Get into the Latin spirit
We all know Tequila. With a lick of salt and a wedge of lime, this fiery liquid is downed, usually in shots and often in a variety of flavours, providing rocket fuel for many a raucous evening.
But it doesn't have to be like this. Tequila is changing its image and improving its quality so that it can take its rightful place on bars around the country, not just to be knocked back as fast as possible, but to be enjoyed and savoured, either neat or in cocktails – and not just the sugar-loaded Margaritas that we all know.
So what is Tequila and is it really made from the cactus plant? Not exactly. Tequila comes from Mexico and is distilled from the fermented heart of the Blue Agave plant. This is not a cactus but is a relative of the lily family and these viscously sharp plants can grow two metres tall.
When the plant has reached the right size, usually after eight to 12 years, and before the 10 metre tall flower stalk has produced its seeds, the leaves are cut off and the heart is removed. These 'pias' can weigh up to 90kg and they must be removed carefully to avoid damaging nearby plants.
The whole cultivation process is done by hand and each year hundreds of thousands of these plants are harvested. Traditionally, the pias are cooked, then crushed by a stone wheel and the sweet juice extracted, then fermented.
The resulting milky fermented liquor is double distilled to produce a clear white spirit – tequila. Key factors which affect the quality and taste of the final product include where the agave plants are grown.
Most tequila comes from within a radius of 100 miles from the town of Tequila in Jalisco state in Mexico. The name Tequila actually means lava-hill and this region is based on a dormant volcano. Plants grown on the minerally-rich highland soil produce floral, fruity notes in Tequila while lowland plants give punchy, peppery flavours.
The other main quality factor is the proportion of agave used in the production of the liquor. Legislation allows for the agave juice to be augmented by other sources of sweetness, but 100 per cent agave tequilas provide the best, clearest and smoothest flavours.
Many of the big brands are not 100 per cent blue agave tequilas so it pays to check out the label when buying. Tequila can also be aged. Young spirit, known as blanco or silver is bottled after just a few weeks ageing in tank.
Reposado is aged between two and 12 months in oak barrels, while Aejo spends at least one year in oak.
Each style provides a different range of flavours and generally the older the spirit the more complex and rounded the flavours will be.
To try out some of the flavours and the uses of tequila, I joined Robert Jupp from Speciality Brands who has been enthusing the bartenders and cocktail-makers of the North with the Tapatio brand of tequila. This is a 100 per cent blue agave tequila made by a long-established family-run business in the mountainous region of Jalisco where the best blue agave plants grow.
They use traditional methods to make the spirit and this is one of the few distilleries to distil to the right alcohol levels of 40 per cent rather than over-distil it and reduce it with water. This way more of the natural flavours are retained in the spirit.
Certainly the bartenders of the North were enthusiastic about this Tapatio as they competed to win a bottle of the rare and expensive Reservas de la Excelencia, a top-quality, four-year old tequila.
Each contestant had to create a brand new cocktail, and explain part of the tequila-making process in a competition which spread across the afternoon and evening in the lively surroundings of Azucar tapas bar in Brewery Place, Leeds.
There were delicious concentrated fruit flavours in Jake Jones's Spinal Tap – a blend of prickly pear and brandied pear, muddled in reposado tequila and strained into a cocktail glass and served with a slice of orange. Jake works at Piazza by Anthony in the Leeds Corn Exchange.
Christian Adams from The Living Room, Leeds used the clean aromatic flavours of rosemary mixed with reposado tequila, cardamom pods, blackberries, raspberries and blackberry liqueur to make a delicious fruity cocktail which balanced fruit, alcohol and clean balanced freshness.
I particularly enjoyed the drinks prepared by James Coston of Jake's Bar in Leeds who ignored the rules of the competition and produced two cocktails – a white chocolate and Curacao mix made with blanco tequila and almond syrup which was creamy and delicious – a great after-dinner cocktail. His second cocktail, a variation on a mint Julep using blanco tequila with a splash of Grand Marnier was refreshing and lively.
Ricky from Oracle in Leeds used a shot of top-notch tequila worth 150 a bottle to make his cocktail then added a splash of Absinthe which he proceeded to set alight – perhaps not to be recommended for newcomers to cocktail-making.
But after several hours and 15 cocktails a winner had to be selected and that was Katie Goodson from Trio in Headingley who used three simple ingredients to achieve the perfect balance of flavour and harmony. She used 50ml of blanco tequila and mixed it with 7.5ml of Luxardo Maraschino and 7.5ml of Monin Rose syrup to create a delightful, scented, elegant drink. Garnished with rose petals, this is summer in a glass.
Sadly ,you will have difficulty making this cocktail at home because one of the ingredients is almost impossible to find in the UK. Katie picks the rose syrup up in France when she is on holiday, so perhaps that is something to look out for during the summer.
But the best way to try tequila and its various mixes in cocktails is to visit some of the dynamic bars that have sprung up across Leeds and the North.
Smokestack, Socio Rehab, Epernay, Verve, Angels Share, Kobe, Sandinista and Napa are all making cutting edge cocktails and they are pleasant places to spend an hour or two.
Tapatio tequila is available at around 20.99 for the blanco from Latitude in Leeds (0113 2453393) and at Field and Fawcett in York, Harrogate Fine Wine and Hi-Spirits in Knaresborough. Other brands of tequila are also available, and some of these are also 100 per cent blue agave. Just check the label.
Email to a friend
Print this page- Leeds lose Ward to Palace: Is there anyone they can afford now?
- Sheffield Wednesday leaving it late to hijack Leeds United over Ward
- As Snodgrass dithers over Leeds, Warnock throws a lifeline
- Ball is in Leeds United’s court over contract - Snodgrass
- Police turning blind eye to Asian voter fraud, says MP
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
