{"id":605,"date":"2016-07-25T12:51:37","date_gmt":"2016-07-25T17:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/?p=605"},"modified":"2016-11-29T12:40:25","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T18:40:25","slug":"tequila-mexicos-nectar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/dining\/tequila-mexicos-nectar","title":{"rendered":"Tequila – Mexico\u2019s Nectar"},"content":{"rendered":"

While everyone seems to have an opinion about tequila, whether resulting from sampling the sophisticated side of the liquor or perhaps a rough night of too much Cuervo, this quintessential Mexican delicacy is deeply rooted in tradition. \u00a0One of the most recognized exports from Mexico, this spirit which is derived from the agave plant has a rich and fascinating history. \u00a0While tequila seems to ignite passionate opinions for and against it when brought up in conversation, it continues to endure as Mexico\u2019s most famous distilled beverage.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Rich in History<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Rich
\n<\/span>The earliest form of tequila, then called pulque, was recorded as far back as 1,000 B.C. \u00a0It was made from the fermented sap of agave plants and used by the Aztecs, becoming so important to them that they worshipped Patecatl, the god of pulque. \u00a0Agave distillation was not well recorded in the beginning but is believed to have started in the 1400s during the Spanish conquest, resulting in a Spanish trade route between Manila and Mexico. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By the early 1600s, the Marquis of Altamira founded the first large-scale distillery in the now-famous town of Tequila. \u00a0The Cuervo family opened the first commercial distillery in 1758 and built an empire. \u00a0Tequila as we now know it can be traced to Don Cenobio of the Sauza family (who opened their distillery in 1873) who discovered that blue agave was the preferred choice for creating the beverage. \u00a0The Mexican government declared tequila as intellectual property in 1974, which requires that it only be made and aged in certain regions within Mexico, therefore making it illegal for other countries to manufacture or sell their own form of the spirit and call it \u201ctequila\u201d. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>How Tequila is Made<\/b><\/p>\n

\"How
\n<\/span>In order to make tequila, a specific process is followed, starting with harvesting a fully mature blue agave plant, usually 8-10 years old. \u00a0The Jimador (harvester) removes the heart of the agave plant called the \u201cpi\u00f1a\u201d (Spanish for pineapple), which can weigh anywhere from 65 to 135 pounds when mature. \u00a0Afterwards, the pi\u00f1a hearts are cut open, they are steamed inside of large pressure cookers. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to produce just one liter of 100% pure agave tequila, 17 pounds of agave is needed. \u00a0The resulting liquid is placed in steel vats to ferment anywhere from 12 hours to several days. \u00a0Following that, the liquid is double distilled to produce incredibly powerful tequila. \u00a0The process from here is different depending on which type of tequila is being made, including silver, gold and aged varieties.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Tequila Types<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Tequila
\n<\/span>Silver (Blanco) tequila is diluted down to 80 proof alcohol content with distilled water. \u00a0While it is the truest form of tequila, allowing the consumer to detect the intensity of the agave, its bold flavor is often eschewed for more balanced-tasting tequilas. \u00a0Gold tequila is perhaps the most well-known style in countries besides Mexico, which is diluted with colorings and flavors, making it an affordable choice commonly used in mixed drinks including margaritas. \u00a0Reposado tequila has been aged 2-11 months in wooden barrels, which adds immense depth to the flavor, with the characteristics of each wood type lending a unique essence. \u00a0If tequila is aged in this style for more than a year, the pleasant, mellow drink can be labeled A\u00f1ejo and over three years is known as Extra-A\u00f1ejo. \u00a0<\/span>
\nTequila continues to improve as it ages, so the finest versions are incredibly smooth and dark. <\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While everyone seems to have an opinion about tequila, whether resulting from sampling the sophisticated side of the liquor or perhaps a rough night of too much Cuervo, this quintessential Mexican delicacy is deeply rooted in tradition. \u00a0One of the most recognized exports from Mexico, this spirit which is derived from the agave plant has a rich and fascinating history. \u00a0While tequila seems to ignite passionate opinions for and against it when brought up in conversation, it continues to endure as Mexico\u2019s most famous distilled beverage. Rich in History The earliest form of tequila, then called pulque, was recorded as far back as 1,000 B.C. \u00a0It was made from the fermented sap of agave plants and used by the Aztecs, becoming so important to them that they worshipped Patecatl, the god of pulque. \u00a0Agave distillation was not well recorded in the beginning but is believed to have started in the 1400s during the Spanish conquest, resulting in a Spanish trade route between Manila and Mexico. \u00a0 By the early 1600s, the Marquis of Altamira founded …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tequila-mexico-nectar.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nTequila - Mexico\u2019s Nectar - Paradise Blogging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The process from here is different depending on which type of tequila is being made, including silver, gold and aged varieties.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/dining\/tequila-mexicos-nectar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tequila - Mexico\u2019s Nectar - Paradise Blogging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The process from here is different depending on which type of tequila is being made, including silver, gold and aged varieties.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/dining\/tequila-mexicos-nectar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Paradise Blogging\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SianKaanVillage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-07-25T17:51:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-29T18:40:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/tequila-mexico-nectar.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"801\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SianKaanVillage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SianKaanVillage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Social Media\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\">\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":662,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605\/revisions\/662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siankaanvillage.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}