“Dirty Little” Secrets of the Tequila Industry / Diffusers, Additives, and More!

Time to uncover some of the dirty little secrets of the Tequila industry. Are you paying too much for your tequila? How companies take shortcuts to produce cheap product then gouge you for it.

5 Fun Facts about Mezcal (Agave): https://youtu.be/2zhpbPofa3w

There are a few unique ways Tequila companies can attempt to scam you into product. The most obvious (due to labeling) the use of a mixto tequila, in which companies can offer a product that only contains 51% of the precious flavor of agave, and fill the rest in with other junk and still call the product “Tequila.”

The big game changer, however, is the use of a diffuser to chemically treat the pina of the agave to express sugar vs. the more traditional cooking style used by more top shelf tequila brands. One can meet in the middle with the Autoclave which you can sorta define as the “next generation technology for cooking agave.” You’re speeding the cook time with a sacrifice on overall flavor.

However, the real sacrifice comes through the use of a diffuser. This allows brands to use immature agave as well as the mature agave to produce a more neutral flavored spirit, and then they can use additives to make the taste “more expensive.” If you’re buying a diffuser tequila for under $25 you can expect to “get what you paid for”, but if they charge you top shelf pricing in a fancy bottle… you’re getting scammed, and it’s all legal.

Why oak age your tequila when you can just add oak extract? Why use mature agave when you can just add glycerin and cooked agave concentrated flavor then darken with caramel color? Shady Business indeed!

Here are some of the key areas you can use to further your discover and research on the topic:

More Talk about Tequila Diffusers:
http://www.muchoagave.com/the-difusor—there-may-be-too-much-agave-in-your-tequila-or-mezcal.html

Oven vs. Autoclave vs. Diffuser (reddit):
https://www.reddit.com/r/tequila/comments/av3ybj/oven_vs_autoclave_vs_diffuser/

Blind Tasting Analysis of the three cooking types:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4N5DUjK3Muc

Blind Taste Test / More on Diffusers (blog)
https://tastetequila.com/2017/putting-diffuser-made-tequilas-to-the-blind-taste-test/

More on Tequila Cook Methods:
https://longislandloutequila.com/pina/#.XmP7G5NKiUo

Tequila 101:
https://tequilasnob.wordpress.com/tequila-production/

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