From using the highest-quality of hand picked Blue Agave which is the essential ingredient needed for a top-notch tequila, to the final touch when bottled. Los Locos uses traditional methods enhanced by our personal touch to prepare this distilled spirit excellence. No stone is left unturned when it comes to perfection of the popular distilled beverage that just happens to be our passion and promise.
Agave pinas (hearts) are freshly harvested when they reach maturity. Their sap contains raw sugar – at a minimum of 21 brix; though, we aim for 23 to 28 brix).
At harvest, the Agaves are cut very close to the core, or their heart, in order to reduce as much of the leafy greens as possible.
This is done to diminish the waxy flavour of such parts of the plant and, instead, allow hints of fresh and clean savours to be revealed during fermentation.
Once harvesting is completed, the pinas are steam-cooked over a period of 36 to 54 hours in special and traditional Hornos. Each oven is made of thick, stone bricks and can cook 40 tons of Agave at one time.
This cooking process softens the fibers of the Agave, transforming the carbohydrates into sugars, though not caramelised, in preperation for the fermentation process.
The result of this traditional cooking method is a sweet and mellow flavour profile. A ratio of 50% horno-cooked Agave and 50% autoclave-cooked Agave is used in in our tequila production.
We extract the sugary juice of the Agave by placing it through a molino (‘mill’), which squeezes the cooked pinas, separating the plant fibers from its sap. This is very similar to the process utilized in the production of sugar from sugar cane.
During fermentation, naturally occurring yeast is added for the production of alcohol. In order to develop a full-bodied and flavourful tequila, we ferment the Agave juice using a “medium-show” method. This method requires 48 to 60 hours of fermentation whilst most mass-produced tequilas are fermented much faster, over a 10 to 12 hours period.
The fermented liquid is distilled twice in pot stills, using a slow distillation process: 5,000 litres requires approximately 5 hours distillation.
The first distillation results in 25% alc/vol, which is considered to be the value of regular tequila. We then use a second distillation to achieve 55% alc/vol.
