed into the factories, a sample is taken from each lot to verify that the sugar content of the fruit is right to ensure that a high quality spirit will be produced.  This sugar content varies from region to region in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.  The higher the agave sugar level, the better its tequila.  It is known in the tequila business that higher levels of agave sugars are produced from the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico. 

  Before the blue agave heads are allowed into the factories, a sample is taken from each lot to verify that the sugar content of the fruit is right to ensure that a high quality spirit will be produced.  This sugar content varies from region to region in the state of Jalisco, Mexico.  The higher the agave sugar level, the better its tequila.  It is known in the tequila business that higher levels of agave sugars are produced from the Highlands of Jalisco, Mexico.  An average ART (Azucares Reductores Totales/Sugar Reduction Levels) of 25% for every 100kg of 100% Tequilana Blue Agave is normally used for our tequila.  

 After a particular lot of weber blue agaves has been verified and its entry authorized, the agave heads are split in half and slowly cooked in traditional brick ovens (to maintain its natural agave properties) until an appropriate tenderness has been reached.  Records are kept to maintain perfect cooking instructions to produce highly dark brown pinas with an intense sweet flavor.  Cooking time range from 48-50 hours, depending on the pinas. Factories that use Autoclaves and Diffusers will use less agave and less cooking time, making the process less expensive, but loosing essential agave properties and notes in the tequila. (*See video at bottom of page)

 Cooked pinas are then taken to an agave plant rolller mill, where the precious agave juices are extracted and collected in large containers. This next step is very important since the initial alcohol contents will be produced here.  The extracted juices are sent to large vats and mixed with natural microbios (saccaromyces cerevisiae) and left there until the liquid starts its fermentation process (~200 hrs).  Strict measures are taken to control fermentation temperatures of 30-42’C.

 This next step is also very important, because a final tequila (blanco/silver is produced here).   Traditional copper stills are utilized to perform a double distillation. The first distillation uses vapor to heat up the fermented agave juices and produce a concentration of alcohol between 25-30% .  The second distillation removes more unwanted residue and brings the Alcohol levels to 55%.  It is then diluted with dionized pure water to bring it down to alcohol levels between 35-40%.