{"id":1167276,"date":"2019-08-14T13:34:09","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T18:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/?p=1167276"},"modified":"2024-10-16T17:21:18","modified_gmt":"2024-10-16T22:21:18","slug":"what-is-tequila-made-from","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tasteofhome.com\/article\/what-is-tequila-made-from\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Tequila Made From?"},"content":{"rendered":"In a cocktail, as a shooter or as a spirit to sip on, tequila in all its forms remains super popular. It's not hard to find a good tequila<\/a>, either. But there's more to tequila than meets the eye. You might be surprised to learn how tequila is made and what types of tequila you can buy.\r\n\r\nMix yourself a margarita on the rocks<\/a>\u2014it's time to learn all about tequila.\r\n

What Is Tequila Made From?<\/h3>\r\nTequila is a type of mezcal<\/a>, a spirit produced from agave. Unlike mezcal, which can be made from a number of different agave varieties, tequila is only made with Weber's blue agave or agave tequilana<\/em>. Confused? It's kind of like how all scotch is whiskey<\/a> but not all whiskey is scotch.\r\n\r\nThe blue agave thrives in Mexico, in the highlands of Jalisco. It takes over seven years to reach maturity! Once mature, agave farmers (called\u00a0jimadors<\/em>) harvest the large succulents by removing the leaves and exposing the hearts (or pi\u00f1as)<\/em> which are sent off to a distillery.\r\n

How Is Tequila Made?<\/h3>\r\nThe process of making this Mexican drink<\/a> starts as the pi\u00f1as bake in special ovens. This converts all the starch in the pi\u00f1as into sugar\u2014a must for fermenting into alcohol. The next step is shredding and pressing the pi\u00f1as, releasing all the sugars. Many producers add yeast to kick off fermentation, though some allow native wild yeasts to get things going. This juice ferments for up to four days before being distilled to reach the minimum alcohol content required by law. From here, the tequila is either bottled or aged.\r\n\r\nTequila can only be produced in five states in Mexico: Jalisco, Michoacan, Nayarit, Guanajuato and Tamaulipas. Most tequila is made in Jalisco, where the sandy soil is ideal for growing blue agave. (It's also where you'll find the town of Tequila.) Learn how to make a\u00a0tequila old-fashioned<\/a>.\r\n

Tequila Styles 101<\/h3>\r\nThere are several different styles of tequila to know. Below you'll find the main types of tequila<\/a> and the best way to enjoy them:\r\n