Tequila production process

Tequila Sauza: Notes of Fresh Fruits From the Purest Tequila

[fa icon="calendar"] May 16, 2018 10:56:02 AM / por Servando Calderon

Servando Calderon

For our extraction process, we use a gentle extraction method. We gently extract the juice of our raw agave with water and steam, similar to that of an espresso coffee to which steam is applied and what we obtain are the essences of the coffee that is different from boiling it or cooking it. Our process is exactly the same as if it were a coffee machine in which the steam is passed through the agave and its essence is extracted to fresh fruit.Many people ask about the sensory characteristics of Casa Sauza's tequilas. In order to better explain how we got to the notes of fresh fruits and citrus fruits that characterize our tequilas, I always start by describing the processes that led us to them.

casa sauza purest tequila taste of agave

In order to give our tequilas their characteristic notes and taste, we start by extracting the juice of our raw agave plant, so that we keep that sensation of fresh fruit. In order to do so, we avoid the most common extraction process in the industry: by pressing cooked agave. Think about wine production..it is not pressed for a reason. What we are trying to avoid by not pressing our agave is to extract other elements that change the taste of the agave, that make it less fruity, less pure.

Think of grapefruit juice as an example. If we happen to press the grapefruit a little more than the necessary in order to extract its juice, we not only get its juice but we also get some of the skin's juices as well, which makes the whole thing taste bitter and bring notes that should not be there.

The same reasoning works for tequila production. Some elements and aromas that are not pleasant in a tequila are indeed extracted during the pressing process. Which is why we avoid pressing our agave, since we care about the final notes and characteristics that we want our product to have: the purest and closest-to-agave taste that you can get.

So what do we do instead of pressing? We use a gentle extraction method. We gently extract the juice of our raw agave with water and steam, similar to making an espresso coffee, to which steam is applied and thus, we obtain the essence of the coffee (very different from boiling or cooking it). Our process is exactly the same as if it were a coffee machine in which the steam is passed through the agave and its fresh fruit essence is extracted in its most pure way.

gentle extraction of agave sugarIt is a process that is becoming more regular to apply in our industry, but we were the ones who actually started using it. And just like we seek to obtain the purest product by avoiding the filtration of elements that we believe should not be present in a tequila, we also seek to enhance our tequilas and give them different notes.

We seek to enrich our new products just like when you give your coffee a touch of citrus notes by mixing it with something else: it is enhanced with new sensory sensations. It is similar to what we do, for example, with our Hornitos Black Barrel tequila. It goes through a different aging process from an Old Hornitos tequila, since it is rested in new barrels that have undergone though a different treatment. This gives it certain notes that are similar to the notes of Whiskey.

We achieve this whiskey-like taste during the aging processes. Our tequila is aged first in the barrel that we normally use and then is rested again in new barrel that has been given the same treatment that is given to the Scotch Whiskey barrels. And this is how we enhance our tequila with different notes while also keeping our traditional Hornitos line intact as well.

Tequila Sauza is the one I like best but, which is the best tequila? We say that the one you like the most. It must be hard for you to believe me -because of where I stand now- but I've liked Tequila Hornitos ever since I was young.

We have a legacy of 144 years and we want to double that number (or more!), since we do have a history and tradition that have always been backed by the quality of our products. This is why we are always looking to continuously improve and to offer our consumers the purest tequila that they can find in the market.

Come and visit Casa Sauza and see for yourself how the modernization of our production processes delivers the purest tequila that you will find in the market.

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Temas: Improvement

Servando Calderon

Escrito por Servando Calderon

Ingeniero experto en operaciones de la planta de Casa Sauza.