Tequila is a product of the flowering plant known as the blue agave.
According to Mexican law and international agreement, any product labeled "tequila" must be made only in Mexico. Tequila must be produced from the growing to the distilling process within certain designated areas, primarily in the state of Jalisco, where the vast majority of tequila is made. Other designated towns are located within four other Mexican states: Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.
The blue agave is one of hundreds of different species of agave plants, most of which grow in Mexico. Classified as a succulent, not a cactus, blue agave plants take eight to ten years to reach maturity and can grow to be very large-up to eight feet tall and twelve feet in diameter. The color of the leaves is a pale, silvery green-blue. Greek in origin, the name "agave" is derived from a word meaning "noble" and is now used as a scientific classicfication. There are two other names for the agave plant that have been used in the past-maguey (which now refers to the plant while it is still in the ground) and mezcal (now the name of various distilled drinks made from the agave plant, of which tequila is one). Many people erroneously use the terms mezcal and tequila interchangeably. In fact all tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila, as tequila should be made from the "blue agave" plant while mezcal can be made from any agave plant.
Tequila is classified into 100 percent blue agave and mixto, or mixed tequila, and these two are further subdivided into seven kinds. Mexican law permits unaged mixto tequila to be exported in bulk and bottled outside Mexico, whereas all 100 percent agave tequilas and all aged tequilas must be bottled within Mexico. 100 percent agave tequilas are distilled entirely from the fermented juice of the agave plant. Mixto tequila is distilled from a mixture of agave juice and other sugars. In the 1930s, the limited harvest of agave coupled with the growing demand for tequila gave rise to the production of mixto. There are four types of tequila and seven varieties overall.
The four types are:
Blanco or plata (white or silver) - Clear liquid bottled or rested in stainless steel tanks for not more than 60 days. It may be 100 percent agave or mixto.
Reposado (rested) - Placed in wooden storage tanks or barrels for not less than 60 days but less than one year.
Anejo (aged) - Placed in wooden barrels not bigger than 600 litres for at least a year.
Joven abocado (young and smooth-often called Gold) - unaged but treated with an additive such as a form of caramel. The difference between white and gold usually lies in this burnt sugar coloration.
The seven varieties of tequila are:
· 100% Agave-Blanco
· 100% Agave-Reposado
· 100% Agave-Anejo
· Mixto-Joven abocado