By Malu Lambert

“Tequila is the happy-maker,” says Emil den Dulk, director of wine and spirit company Liquidity. “It’s an upper. A party drink. A drink such as red wine, on the other hand, is more of a downer: it’s the drink you relax with in front of the fire,” he says.

We’re sitting in a moody bar. It’s hot outside and the air-conditioned coolness is refreshing. On a table in front of us is the Patrón collection. The handmade glass bottles reflect the low light of the room. “That said, this is not the type of tequila you shoot,” says Emil. “Tequila is experiencing a renaissance. The last ten years have seen the rise of the sipping culture.” Tequila has a bad reputation. It’s a spirit that’s synonymous with hangovers and questionable behaviour. According to Emil, this is changing. All thanks to the rise of premium brands, such as Patrón and Don Julio.

“The average tequila is only half agave spirit,” says Emil. “Mass producers mix cane with the agave. They also add a caramel mix to the tequila, the same stuff they put in Coke; the amber hue, in this case, is not from ageing.”

Patrón was the first tequila distillery to make 100 per cent blue agave tequila. Other distilleries soon followed. The agave plant remains something of a mystery. Even with this upsurge in use.

Just what exactly is it?  “It’s not a cactus,” says Emil wryly. “That’s the mistake most people make. It’s actually part of the lily family. The plant only reaches maturity after about 8-12 years. At this stage the plant contains the highest amount of residual sugar. The agave spirit comes from the pinhã at the base of the plant. The pinhã looks a lot like a pineapple.” Mexico’s native agave has been a part of life in central Mexico for thousands of years—from the Aztecs to the Spanish Colonists. It hasn’t always been just a beverage. Its leaves have been used for food, medicine, and even building materials and fabric. 



“The best agave,” Emil says, “grows in the Mexican highlands. The agave harvesters are called jimadors. They use a tool called a coa, which has a sharp, half moon-shaped blade and a long handle. The jimador removes the agave from its roots and trims the spiny leaves to the core of the fruit or pinhã.  “They work so quickly. It’s an amazing thing to see,” Emil goes on. “I tried to harvest a plant when I was in Mexico. Let me tell you, it’s not as easy as they make it look.”
Every tuft, stem and knob is swiftly hacked off.  No undesirable material is left clinging to the fruit. “This makes for a cleaner and purer spirit,” says Emil. The fruit is then transported to Hacienda Del Patrón. 

Donkeys are often used to help transport the fruit out of the field. “Back at the distillery the fruit is baked in masonry ovens. A sweet, syrup runs off the agave and is collected and stored in holding tanks. Then, the fruit is crushed. Patrón uses two crushing methods. In one method the roasted piñas are crushed in roller mills. In the second method, the agave is crushed into a pulp by a large hand-made volcanic stone wheel called a tahona.”

Once the master distiller is satisfied the juice and syrup gets put into copper stills for fermentation.  “The stills aren’t allowed to be photographed,” says Emil. “Their shape is a matter of great secrecy—as it determines the flavour of the spirit. “As Patrón grew, they decided against creating large industrial stills. Instead they replicated the original model. There’s a bump in the original still from something being banged against it. This bump, along with all the other curves, has now been replicated 20 times over.”  Emil opens a bottle of silver tequila with a sucking pop. He pours a measure into two tulip-shaped glasses. “All tequila is at first silver,” he says. “It’s the purest form. It has distinct agave flavours and aromas. It’s often said that silver or blanco tequila is the true measure of a distiller.” He noses the glass and gestures I do the same. “Don’t swirl it or sniff it too hard. The alcohol is a lot more volatile than it is in wine.” Tasting the tequila in these beautiful glasses is somewhat surprising. Tequila is, after all, normally served in a shooter glass on a sticky bar counter. “There’s no point drinking out of a glass that doesn’t compliment aromas or flavours—whether it’s a spirit or wine,” says Emil. Premium tequila should be enjoyed like a fine cognac. Pour a measure into a beautiful glass. Sit back and enjoy the flavours. But remember to sip slowly.

What Happened to South Africa's Tequila?

Agave in South Africa South Africa is the only other area where the agave plant grows. It grows quite prolifically in the Graaff-Reinet area. Historians and theorists aren’t quite sure how the plant got there in the first place. One theory is that it was a Victorian girl who planted the agave in Grahamstown. How she came about the plant is a mystery.

Wily local businessmen almost gave Mexico a run for its tequila. They set up a distilling factory called Reinet Distillers. Sadly, it was not to be. They tried, but they never discovered Mexico’s centuries-old technique for distilling tequila. They were soon forced to close. This left a window open for one of the original investors, Keith McLachlan, who then went into partnership with Swiss-based alcohol distillers Rockwood & Hines to form Agave Distillers. This too wasn’t meant to be. The venture closed amidst controversy and speculation just a few years later.

Patrón doesn’t have its own agave fields, instead they outsource. This is a plus in Emil’s opinion. “They choose only the best plants. They get the pick of the crop. This means they have an unlimited supply. It also means they won’t be affected by things like viruses and crop failure.”