Tequila may have a single origin, but not all bottles of tequila taste the same. One of the most common distinctions you’ll encounter is between blanco and reposado tequila. While both are made from the same blue agave and follow more or less a similar production process, the key difference lies in how long they are aged after distillation.
Aging in tequila significantly influences their flavor, aroma, color, and overall drinking experience. So whether you’re eyeing a bottle of blanco or reposado tequila, get to know what makes them different in the first place.
First things first, let’s understand how tequila is made!
Tequila is a distilled spirit made from the agave, a spiky plant resembling a cactus and mainly grown in Mexico. The spirit is made from the cooked, fermented, and distilled juice of the agave.
Native to Mexico, the plant is also referred to as ‘Maguey’ and about 125 different species of this plant are found in this country. To make tequila, note that only Agave Tequilana Weber Azul can be used by law.
Tequila has a Geographical Indication (GI) Tag, which grants it legal protection and recognition. This means that the term "tequila" can only be used for products made in specific regions of Mexico. If tequila is produced anywhere else in the world, it cannot be called or sold as "tequila," as doing so would violate its GI tag rights.
In simple terms, tequila is made by harvesting, cooking, and crushing the heart or the piña of the Blue Weber agave plant.
Agave plants, often aged 7 to 12 years, are harvested. The spiky leaves are discarded, leaving only the heart or the piña of the plant.
Then, these piñas are cooked in brick ovens to transform complex starches into fermentable sugars. This can take anywhere between 24 to 48 hours.
After this process, the cooked agave is shredded and crushed, traditionally with a stone wheel called a tahona. This results in the extraction of a sugary juice called ‘mosto’.
The juice is then fermented in large tanks, often with yeast. And as science unfolds, this sugar is converted by the yeast into alcohol. This step takes several days and can yield an alcoholic liquid that contains only about 5% to 7% alcohol by volume (ABV).
The fermented liquid is then distilled twice in pot stills to increase its smoothness, quality, and alcohol content. The resultant liquid can then be immediately bottled or aged in oak barrels anywhere between 2 months to 3 years. This varied duration of aging results in different kinds of tequila.
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Blanco tequila is a translucent spirit. It undergoes the same roasting, fermenting, and distillation processes that all other tequila varieties do but this variant is not aged. Blanco tequila is unaged and is directly bottled. This gives it a unique characteristic with zero oak flavor. It also has no color and has notes of citrus, grass, and pepper. As it spends no time in contact with oak, many tequila connoisseurs consider it to be the purest form of tequila.
On the other hand, reposado is the kind of tequila that has been aged for a minimum of two months up to a year in oak barrels. The aging process results in a slightly mellow flavor profile, with the oak imparting its essence to the spirit.
Fun fact: The word ‘reposado’ literally translates to ‘rested’ in Spanish!
While both reposado and blanco have the same origin, they differ slightly in taste.
Reposado, thanks to being aged in oak barrels for anywhere between 2 to 12 months, carries additional flavors imparted by the oak wood. This can result in a tequila slightly earthier or sweeter compared to a blanco. It can be combined with a few ingredients in tequila cocktails but is best suitable for sipping.
As blanco is unaged and does not come in contact with oak or any other additives, it is considered to be the purest form of tequila. It has a sharper, more direct, and crisp taste. In terms of taste and texture, it provides a blank canvas for tequila connoisseurs to experiment. This makes it ideal for serving neat as well as for a number of tequila cocktails.
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Blanco and reposado are two kinds of tequila – just like two branches of the same tree. With a few minor differences, these two kinds of tequila present endless possibilities to experiment. So do you like a crisper, sharper blanco or a more flavor-rich reposado?
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