When Julio Bermejo of the legendary Tommy’s
Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco goes to taste tequila, he carefully
selects his glassware.
Although many aficionados
pour a blanco and even a reposado in a traditional shot glass and turn
to a snifter to capture the nose of an añejo, Julio
tastes all his tequilas in a whisky glass or snifter.
When at tastings, “I always look at color first,” says Julio. With the exception of Herradura, which reflects a light golden hue from time spent in oak, “if it’s a silver, it should be radiant and clear,” he says.
For reposados and añejos, “again color is important,” says Julio. “Depending on how faint or dark the color is, it will be an indication of the type of wood that was used to age the product.”
Next, Julio uses scent to help recognize a tequilas qualities. “I
like to swirl it around and smell it,” he says. “My mouth
is always open when I’m smelling.”
With the honing of one’s sense of smell, some can even tell if a tequila is a lowlands or highlands product.
As a general rule, the area around the town of Tequila is considered lowlands. “Lowlands products,” says Julio, “tend to be more vegetal and more earthy.”
Agave products
from the Highlands, which lies 40 miles east of Guadalajara, “should
have some fruit component.”
Finally, and perhaps the most important element of evaluating tequila — the tasting. “Tasting is pretty much the same for anything,” says Julio. “The only thing I would definitely make sure people do is acclimate their palate.”
Julio tells people to take a sip of spirit, and without forming an impression, swallow it and drink a lot of water. This helps the mouth move past the shock of the alcohol and on to the flavors.
Julio then takes
tastes, and analyzes what part of the palate the tequila is hitting.
He’ll observe whether the attack is harsh or soft, and what flavors
— such as citrus, wood or spice — can be detected.
Jake Lustig is a Latin market specialist at Southern Wine and Spirits of Northern California and owner of the Don Amado mezcal label. He approaches tasting like a Zen master approaches meditation.
With all his attention
focused on the task at hand, Jake invokes his ritual of agave spirit
tasting.
With every movement carefully calculated, Jake first focuses on the breath.
“Breathe a couple of times. Then, take a deep breath. Hold the air in your lungs. Not an extremely deep breath, but have some air in your lungs.”
Next he raises the glass to his lips. “Take a sip of tequila, and rather than swish it left to right, move it forward to back, and forward to back.” Repeat this four or five times, either spitting or swallowing the tequila after each taste.
Reintroducing the breath, Jake instructs to “exhale very, very
slowly over your tongue through pursed lips.” He explains that
by having moved the tequila forward and back, “you’ve coated
your tongue and the roof of your mouth, so that when you breathe through
that slowly, you’re picking up a lot of the flavor.”
It’s a ritual that takes time and practice to perfect, Jake contends.
“The point being that you don’t actually taste tequila or
spirits on your mouth. It’s all in your palate. And with enough
air you can keep your palate open.”
Those who can pass on elaborate tasting rituals, like Lucinda Hutson, author of “Tequila! Cooking with the Spirit of Mexico,” often pay little heed to intricate systems.
Although Lucinda
has her own methodology for tasting agave spirit, giving special attention
to color and nose, she questions if the whole thing has gone a little
overboard. Sometimes, she just wants to ask, “You know, man, where’s
the tequila?”
Lucinda is an advocate for personal taste determining the ultimate quality of a spirit. “What I like doesn’t mean it’s the best or what everybody is going to like.”