Last summer I was on a press trip to Ventura, California, when I met Dr. Adolfo Murillo. Dr Murillo lives in Oxnard, but owns a farm in his hometown of Jaliso, Mexico, where he grows blue agave that he turns into Tequila Alquimia. He gave a presentation to myself and some other writers and I ended up learning a lot about tequila and how it’s made. Even though I was on a trip sponsored by the Ventura Visitors Bureau, the opinions are my own.

• True tequila is from blue agave grown and processed in Jalisco, Mexico.
• It generally takes anywhere from 7-10 years for blue agave to be ready to harvest, but organic agave can be ready in as early as 3 or 4 years.
• When the blue agave is ready to be harvested, all of the juices go into the core and the leaves begin to wither.
• Specially trained farmers known as “jimadores” harvest the blue agave. This involves kicking the core off of the rest of the plant, then chopping off all the leaves.
• A really good blue agave core weighs 60-80 lbs. There is an organic core that weighed in at 304 lbs.
• Sugar content is measured in bricks. The regulatory council requires at least 17 bricks, a really good plant averages 22-25 bricks, and organic agave consistently averages mid 40s.
• Blanco tequila is bottled right away and is not aged at all. The rest of the tequila is put into oak barrels to age for anywhere from 2 months to more than 3 years.
• Tequila should be served at room temperature. According to Dr. Murillo, “chilling it dulls the flavor.”

And the most important thing I learned…

• The recipe for an awesome margarita –

1 shot of Alquimia Blanco
1 shot of lime juice
½ shot of agave nectar
½ shot fresh orange juice

Shake well with ice and enjoy!