AGAVE
Stage 1
—
Tequila is made of one specific type of the agave plant: the Agave Tequilana Weber, blue variety. There are many different varieties of the agave plant in Mexico. Religion Tequila is made only from the BLUE AGAVE. Other varieties are used to produce regional drinks such as mescal and variations.
HARVEST
Stage 2
—
Harvesting is pretty much the same for all three styles. Workers, known as "jimadores," select ripened agave plants, then, using an extremely sharp instrument called a "coa," strip away the spiky leaves until all that's left is something resembling a very large pineapple ("piña") weighing upward of 100 pounds. Tractors are used (and sometimes burros) to haul the crop to trucks for transport to the distillery.
COOKING
STAGE 3
On arrival at the distillery, the piña is split (by sturdy guys with axes) and then cooked in huge ovens. The ovens are of brick, with wooden or steel doors. After cooking and cooling for a couple of days, the piñas are crushed to extract the juice, which is then fermented for about another day. The resulting juice is then distilled and filtered to remove any impurities.
FERMENTATION
STAGE 4
During fermentation the agave´s juice is deposited in stainless steel tanks for its formulation. During this process the sugars contained in the agave turn into alcohol. The action of a leavening stock, developed in our laboratory with special care, is crucial to obtain the particular characteristics of our products.
This process has an approximated duration of 2 to 3 days for tequila 100% agave. At the end of this process, the fermented juice has an alcoholic graduation between 6 and 7%
DISTILLATION
STAGE 5
Once finished fermenting, the mosto (juices) is injected into stainless steel stills for first round of distillation and then into copper stills for second round of distillation for all three styles. Our Blanco is double distilled and immediately bottled. Religion Reposado and Anejo are both aged after second round of distillation.
Distillation consists of boiling the mosto until it becomes steam. The resulting steam becomes alcohol when it is condensed with an approximated alcoholic graduation of 25%. At the end of the first stage, the resulting product is injected again into the stills for a second distillation. In this second step the separation of heads and tails is made, with the purpose of regulating metanol and alcohol; this is a very important stage within the elaboration process.
AGING
Stage 6
—
Slow transformation allows the product to obtain their ultimate characteristics through natural processes while resting in their american oak or french oak barrels.
Silver - Blanco: Clear and transparent, double distilled and bottled immediately after distillation.
Aged 6 Months - Reposado: Triple distilled and then rested for 6 months in American oak barrels.
Aged 18 Months - Añejo: Triple distilled and rested for 18 months in French oak barrels.
BOTTLING
Stage 7
—
After our tasting panel has evaluated and approved the tequila, it is released for the bottling process. This process involves bottle washing, filling, corking, and labeling. Quality control is meticulous during each stage to guarantee that the final presentation of the tequila bottled is in perfect condition.