100% Agave Tequila

It doesn’t take long after the first sight of sunshine before we start hauling out the summer drink recipes. No summer drink specials would be complete without the perennial party ingredient: tequila.

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. It’s a long process – the blue agave takes eight 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 Jose Cuervo and Sauza.

Mixtos might be your ticket for a round of salt and citrus or a summer margarita, but if you’re looking for the bona fide tequila, look no further than 100% agave. 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 trick.

100% agave tequila is always labeled to ensure that government standards are 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.