Tequila Embassy

Artisan Bottles

May 172012

Ok, so what happens when you have a bottle that has a special feature?
If there’s no label, where can you check all the information to identify it as an authentic tequila?

There is a big trend towards artisan bottles, and some of them are real art-pieces. Of course, an ordinary label on the front would ruin the whole design of the bottle. As an example, here is a picture of tequila Kah, which is imported by Mexican Liquor Imports.

At a first glance, to find the information may seem complicated, but it is not, you just need to look for the label on the back or the bottom.

You can be sure that all authentic tequilas will have the correct labelling requirements. It wouldn’t make any sense for a distillery to invest such big amount of money, time and effort producing a good quality spirit and then miss any of the requirements to prove that it’s real.

Those other drinks that are trying to imitate tequila are the ones that will try to confuse you with mixed data, but the real ones are very straight forward.

Regulations (NOM) No Responses »

Why A Tequila Needs To Be Called Tequila

May 152012

In our previous post we listed the requirements to identify an authentic tequila.
The first one may sound absolutely obvious: It has to say TEQUILA. However, it’s important to mention it because we’ve already seen cases of fakes where they try to deceive consumers with a game of words.

Sometimes they use phrases like “Tequila Flavoured” or “Aguardiente tipo Tequila” where the word Tequila is much bigger compared to the other word so you are only able to read Tequila.
It’s important then that you pay attention to any small print before of after the word tequila.

Remember, tequila can only be produced from “Agave Tequilana Weber blue variety” so what these pseudo-producers are trying to do is to avoid legal controls by the regulatory agency by “stating” they are not tequilas but effectively selling themselves as tequila.

These products are specifically targeted to tourists near the town of Tequila and, yes, many people fall for this trick… I’ve seen it: Once we were invited to a party organised by some German friends.

They had just visited Tequila and where so proud they’ve discovered a very rare tequila (quite cheap too), but they wanted me to try it and check how good it was, because the previous day they have had some just to discover they’ve woken up with a terrible headache.

The bad news were that they haven’t drunk a tequila at all, but some dodgy thing that smelled like tequila and I didn’t even dare to taste. Instead I serve them a “Campo Azul Reposado” and suggest they use the rest of the 3 litre plastic bottle of that thing to clean their loo.

Regulations (NOM) No Responses »

How to identify an authentic Tequila

May 112012

The answer is quite easy: Read the label (Although there has been some cases were even the label has been falsified).

There are some basic presumptions: If the venue/shop has a good reputation or you trust the person who recommended it, there is a good chance you’re pointing in the right direction.
However, there are cases where recognising a real tequila can be tricky, specially on scenarios like this:

- It is so “artisan” that it doesn’t even has a label
- This one is so exclusive that they only produce it in small quantities.
- It’s a new distillery owned by a friend of a friend.

Those things can be true, but unless you trust your life to the person telling you this, you must be very careful (drinking a fake tequila can actually leave you blind or worst).

We’ll talk about each of the points you need to check in following post, but for now I’ll just going to list them:

1. The word “Tequila”
2.-Category
3.-Class
4.-Flavour (if added)
5.-Trade mark
6.-Content
7.-Alcohol percentage
8.-Producer’s or bottler info
9-The phrase “Made in Mexico”
10.-A NOM number
11.-Lot number
12.-Health warnings

Regulations (NOM) No Responses »

Tequila and Bond… James Bond

May 082012

Since 1974, tequila has the same worldwide recognition status as Champagne or Cognac. That means, only tequila produced in the nominated area can be called “Tequila”.
That may sound weird for some people, after all, you can get brandy or vodka produced anywhere in the world, right?

As tequila began to gain popularity around the world, specially in America and Europe, some people began to produce dodgy beverages also called tequila, which were well below standard-quality (and even health-hazardous).
When that started to happen, tequila was quite affected and grew some bad reputation. But most important, consumers were highly at risk, without even knowing if they were actually drinking tequila.
That’s when we called James Bond to solve the issue…

Not really… This drawing comes from a James Bond comic strip* compiled by Titan Books.
The comic has nothing to do with fake tequilas, but it shows the usual custom for someone visiting Mexico, to drink tequila as the most natural thing to do…Even for 007, who even sacrificed his usual Martini to have a tequila in his 1975 visit to Acapulco and Mexico City.
Tequila was, and it still is, a piece Mexico;s identity. That’s why mexicans could not accept that somebody else was destroying its image (it was like attacking Mexico itself). So, all producers as well as the Mexican Government, decided to do something about it and defined:
1.- A set of rules to produce tequila (NOM)
2.- The area where it can be produced (Territory)
3.-A regulatory agency was in charge of supervising everything (CRT)

With these three elements, all the requirements for a “Controlled Denomination of Origin” were filled and the official recognition was published in 1974.

Three years later in 1977, and after some revisions, a final standardisation was published, adding a new area of production near the gulf of Mexico. Most experts agree that this last addition obeyed only political reasons to build alliances with the very powerful oil leaders at the time.

So after all, it really seems it could be a case for Bond.
* ©1975/1976 Glidrose Productions Ltd/Express Newspapers Ltd

History No Responses »

Cinco de Mayo

May 042012

The only reason I’m going to talk about this topic here is because, outside Mexico, this is one of the dates where many people wants to drink tequila and enjoy a good party.

First of all, as I mentioned earlier, it’s a tradition that has been mostly adopted in the USA. In Mexico it’s an important date, but being fair, nobody outside the state of Puebla celebrates it. It’s not a public holiday, so it’s a very ordinary day for everybody.

The 5th of May 1862 is important only for one reason: It symbolises the unity of Mexicans against external forces (even though Mexico is not usually involve in war with other countries). That day in Puebla, around 2,000 Mexicans defeated about 6,000 formal trained french soldiers.
It was a very good battle, but it was only one and didn’t have a big impact on the overall result of the war… After all, French occupation lasted for another six years.

It is important to note that this battle has nothing to do with Mexican Independence from Spain which happened more than 50 years earlier (we have another celebration for that one, the 16th of September, and that’s really a big national feast day).

Most Mexican restaurants in Melbourne will have some sort of party or special dinner tomorrow, and you can be sure there will be enough tequila to get the party started. As you can imagine, Mexicans love to party and we are always looking for an excuse to catch up with friends and have a good evening.

Use this occasion to be selective about what you will drink:

-If you’re having a cocktail like Margarita, ask which tequila they are using.
-If you’re having shots, try not to have it all in one drink, but ask for a 100% agave (white or reposado) and drink it on small zips.
-You may even may try an extra-aged tequila with some “sangrita” on the side.

Whatever the case is, knowing a little bit more about tequila will help you appreciate it better, and of course will avoid nasty side-effects the next morning.

Culture No Responses »

Tarde Tequilera (An Afternoon for Tequila)

May 032012

In Mexico we have a quite common phrase to describe a day like today’s in Melbourne.
You can ask any Mexican how is the weather on a “tarde tequilera” (an afternoon for tequila). and they will immediately tell you it’s cold, overcast and with occasional showers

There is not a clear explanation where does the phrase comes from or how old it has been used as a weather forecast, but some say it comes from the time farmers couldn’t work any longer on their crops because of autumn rain.
The easiest solution then, was to wrap up their stuff and sit on their porch or terrance with their mates and have a tequila while waiting for the rain to recede.

Of course if the rain lasted for more than two “caballitos” (small glasses) it was very hard for them to stop, and usually it ended up as an informal party where they start the barbie, bring some music and keep themselves warm with some tequilas and a vivid chat.

So, if you happen to have a Mexican nearby today and you want to called a day, tell him ” La tarde esta tequilera” and you will find yourself in Mexico territory with a nice evening.

Culture No Responses »

A thrill-seeker cocktail, for starters.

May 022012

This is one of the cocktails we featured on the original brochure for the Chamber of Tequila in Mexico.
It is a sample of versatility some classes of Tequila have to be mixed (even the ones that have been aged).
Quite juicy, so please be cautious when you have one because, if you think it’s a soft drink, you’ll never know what hit you.

Pachanga:

Ingredients:
1 ½ oz. Aged Tequila
2 oz. pineapple juice
2 oz. mango juice
2 oz. chocolate syrup
½ oz. cream of coconut
Ice cubes

In a cocktail shaker half-filled with ice cubes, mix all the ingredients and serve into a Martini glass or an old-fashioned glass.
Garnish with a pineapple wedge and a cherry.

Cocktails No Responses »

A Weekend in Ancient Mexico

May 012012

How old do you think Tequila is?
Compared to other drinks, it’s pretty young, just a little bit over 400 years, when Spaniards took the first distilleries to Mexico.
However, there is evidence that since 300 a.D. natives drunk the fermented juices of agave as a drink for ritual purposes (only on celebrations).

Can you imagine how would a weekend be in ancient Mexico?
You worked all week, prepared everything to watch a ball game (where you or some of your friends may be sacrificed) and spend hours there without a single beer, wine or Tequila…

It’s clear why priests felt the need to offer sacrifices to the gods for everything: no rain, too much rain, too hot, too cold, many enemies, not enough wars to capture slaves, etc, etc.

I reckon that’s why we’ve managed to have so many holidays in Mexico… We needed some excuse to be able to enjoy the juices of agave.

(Disclaimer: This is not a real scenario… Of course they didn’t have the same concept of work-life as we have it today, but under these circumstances, I reckon life may have been a little bit boring… Well, apart from trying to keep yourself and your family alive!)

History No Responses »