elizfowler 0 #1 July 22, 2005 Just a little article on Yahoo today --many will know some of the FAQ's mentioned but it was cool that it's saying how mainstream and popular that tequila is now, especially the different variations (Blanco, Resposado and Anejo) Enjoy the article and what the heck, let's have a Margarita Friday!!! Tequila an intoxicating success for Mexico -- Once considered a low class hooch, tequila has undergone a huge image change over the past two decades to become the toast of Mexican high society, giving a heady euphoria to the country's drinks industry. Made from the hearts of blue agave plants in the Tequila region of Jalisco state, production is this year expected to hit a record 210 million liters (55.4 million US gallons), according to Ramon Gonzalez Figueroa, director general of the Tequila Regulatory Council. Normally, 40 percent of the drink made is exported, last year bringing in about 400 million dollars. The regulatory council, created in 1994, zealously controls production, like the industry committees that police whisky in Scotland and champagne in France. When the fields turn blue in Tequila, the village which has been making the clear alcohol for more than two centuries, then the growers know the plant is ripe. It can take seven years but it could take up to 12. The agave is about as big as a pineapple but it is a long wait for a production that takes about eight days. The leaves are chopped away from the core by a labourer known as a "jimador", whose main job is to assess whether the plant is ripe so it has enough sugar content. The cores, which are called "pinas", are cut in half with a long knife called a "coa" in the final traditional touch before ultra-modern production processes take over. The pinas are roasted, shredded and the juice pressed out and put in fomenting tanks. While a handful of traditional makers still use stone wheels to press the juice, most now use industrial presses in modern factories with steel pipes heading in every direction. Tequila's boom started in the 1990s when it became fashionable to sip in the United States and other countries. In 1999, production reached 190.6 million litres (50.3 million US gallons) but then slumped because the agave crop fell. Now there are 112 distilleries against 35 ten years ago, and 643 different brands against about 200, Figueroa said. Tequila fever has also attracted foreign investors with nearly all of the international drinks giants now owners of a top name. Allied Domecq, the British firm recently taken over by Pernod Ricard of France, owns Sauza, the oldest of the major producers. The French firm also owns Viuda de Romera, maker of 'sangrita', the spicy tomato juice which is often drunk with tequila. Bacardi of the United States owns Cazadores, Diageo of Britain owns 45 percent of Jose Cuevo and Seagram of Canada has invested in Don Julio. Among the big tequila makers, only Herradura, which also makes Jimador, is still a family concern. It claims to be the biggest seller in Mexico. At the Herradura headquarters at Amatipan, about 10 kilometers (six miles) from Tequila, a modern new factory now produces 600 small cans of New Mix -- a cocktail of Jimador tequila, grapefruit, sangrita or peach juice -- per minute. With an alcoholic content of about 5.6 percent it is aimed at the young market. It also has a research centre aiming to speed up the growing of ripe agaves. The regulatory council also concentrates on protecting the tequila name by making sure nobody from outside the production region tries to illegally use the name. There are two qualities of tequila: one is 100 percent agave and the other is at least 51 percent. Tequila 100 percent agave must be made with only blue agave juices and must be bottled at the distillery in Mexico. It can be clear Blanco, which is bottled immediately after distillation, the pale coloured Reposado, which is kept in casks for between two months and a year, or the amber Anejo which must be at least one year old. It can only be made in Jalisco or in a few districts in the neighbouring states of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. But tequila is widely pirated. Some experts say that for each litre of tequila produced in the region, another is put on the market illegally. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
