The market · Spirits · The Americas

Blanco tequila

Unaged (or rested under two months) spirit from blue Weber agave, cooked, crushed and distilled in Jalisco and parts of four other states. The agave tastes green, peppery and bright.

cooked agave · peppery · citrusy

Kinds

100% agave
The only kind worth buying — it says so on the label.
Mixto
Just 51% agave, the rest other sugars; harsher, often coloured.
Highland (Los Altos)
Often sweeter, fruitier and more floral.
Lowland (the valley)
Earthier, more peppery and herbal.

Goes with

lime juiceorange liqueurgrapefruitsalt

Cooked with, here

bourboncharred corn syrupegg whitelemon juice

How much, here

Corn sour, charred cob syrup15ml blanco tequilaRosa Ibarra · 12% of the dish

What cooks here have learned

“15ml tequila, bourbon down to 45”Rosa Ibarra · Corn sour, charred cob syrup v5“Corn up front now. Tequila for depth?”Rosa Ibarra · Corn sour, charred cob syrup v4

Knowing it

Where to buy
Look for '100% de agave'. Bottles cooked in brick ovens and crushed by tahona or roller tend to taste more of agave than diffuser-made ones.
Worth knowing
Five drops of saline in a margarita do what a salt rim does, evenly and without the rim. For a carbonated paloma, clarify the grapefruit first — a clear mix carbonates cleanly, a cloudy one foams over.

Kitchens that keep it in

New York, Mexico City, London, BarcelonaThe cocktail barSpirit, acid and sugar balanced to the gram — and lately a lab's worth of technique: clarifying, fat-washing, infusing, carbonating, until a drink can taste of a whole dish.9 classics · 4 cooked here

More spirits

SpiritsAquavitcaraway, dill, aniseNot cooked here yetSpiritsArmagnacprune, toffee, rusticNot cooked here yetSpiritsBaijiufermented, pungent, tropical fruitNot cooked here yetSpiritsBourbonvanilla, caramel, toasted oakIn Corn sour, charred cob syrup