Product Description
The Plant
BLUE WEBER AGAVE : 100%
The Field
Millions of Blue Agave plants surround Casa Herradura – each one will be harvested to create the world’s best tequila.
Blue Weber Agave flourishes in the volcanic lowland regions around Amatitián region and produces an herbaceous, complex flavor.
Once mature, agave plants are carefully harvested and trimmed down to their cores, or piñas. Millions of agave, propagated from the original plants grown on our grounds since 1870, are meticiously cared for at Casa Herradura.
The Harvest
The agave is harvested exclusively by jimadores, who cut the pencas (leaves) as close as possible to the heart of the piña (plant) to prevent bitterness. Dangerous predators like snakes or scorpions often make their home in the field, making the jimador’s job challenging. The role of a jimador is one of the last true apprenticeships in the world, with many jimador families having lived for generations within the Hacienda walls at Casa Herradura.
To harvest mature agave plants, jimadores employ a coa – a curved, sharpened blade at the end of a long handle – a tool that requires considerable skill and strength.
The Distillery
TRADITIONAL OVENS
The cooking of the agave is a critical part of creating Tequila Herradura. Each piña is placed within the ovens and carefully monitored until the exact moment that they ready for the next stage of the process. Up to 40 tons of agave is carefully hand-stacked inside each oven where it is slowly steamed for up to 26 hours to perfectly convert the starches into sugars. Prior to milling, the agave is cooled in the ovens for nine hours.
MILLING
After the oven, cooked agave is milled twice. In the first pass, agave is ground into small pieces and softened with demineralized water. Then, the bagazo (fiber) is milled again to extract the remaining juice. This mosto (agave nectar) is extremely sweet and rich and what makes tequila.
NATURAL FERMENTATION
Casa Herradura utilizes a 100% natural fermentation process. Over 16 different species of fruit trees provide the different strains of yeast that make the Tequila Herradura flavor profiles so unique. Within the fermentation tank, the yeast and mosto combine over the course of three days before being ready to be distilled into tequila.
DISTILLATION
Distilled twice to remove the heads (methanol) and tails (superior alcohols and vinasas), only the best alcohol is preserved to deliver a product of complex flavor. Even our traditional alembic stills (or pot stills) contribute to the superior flavor profile of the final product.
Each batch is repeatedly tested and reviewed by an exclusive panel of tequila experts prior to bottling or preparation for barrel aging.
BARRELLING
Tequila Herradura is barrel-aged from 45 days to 49 months in 55 gallon charred American White Oak barrels to create a robust flavor profile. Casa Herradura is the only tequila maker that produces its own barrels and the only one to age their tequila beyond industry standards to optimize flavor notes.
Bottling
The famous Herradura horseshoe is carefully hand-applied to each bottle and meticulously inspected before being shipped from our Casa to yours.
SUSTAINABILITY EXCELLENCE
To reduce our environmental footprint, sustainable practices are integrated into every facet of our production process, from minimizing waste and purifying water to maximizing energy efficiency.
We are very proud to be the only tequila producer to receive the 2015 Environmental Excellence Award from Mexico’s Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA).
