Tequila is having a moment. With specialty tequila joints such as Cantina Ok! in Sydney, Ghost Donkey in Melbourne, Stranded in Brisbane and more all over the country, our taste for the Mexican spirit is growing by the day. But, whether you’re a recent convert, an old hand or just agave-curious, there’s more than salt, lime and a shot glass when it comes to the finer side of tequila.
From its Mexican origins to mixing it up yourself, we asked a tequila expert to help us get to the bottom of this enigmatic and often misunderstood spirit.
How it’s made and types of tequila
“It all starts with agave – nothing happens with tequila on the label without blue Weber agave,” says Alex Godfrey, Australian brand ambassador for Patrón Tequila. Just as whisky is distilled from grain and rum from sugarcane, tequila is distilled from a Mexican plant called agave (and specifically the blue, or azul, variety).
Once the agave is fully grown (between five to 10 years, with five to seven being the peak for its sugar content), processed and distilled, the producer then has another important choice to make: how long to age the spirit. While it’s not uncommon to see Scotch whisky aged over two decades, the Mexican climate cuts waiting times down substantially.
“The ageing process happens a lot faster in tequila,” says Godfrey. “Where Scotland might lose one per cent [of the spirit] within a year to evaporation, we lose 10. It’s hot and the wood is very open, so the boozy angels come in and they’ll steal all of it.”
Instead of stating its exact age on the bottle, producers sort tequila into one of four categories: blanco (silver), reposado, añejo or extra añejo.
“Look at your label – it tells you everything you need to know about your tequila,” Godfrey says. “If it’s a blanco, or silver, then it’s been aged for zero to two months. If it’s reposado (rested), then it’s two months to one year. If it’s an aejo, one year to three years. And if it’s extra aejo, everything after that.”
A spectrum of flavours
Tequila’s flavour profile isn’t only determined by looking at its age category, but also by how many times it’s distilled. For instance, master distiller David Rodriguez found that distilling agave four times – a rare process that’s hardly ever done – unlocks the agave’s natural sweetness and smoothness.
The additional round of distillation leads to a velvety texture and allows some quite specific flavours to shine through. The result of Rodriguez’s experiment is Patrón El Cielo (its name translates to the heavens), the producer’s first quadruple-distilled tequila.
“[Patrón El Cielo] has a subtle jalapeno note on the back end that brings everything back to the agave,” says Godfrey. “It’s salty, saline, citrusy, bright – with this little jalapeno note – and you start thinking, ‘Okay, I want another one’.
You can also roughly guess at flavours based on age alone. “For a silver, you’re looking at something that’s going to be earthy and quite citrusy,” Godfrey says. “For the reposado, it becomes softer, and a slight sweetness is added because of the barrels. And then you start getting into these spice characteristics the longer it’s in the barrel.” Patrón El Cielo isn’t aged at all, so it has a light and soft flavour profile.
Your favourite serve
While Godfrey says there’s definitely nothing wrong with the classic shot with lime and salt (“Who wants to deny themselves a mini Margarita every time?”), there’s plenty to play around with. Godfrey loves traditional Mexican flavour pairings such as chilli and chocolate for richer reposado tequilas, while silver varieties tend to mix well with citrus and tropical fruit.
For more refined “sipping” tequilas such as Patrón El Cielo, Godfrey swings two ways. His preference is neat, over ice with a large slice of orange to really bring out the spirit’s citrus notes. “We wanted to make something that you put in the middle of the table when you celebrateand can just sip along with,” he says. But he’s equally a fan of subbing the tequila into classic cocktails, giving a subtle edge to some old-school favourites, such as a French 75 or a Martini. “If you make a Patrón El Cielo Martini, it’s beautiful with a twist.”
This article was produced by Broadsheet in partnership with Patrón. The world’s first quadruple distilled tequila, Patrón El Cielo, is available at Dan Murphy’s nationwide for $270. It’s also available at Icebergs, Margaret, Maybe Sammy and Glory Days in Sydney; Bar Blanco, Mirror Mirror, Public House Albury, Arbory and Her in Melbourne; and Yot Club, Maya Mexican, Miss Margarita, Iris Rooftop and Hotel Marvell in Brisbane. For more information and cocktail suggestions, visit the website.
