100% Agave Tequila
Margarita, Long Island Iced Tea, Tequila Sunrise….there are so many wonderful classic cocktails that celebrate tequila, it’s no wonder that it’s becoming a perennial party ingredient.

Tequila generally exists in two forms: 100% agave and mixtos. Although these styles of tequila differ in the types of sugars used during fermentation, they both originate from the Mexican blue agave plant.

A cash crop from the Jalisco region of west-central Mexico, the blue agave thrives in areas with plenty of volcanic soil. And it’s a good thing that this plant thrives because the blue agave takes 8 to 12 years to ripen, and if it’s harvested too early, there won’t be enough sugars to make tequila.

Mixtos take the sap harvested from the blue agave and mix in up to 50% manufactured sugars, resulting in a sweet, albeit less authentic, taste. Most tequilas in North America are the result of this formula, including well-known brands such as Jose Cuervo and Sauza.

Mixtos might be your ticket for a round of salt and citrus or a great Margarita, but if you’re looking for the bona fide sipping tequila, look no further than 100% agave kind. The choice of Mexicans and tequila purists, 100% agave offers a harsher, more vegetal flavour making the taste more complex on the palate.Unlike mixtos, these finer tequilas are normally enjoyed straight up with a few ice cubes – a fine sipping drink rather than a party drink.  

A 100% agave tequila is always labeled to ensure that government standards have been met. Expensive bottles of tequila are meant to be appreciated the same way we might enjoy a bottle of Scotch or fine wine.

Remember, the salt and lemon ritual is only common in North America. If you want a genuine taste of Mexico’s finest, try a sip of 100% agave – tequila the way it was meant to be.