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Tequila was first produced in the 16th century near the location
of the city of Tequila which was not officially established until 1656. The
Aztec peoples had previously made a fermented beverage from the agave plant
which they called octli (later, and more popularly called pulque), long before
the Spanish arrived in 1521. When the Spanish conquistadors ran out of their own
brandy, they began to distill this agave drink to produce North America's first
indigenous distilled spirit.
Some 80 years later, around 1600, Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, the Marquis of
Altamira, began mass-producing tequila at the first factory in the territory of
modern-day Jalisco. By 1608, the colonial governor of Nueva Galicia had begun to
tax his products.
The tequila that is popular today was first mass-produced in the early 1800s in
Guadalajara, Mexico. 1800 Tequila is marketed today in commemoration of the year
in which the first successfully aged Tequila was produced. Several large batches
of Tequila produced in 1800 (although not of the original single batch) have
survived the test of time and are marketed today for commercial consumption.
This premium Tequila is a tribute to the earliest master Tequila blenders.
Tequila is usually bottled in one of five categories:
1.)oro ("gold") – unaged tequila which is "joven y
abogado" (young and adulterated) which means that caramel, fructose, glycerin
and wood flavoring can be added to resemble aged tequila
2.)blanco ("white") or plata ("silver") – not aged
white spirit
3.)reposado ("rested") – aged a minimum of 2 months
but less than a year in oak barrels
4.)añejo ("aged" or "vintage") – aged minimum 1
year but less than 3 years in oak barrels
5.)maduro ("mature," "ultra-aged," or "vintage") –
aged minimum 3 year in oak barrels This is a new category which was established
in March 2006, represented on the bottles as "Extra Añejo".
**The aging process changes the color of tequila, but the liquid can sometimes
be colored with caramel to show a darker color, indicative of a longer aging
process; añejos tend to be darker, the reposados slightly less dark, while the
platas are not colored at all.
It is a common misconception that some tequilas contain a 'worm' in the bottle.
Only certain mezcals, usually from the state of Oaxaca, are ever sold con
gusano, and that only began as a marketing gimmick in the 1940s. The worm is
actually the larval form of the moth Hypopta agavis that lives on the agave
plant. Finding one in the plant during processing indicates an infestation and,
correspondingly, a lower quality product. However this misconception continues,
and even with all the effort and marking to represent Tequila as a premium --
similar to the way Cognac is viewed in relation to brandy -- there are some
opportunist producers for the shooters and fun market who blur these boundaries.
source
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila
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Wolfrock
Wine and Spirits