Lowering The Bar: Your Pocket Agave Guide

Welcome back to Lowering The Bar - our series on answering some of the most common questions we get from our curious visitors. Today we put together some Agave cliff notes to help you dive deeper into the wild, diverse world of tequilas, mezcals and all things agave! Without further ado - Agave cliff notes:

Q: What is Agave?
A: Agave is a plant native to hotter parts of Mexico and Southwestern United States. Blue Agave (a specific species of agave, aka Agave tequilana) has been used to make Tequila since the 16th century. Mezcal on the other hand, can be distilled from any type of Agave. Since the designations of tequila and mescal have region specific regulations assigned to them, when we talk about about spirits distilled from agave as a whole, we simply call them Agave Spirits.

Q: What is Tequila?
A: Tequila is distilled from the hearts of Blue Agave plants. The hearts, called piñas, need to contain enough carbohydrates for distillation, and at that proper maturity weigh about 150 pounds once the agave leaves are removed. The piñas are slowly cooked to help breakdown more complex sugar and then crushed to yield agave juice that will be used for fermentation. The fermented agave juice (mosto) is then twice distilled (required by law) to produce silver (blanco) tequila. The blanco tequila is bottled or pumped into barrels to produce older Reposado, or even older Añejo tequila. 

Q: Can tequila be made anywhere in the world?
A: No - Tequila as a term has a protected geographical indication, requiring tequila to be produced in the state of Jalisco (near origin city of Tequila and Los Altos) and some municipalities in Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.

Q: What’s so different about Mezcal? Is it just smokey tequila?
A: Mezcal is a much larger category then Tequila (even though we see so much more tequila on the shelves in the US). This is due to the fact that Mezcal can be made from 30 some varieties of the agave plant. Each species of agave used can yield pretty different flavors - and thus mezcal can be quite a bit more diverse. The subtypes of mezcal that you often see on the bottle often refer to the type of agave that was used. The smokiness of mezcal comes from the cooking of the agave that often happens in earthen pits, a more roasting-like process then tequila. This smokiness often carries over into the finished product. Differences in the type of roasting can contribute to an even larger diversity of flavor.

Q: Oh ok - so Mezcal can be made anywhere?
A: Still no - mezcal is also a regional protected name, and this region is distinct (though has some overlap) from the one Tequila is made in.

Q: So what are the different types of mezcal?
A: There are a few! Check out this guide we recently wrote to summarize many of them.

Q: So back to tequila - what are the types aside from the unaged silver/blancos?
A: There are three other main types of tequila: Reposado, Añejo, and Extra Añejo. Reposado (“rested”) must be aged in wooden barrels for at least 2 months. Añejo (“aged”) must spend at least 12 months in the same barrels. Extra Añejo (“ultra aged”) is a newer designation signifying an aging in excess of 3 years.

Q: Easy enough to remember — and older is better, right?
A: No, older is just different. There is a big trade off that happens in agave spirits between younger and older spirits. We think of blanco tequilas as Agave Eau de Vie - "The water of life," the essence of the plant, the spirit of a place - the french term describes tequila perfectly! Once aged, tequila transforms quite a bit. It picks up some similar notes that we love about older whiskies - those of wood, vanilla, spice, caramel, dark fruit and make for a wonderfully mellow sipping experience. If drinking agave was compared to traveling, younger spirits would be those trips you take to wilder, vibrant, colorful places while the older ones are more akin to older culture cities, with prominent architecture, libraries and theaters. Ok, it’s not a perfect analogy, but maybe it helps a bit?

Q: So what's with the worm? Is it true that REAL tequila/mezcal has to have it?
A: The story with the worm is that there isn't much story to it - it's more or less a marketing gimmick that caught on very persistently. The worm, or the larva of a local moth is actually not allowed by the tequila regulatory council, but it can be found in mezcals. But even in mezcals it is not traditional and is often associated with lower quality products. 

Q: Lime and salt? Do I have to?
A: No - and that way of drinking tequila is more common outside of Mexico then within. Like with all carefully crafted  spirits - we definitely encourage you to try sipping to get the full nuance of all the fun flavors! But within the realm of making cocktails, lime and salt assisted shots definitely have their place.

We love agave spirits quite a bit! We love to sip them neat, we love to make cocktails with, we love to learn their stories. Below are a few fun pieces we published that cover all those bases, and may help you choose some new favorite bottles of your own:

Some Of Our Favorite Agave Spirits:

+ Our Favorite Sipping Blancos
+ Our Favorite Sipping Anejos (aka Tequilas for Whiskey Lovers)
+ Our Favorite Sipping Mezcals

Making Cocktails with Agave Spirits:

+ The History and Craft of The Margarita
+ Our Favorite Stirred Agave Cocktails

Distillery Stories:

Fortaleza And The Scenic Road To Perfect Tequila