Harvesting agave at Tequila Ocho, east of Guadalajara
You might, in seeking out a special bottle of tequila, gravitate towards those amber-coloured, long-aged luxury expressions – añejos and extra añejos – in their fancy packaging. But a growing number of noteworthy blanco tequilas are doing things differently, without an oak cask in sight. Meanwhile, cristalinos – aged expressions that are filtered to remove their colour – are also on the rise. Together, they’re changing the face of premium crystal-clear tequila.
Blanco tequilas – sometimes called plata or silver – are typically bottled without any time in oak but are sometimes aged for up to two months. They’ve long been the choice of tequila purists, showcasing the flavour of the agave plants from which the spirit is made, without any wood to interfere.
‘Blanco or plata tequilas are agave-forward, bringing out an array of bright citrus flavours that make them easy to enjoy in myriad serving styles,’ says Jaime Salas, head of agave advocacy at Proximo Spirits, the company behind Jose Cuervo and other tequilas. ‘More people are becoming comfortable sipping blancos as they would an aged whiskey or tequila,’ he adds.
Carlos Pechieu, general manager and COO of Volcan de mi Tierra, can see how a drinker of aged tequila might decide to move on to high quality blancos. ‘In Mexico, true tequila drinkers say that they drink blanco because they want something that tastes like tequila without anything else,’ he says.
Agave champions
Certain blancos reflect this agave character – described as having sweet potato and honey notes – more than others. At the top end, tequileros employ a variety of methods to produce some truly remarkable agave-forward spirits.
One example is the highly limited-production Tequila Ocho Plata Puntas. It’s a bottling of the so-called puntas, the most prized part of the distillation, from the end of the ‘heads’ (the first fraction of the volatile alcohols to be collected during distillation, which is typically discarded or redistilled) and the beginning of the ‘heart’ (the fraction that will later be transformed into tequila), and this is a much narrower selection than would normally be used. ‘This cut carries lots of flavour, which is why it is considered the most coveted part by agave-spirits producers,’ says the brand’s global brand ambassador Jesse Estes.
Notably, Plata Puntas is bottled at a high alcoholic strength – 53% abv for the 2023 release – while most tequilas clock in at 40% or less. Don Fulano’s Fuerte expression, too, shoots higher than most, at 50% abv, resulting in a punchy and characterful spirit.
The latest release from Volcan de mi Tierra, Blanco Tahona, takes inspiration from production methods of old, with agave plants cooked slowly in a clay oven before being milled with a giant volcanic rock known as a tahona. ‘This, for us, is the most pure, most traditional way of making tequila,’ says Pechieu.
Adding in… taking out
When mezcal brand The Lost Explorer set out to produce a tequila, what CCO Sheyan Patel calls an elixir de la tierra, maestro tequilero Enrique De Colsa produced his smallest ever batch of tequila, made with no additives. ‘It allows the true, unadulterated flavours of the agave to shine through,’ he says.
Patel’s mention of additives is an increasingly important and complex consideration, as additive-free is fast becoming a marker of quality for tequila. Relevant to all expressions, it’s something to look out for when choosing a bottle.
For tequila purists, and their preference for blanco, there’s plenty of scepticism when it comes to cristalino, the aged-then-filtered style that’s grown hugely in popularity in recent years. ‘Heavy filtration also removes flavour, which in my opinion defies the essence of tequila,’ says Estes. ‘I like my tequilas full-bodied and full of agave flavour.’
Gabriela Moncada, agave ambassador for Speciality…
Source : https://www.decanter.com.master.public.keystone-prod-eks-euw1.futureplc.engineering/wine-reviews-tastings/colourless-tequilas-clear-contenders-537436/
