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Harvested agave plants are known as piñas, and are baked in steam ovens
to convert the starchy sap contained in the piña to fermentable sugar.
Traditionally, a steam heated masonry oven called a ‘horno’ was used to
slow bake the agave for 24-48 hours, though many distilleries now use
modern autoclaves which are basically stainless steel tubes with a sealable
door at one end and act like huge pressure cookers to bake the agave within
a fraction of the time. As cooking too quickly increases the risk of burning
the sugars and creating a bitter caramel taste, UWA maintain using the
traditional hornos to make sure every batch is slow cooked to perfection.
After cooking, the piñas are crushed and shredded to release the sugary
juice, and the resulting fermentable sugars in the agave juice are then
converted into alcohol using yeast. The remaining liquid is then distilled at
least twice. The product of the first distillation is known as ‘ordinario’, and it
is only after the second distillation that the distillate may be termed ‘tequila’.
The clear tequila that results from the second distillation may be bottled
and sold as ‘blanco’ tequila, though UWA triple distil for an even smoother
taste. In contrast, reposado and añejo tequilas are aged in oak, so over time
the wood can impart tannins that soften and mellow the spirit and add
character.
Considering this process creating any tequila takes time, patience and skill;
so it comes with a great amount of pressure and expectation to create a truly
unique tequila.