Things You Should Know about....Tequila

It's that time of the year, when Tequila aficionados crawl out of the woodwork to congregate at their annual Mecca, Tequila Fest. For the non-experts, Latinolife talks you thrugh this ins and outs of Mexico's national spirit.

by Eduardo Gomez

1. Tequila is made from only one agave plant Blue Agave , also known as Tequilana Weber, which needs minimum 5 years to mature before it can be harvested

2. Tequila has a denomination of Origen as Champagne and scotch whiskey. therefore follows very strict rules. it can be produced in Sstates of Mexico. however, 90% of tequila is produce in Jalisco state

3. There are two classifications of Tequila: Tequila Mixto and 100% Agave Tequila.. The latter is the one everyone should drink. Mixto means that only 51% of the sugars come from the agave plants the other 49% it may come from other sugar sources. this usually offers very poor quality.

4. There are 4 expressions of Tequila; Tequila Blanco (unaged) Tequila Reposado (aged for minimum 2 months and maximum 12 months), Añejo (aged for minimum 12 months maximum 24 months) and Extra Añejo (aged for more than 24 months). Tequila is usually aged on ex- American bourbon barrel - American white oak.

5. In Mexico we we don't do the whole licking salt and lime thing. We sip tequila, we don't shoot, drinking it slowly to appreciate all the flavours

6. The most popular Tequila drink in Mexico is the Paloma, which is tequila, lime juice, ice and grapefruit soda. However, the most popular Tequila cocktail in the world is the Margarita (50ml tequila blanco, 25ml lime juice, 25ml triple sec shaken on ice served straight up or in the rocks)