Editor’s Letter: Like what you like. A Perspective through Tequila

     In listening to the colloquial and ratings conversations on tequila, we have noticed the troubling trend of “aficionados” or “experts” saying that horno (brick oven) cooking tequila is “better” than autoclave or diffuser cooking because of “higher scores” given to this processing method by a panel of “experts.”  The wine world has a term for this: “Parkerization.”  This term refers to wine scores given by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate and Wine Spectator being so influential that diversity in wine styles has decreased.  That’s not to say that Wine Advocate or any other rating system is wrong, it is just to say that they like what they like.  
     At a certain level in the hospitality/service industry, professionals learn how to provide the “service” of helping the guest/client find the product that best suits their desires. To help professionals traverse this category segment, we have written and made public: 

• A Guide to Agave Spirits: https://www.hawaiibevguide.com/agave-spirits 
• A Guide to Tequila: https://www.hawaiibevguide.com/tequila 

These articles, in combination, provide an overview of the tequila production process, yet are still very surface level as it is impossible to explain the intricacies of an industry with $10+ billion in annual revenue in even a single book. In this issue, we highlight additive-free tequilas, a tequila that contains caramel coloring, and a tequila that embraces specific abocantes like Greek sea salt. All of which we think serve their specific purpose and taste profile behind a bar.  And for this reason “best” is subjective.  And while everyone is entitled to their own version of “best” tequila, we believe the following issues need to be clarified.

Abocantes  (Additives)
    Our hot take: If someone likes a Tequila that contains abocantes (additives), the brand is transparent about it, and the consumer knows about it, then “additives” are perfectly fine. In other words: Don’t yuck someone else's yum (unless it negatively impacts someone else against their will).  We believe that taste is subjective, everyone is entitled to their opinion on what flavors they want from their tequila, and our role as a publication is to provide facts to make educated purchasing decisions. We only ask that brands be transparent about what people are putting in their bodies, as is done with the FDA labeling on food.  Additionally, if a tequila brand is transparent about its process and the tequila is a cocktail ingredient, whoever made the cocktail just dossed the tequila with “additives”.  Maybe the other question is: “Wwhich additives are in the tequila if any?”

Confusions in Cooking Methods
We have noticed that the cooking method (fructan hydrolysis) is terribly explained because instead of defining the aroma compounds and associated flavors that result from a process, many writers’ lack of understanding results in them saying “good” or “bad.”  In this process, heat is used to hydrolyze (break apart) agavins and fructans into fermentable sugars.  And like the baking of many food items, different types of ovens can be used, and each oven can be operated at different times, temperatures, and humidity levels. This means the oven type only gives a rough understanding of the flavor, with time, temperature, humidity, pressure, or a descriptor of the degree of cooking are the only way to understand the particular oven’s flavor influence on caramelization and Maillard reaction aromas (caramel and toast).  Additionally, the
For this issue of Hawaii Beverage Guide, the following generalizations due to the operation parameters of a particular oven type should be known:

• Traditional underground ovens, due to the burning of wood, create volatile phenols like guaiacol, cresol, and syringol (smoke flavor).  They also tend to develop high levels of caramelization and Maillard reaction due to the longer periods required for cooking the agave all the way through.  
• Horno cooking results in similar volatile phenols but at a significantly lower concentration.  This occurs due to some inevitable burning at the contact points of the oven. These aroma compounds may be perceived as bitter and may or may not be desirable depending on one’s flavor preferences.  For example, many craft bartenders like shots of Amaro, whereas many in the general public do not. The varying preferences is similar for Brettanomyces aromas of horse and barnyard. 
• Autoclave cooking is literally a pressure cooker. It can be digitally controlled to exact temperatures and cook profiles.   To use a baking analogy, while pizza might be great in a wood-fire oven, souffle is better when there is more control.  Pressure cooking is also notable because, like in an Insta-pot, it can reduce time but also can reduce the cooking temperature. Coking temperature influences the heat degradation of aroma compounds.  This degradation can be ideal for degrading negative aromas and aromas in excessive concentrations or unideal if it degrades positive aromas.  
• Diffusers are an extraction method NOT a cooking method.  This process uses warm water to increase sugar solubility, and a diffusion gradient to extract sugars. It occurs because diffusion is the scientific principle of something with a higher concentration (sugar in the agave) moving into something with a lower concentration (warm water).  Any brand that ferments on the bagasso (agave fibers) uses the exact same diffusion gradient. The difference in flavor for heated water-cooked agave sugars may result from aroma compounds that infuse into the sugar-water mixture and do not volatilize off during the gentle cooking process.  As mentioned in the Casa Sauza article, the preservation herbaceous volatile aroma compounds like linalool is intentional. For a beer analogy, linalool, a major aroma compound in hops and blanco tequila (and gin), is incorporated into an IPA by dry hopping to prevent its degradation by heat. 
• Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis is what some actually mean when they say diffuser.  While some brands may use this method of fructan hydrolysis for the agave-sugar-water slurry, other brands like Casa Sauza simply heat water to 120-125 °C for two hours in a large pressure and temperature-controlled pot (autoclave).  Casa Sauza’s process is literally the same process as the heralded fine-dining cooking method of sous vide. For this reason, knowing the specifics of the brand’s process is important.
  
  
  

What a NOM is and is not
In the tequila industry, a NOM is where the distillate is bottled. It has nothing to do with who made the tequila, as some distilleries operate like commercial kitchens that they can be rented and the equipment operated by the person renting the space. Others are industrial distillers that create a multitude of distillates and allow someone to build a brand by mixing products together.  And each NOM may have different equipment, which may or may not be used to make a particular tequila at that distillery.  

To recap: transparency not additive-free, is the discussion to be had in tequila. Don’t yuck someone else’s yum, especially in an industry that tries to be inclusive.