Notas del episodio
First, the worm: tequila regulators forbid it, and the creature is actually a moth larva that points to a pest problem. This episode looks at real tequila, which is made only from blue agave in Jalisco and designated parts of four other states. We compare the sweeter, fruitier Los Altos highlands with the earthier valley, and explain how Filipino sailors on the Manila galleon routes introduced the stills that turned agave into mezcal and then tequila.
We follow the jimadores who cut back the quiote flower stalk and harvest piñas weighing 70 to 110 kilograms, then the baking, tahona crushing, and fermentation that produces fruity esters or harsh fusel alcohols. The episode covers aging in used American whiskey barrels, the blanco to extra añejo categories, and the NOM number. It then turns to the 2003 to 2006 bottling dispute with the United States, the lifting of China's import ban in 2013, and why sipping beats salt and lime.
- How volcanic soil and altitude shape the flavor of blue agave
- Why stressed, overheated yeast gives tequila a harsh, solvent-like taste
- How charred oak filters the spirit and adds vanillin
- The difference between mixto and 100 percent blue agave tequila
- Sangrita and the bandera, traditional ways to drink fine tequila