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This brings us to our last base liquor in the series. To recap, we’ve looked at Gin, Rum, Brandy, Vodka & Whiskey (or whisky if you’re Scottish).

Now let’s discuss Tequila.

Tequila is distilled from the fermented juice of the Mezcal plant. The Mezcal plant must be grown within the limits of the state of Jalisco, Mexico or certain designated areas in Mexico - Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. In a nutshell, Tequila comes from Mexico. If the Mezcal plants are grown anywhere else, then it’s bottled as Mezcal.

Mezcal is made from the blue agave plant, a monster that takes eight to 12 years to mature and yields a pineapple-type heart (the pina). The hearts are cooked in traditional brick ovens or modern autoclaves and then shredded or ground into a pulp and the juice distilled.

Growing blue agave is time-consuming and harvesting it is tedious, but Mexican law requires that it make up 51 percent of anything labeled tequila. A great deal of ordinary tequila contains 51 percent blue agave and the rest is sugarcane.

The best tequilas are 100 percent blue agave and vary with region, altitude and soil. These tequilas come in three major categories:

Blanco (also known as white, silver or “plata”) is clear and un-aged Tequila. The clear color is attributed to the fact that it spends no time in aging casks or barrels. Unlike other spirits which gain character by aging in oak barrels etc, freshly distilled Tequila already has character from the agave plant and is the choice of many Tequila aficionados.

Some to try: Partida Tequila Blanco, 1800 Silver Tequila, Patron Silver, Sauza Silver

Reposado means rested, which in this case means the tequila is aged, usually in oak barrels, for at least two months and no more than a year by law. The oak imparts a delicate, tawny color and softens the tequila. Reposadas have less edge than blancos, and many people prefer to drink these tequilas straight.

Some to try: Partida Tequila Reposado, Patron Reposado, Jose Cuervo Black Medallion, 1800 Reposado


Anejo is a rich, dark spirit in a class by itself. While some are aged in new oak, most are stored for years in used, charred oak bourbon barrels from Kentucky. The tequila acquires a deep amber color and a mellow, sweet taste from the lingering bourbon or sherry in the barrels. Anejo can taste much like a brandy or a mellow bourbon, with the taste of the agave buried in other flavors. This is the tequila to sip from a snifter after dinner. A good anejo is worth the top dollar you’ll pay for it.

Some to try: Jose Cuervo 1800, Partida Tequila Anejo, Patron Anejo, Sauza Tres Generaciones Anejo

Sources: Wikipedia, Partida Tequila, Chris Rice for Playboy Magazine.