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Tequila: From Salty to Sophisticated

Tequila, Mexico's best-known liquor, offers complex flavors to be enjoyed on Cinco de Mayo--and other times.

Remember the first time you tried tequila?

If you were like me 40 years ago you probably slammed down a shot or two, or three, of the fiery Mexican liquor with a lick of salt and a suck of lime.

Times have changed. Tequila today is a sophisticated artisanal liquor made for sipping and savoring.

Why tequila now? Thursday is Cinco de Mayo (May 5), which marks the unlikely victory of the Mexican Army over French occupiers in the state of Puebla. It’s a day that is celebrated more North of the Border than it is in Mexico and has become the equivalent of a Mexican day of pride and boozing that’s observed by many Americans regardless of ethnic origin, similar to St. Patrick’s Day. Gallons of tequila -- and no doubt, Mexican beer -- will be swilled by celebrants.

Tequila is hardly swill. It’s a beverage as complicated as Scotch whiskey or Cognac, aged for smoothness in oak casks. Hundreds of renditions present tasters with a panoply of aromas and flavors. Tequila is something to try again with an open mouth and mind. You can find ratings and reviews at the authoritative web site Tequila.net.

Tequila is the fermented, distilled juice of the blue agave plant, a succulent similar to pineapple, that’s grown in the Mexican state of Tequila. The plant must at least 10 years old when its piña is harvested. Piñas are then slow baked to soften the fibers and transform the starches into fermentable sugars.  Shredded piñas are then fermented and distilled.  Some distillates are bottled soon, others aged for months or years.

In buying tequila seek out one that is 100 percent agave. If it’s not. it’s a mixto, one that’s been cut with other neutral spirits.  Those sell in the $20-a-botlle range.  The real deal costs at least $30 for a 750ml bottle.  

For first-hand learning I turned to Jose Reyes (no relation to the Mets shortstop), regional manager of the Mexican restaurant, , which has locations in Huntington, Roslyn and Hartford, Conn. Reyes, a six-year veteran of Besito, guided me through a flight of tequilas as well as the fruity house margarita and a refreshing, minty tequila-based mojito.

Besito offers more than 70 different tequilas -- all 100 percent agave -- by the glass, from $8 up to $100 a pour. Also available are flights, enabling patrons to try three of the same quality level or a “vertical,” one from each of the three quality levels.  “People order all different kinds,”  he noted. “when people come in we try to introduce them to the [Mexican] culture, the food, the tequila.”
 
There are three basuc  tequila levels, determined by aging. They are:

• Blanco, or white, or silver, is unaged, herbaceous, and clear. It can be no rested no more than two months after exiting the still.

• Reposado, aged up to a year in oak barrels  it is fuller bodied and has a pale straw hue.
    
• Añejo, aged one to three years old or more in oak, with a  golden hue and complex flavors.

Some folks add a fourth levek, extra añejo, which is aged from 30 months to seven years, smother and more complex tasting.

Reyes said the best way to learn about the differences is by sampling a vertical flight, sniffing and tasting. 

He poured me a vertical flight served on a wooden tray of cabalitos, shooter glasses  -- a snifter would’ve been better for nosing, accompanied by a shooter of palate-cleansing sangrita, a concoction made of tomato, orange, and lime juices.  Reyes instructed me to start with the blanco, in this case the very smooth, slightly black peppery Don Julio. You can smell the honey tones of the agave. Next came a floral, straw-colored Patron reposado, aged for six months, it offered up hints of oak. Finally, an añejo. This one, from Partida, was pale gold from aging in used Jack Daniels barrels and was honeyed, creamy and fruity with notes of pears and bananas

Besito also fashions cocktails based on tequila, including the fruit-bowl flavored Casa Margarita, made with Paton reposado, orangey Cointreau triple sec liquor, pomegranate. tangerine and lime juices.  It’s beautiful to behold and easy to drink.  A tequila mojito (mojitos often are made with white rum) is a somewhat milky looking mix of the Patron reposado with fresh mint, lime juice and seltzer and served with a sugar cane. It’s a refreshing summer sipper.  Reyes says it goes well with guacamole or ceviche--raw fish marinated in citrus juice.

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