Tequila

In January I visited the Herradura factory near Guadalahara, Mexico.  It is a beautiful facility and they give an outstanding, informative tour.The Aztecs were the first to use Blue Agave to extract a mildly alcoholic beverage.  With the invasion of the Spainiards came “modern” distilation methods, and Tequila was born. The agave is harvested when it is 8-12 years old.  The leaves are sheared off and the center, or pina, which can weigh up to 150 pounds, is roasted.

 

I never knew that the agave was cooked.  The pina is shredded and put into large ovens. The odor is not unlike the cooking of molasses and, when golden, it tastes a little like roasted plaintains. 

The cooked pina is milled with water and fermented, like wine.

And casked, like wine.

Therein lie the only similarities: For, as Thomas Beacon most famously said, “when the wine is in, the wit is out.” 

Tequila, as everyone knows, is a mind clarifying liquid.

When the tequila is in, the tongue is out.

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~ by rfgainey on July 23, 2008.