Tequila has a long history and was used during rituals 2,000 years ago. Today, tequila has increased in popularity in modern times. Jose Cuervo is credited as being the first to commercialize the product. In the 1800’s, tequila was imported into the US. Following the Mexican Revolution the popularity of tequila soared.
It is consumed both neat (with no other ingredients) or as a base for mixed cocktails. Tequila is made from a plant named agave, which is found in the region surrounding the city of Tequila. Tequila must be made with a certain percentage of blue agave which is around 50% to be labeled as tequila, otherwise it is called mezcal.
The best tequilas are made from fermenting and then distilling pure agave juice mixed with some water. By law, all 100% agave or aged tequila must be bottled in Mexico. All tequilas produced from 100 percent agave will always say so on the bottle label. If it isn't labeled then it is a mixto, although that term is hardly used on labels.
Tequila Today
There’s a large market of quality tequilas available in México, often with collector bottles and recently introduced individually numbered bottles.
There are five categories of tequila available:
Silver (blanco) — clear, unaged and bottled after distillation
Gold — Caramel coloring and flavors added to silver tequila
Reposado — Silver tequila barrel aged from 3 to 12 months
Añejo — Silver tequila oak barrel aged from 1 to 3 years
Extra Añejo — Silver tequila oak barrel aged for 3-plus years