Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/611718
december 2015 / the tasting panel / 107 El Tesoro, "the treasure," does farm its own agave. Their fields lie in the highlands of Jalisco. There, well- drained, red volcanic soil yields prized plants that give tequila a sweeter palate than that of valley floor agave. The El Tesoro distillery, 60-year-old La Alteña, is close to those agave fields and is the only tequila maker still relying solely on traditional production methods. There is no electricity. The agave is cooked only in old-fashioned brick and stone ovens, not in autoclaves. The plants are then ground under huge stone wheels. Fermentation takes place in open, wooden vats. All distillation is in copper stills. These methods are less efficient than modern tech- niques, but the slow and relatively gentle processing extracts purer and more intense agave character. For even more agave influence, the first distillation includes not only agave extract, but the fibers as well. Once El Tesoro Tequila has finished its second distil- lation, arriving at 80 proof, it is moved into Kentucky bourbon casks to age for up to three years. As with fine wineries, the barrels are stored in deep, underground cellars with stone walls and consistent temperature and humidity. The genuine, traditional approach El Tesoro takes with tequila is perfect for today's consumers who crave authenticity and artisanal products. El Tesoro is also well-suited to the U.S. market because it has always been tuned to be at its very best at 80 proof, unlike many other tequilas which are made to Mexico's 70–76 proof standard and then bumped up for export. The Man Behind the Agave When Federico Camarena, great-grandfather of current El Tesoro Master Distiller Carlos Camarena, first descended to the Mexican town of Tequila, he initially saw agave as a potential food source, but later as potential for | a business—making tequila. Federico was already cultivating corn and raising cattle, thus very familiar with the soil; he began on a very small scale, selling raw materials to Cuervo in order to learn from their process. This also allowed Carlos's great-grandfather to be one of the first to fully understand how terroir affects the end product. Raised amongst the agave plants, Carlos is constantly in these fields now testing quality, noting: "Being in the agave fields is the reason I live." He has even been known to sell off entire fields he considers to be of lower quality. With Carlos Camarena's legacy of excellence in agave culture and end product—a heritage born from love of the soil—the future of El Tesoro tequila is in good hands. —Danny Ronen PHOTO: THINKSTOCK PHOTO: JENN FARRINGTON Master Distiller Carlos Camarena makes a toast with El Tesoro Añejo in a cow horn, the traditional tequila vessel and predecessor to the shot glass.