First Edition, 2009 ISBN 978 93 80075 02 0 © All rights reserved. Published by: Global Media 1819, Bhagirath Palace, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-110 006 Email: globalmedia@dkpd.com

Table of Contents

1. Origin & Making of Whisky

2. Origin & Production of Champagne

3. Origin & Production of Rum

4. Origin & Production of Sake

5. Origin of Beer

6. Origin of Cognac

7. Origin of Gin

8. Origin of Tequila

9. Origin of Vodka

10. Origin of Wine

HISTORY OF WHISKY AND

OF DISTILLATION (I) 1st part : The origins 2nd part : Smugglers and Excisemen

The origins

Are the origins of whisky Scottish or Irish ? Naturally, opinions about this question are drastically opposed depending on the native country of the person to whom you ask. Nevertheless, it seems that more and more people tend to agree on the hypothesis of an Irish origin. It would be no one else than Saint-Patrick himself, the patron of the Irish, who would have introduced the still in his country at Vth AC, holding it himself indirectly from the Arabian. Irish monks would have then spread from Vth before J.C. the art of distillation at the same time as Christian civilization, in their own country to start with, then in Scotland.

In any case, what one knows for sure is that the art of distillation is very old and dates back too much more ancient time than the first origins of whisky. The Egyptians are known to have practised the distillation of perfumes 3000 years before J.C. As a matter of fact, the word alcohol is directly derived from the Arabic al-koh'l, koh'l being a dark powder from pulverized antimony and used as an eye make up.

From XIIth onwards, distillation of water of life or aqua vitae spreads progressively through Europe, notably in Ireland and in Scotland under its Gaelic name of Uisge Beatha or Usquebaugh, which will eventually transform into Uisge then Uisky, until becoming Whisky. Some virtues, literally miraculous which were justifying its name, were attributed to the water of life. Curing virtually any pain, it was then a medicinal potion which was prescribed as well as an ointment as a remedy to be drunk. It was a long way from possessing the flavours and the subtlety of the one drunk today, and was consumed for its mere virtues as opposed for pleasure.

In his "Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland" published in 1577, Raphael Holinshed describes as follows the incomparable virtues of Uisge Beatha :

"Being moderately taken, it slows the age, it cuts phlegm, it lightens the mind, it quickens the spirit, it cures the dropsy, it heals the strangulation, it pounces the stone, its repels gravel, it pulls away ventositie, it keeps and preserves the head from whirling, the eyes from dazzling, the tongue from lisping, the mouth from snuffling, the teeth from chattering, the throat from rattling, the weasan from stiffing, the stomach from womblying, the heart from swelling, the belly from wincing, the guts from rumbling, the hands from shivering, the sinews from shrinking, the veins from crumpling, the bones from aching, the marrow from soaking, and truly it is a sovereign liquor if it be orderly taken."

A remedy definitely miraculous and most indispensable !

Whilst Irishmen and Scotsmen were distilling and double-distilling whisk(e)y from malted barley, at the same time Frenchmen were producing Armagnac and Cognac from fermented wines with the same techniques. In Italy, in Spain and in Germany, one distils also the burned or branded wine.

Whether distilled from malted barley or from fermented wines, in both cases the spirit of life offered, when compared to the drink from which it originated - a kind of rough beer or a wine - the triple advantage of allowing preservation without problem, of being more economical to transport and of being more palatable.

Uisge Beatha

In 1494 is to be found the first official and indisputable reference concerning distillation of whisky in a document from the Scottish Exchequer Rolls mentioning "Eight bolls of malt to Friar John Cor wherewith to make aquavitae".

In Ireland as well as in Scotland, distillation of Uisge Beatha will from now on develop steadily but not without events, governing instances waiting little time until they would start to regulate and tax its production. In 1644 distillation had developed to such a stage in Scotland that, following a poor harvest, a fear of a shortage of cereals appeared. This situation inspired to the king of England, Charles Ist, the idea of a fiscal tax on water of life. This idea was immediately taken over by the Scottish Parliament who will decide to

restrict the right of distillation to upper and noble classes and will put in effect the first taxation measures. These will mark the first step of a long saga which will see illicit distillers and governments representatives confront each other. This epic, rich of anecdotes in which comical and tragic are often mingled, will know its apogee during the course of XVIIIth.

In 1707 Scotland is linked to England with the signature of the Union Act and the Scottish Parliament abolished. The governing body of the United Kingdom will then lay new taxes which will quickly become unbearable, at the same time as it will create specialized brigades aimed at fighting against illicit distillation, the Excisemen.

Smugglers and Excisemen

From now on and inescapably, production of illicit whisky will strongly proliferate, notably in the Highlands. Having at its disposal easily transportable equipment, the

smuggler hides in the innumerable glens. The most valuable part of its rustic still is the copper coil. Immersed in a cask and cooled by the river's water, it enables the

condensation of spirit vapours in a distilled liquor preciously collected. The authoritative bodies did have the brilliant idea of offering a 5 Pounds bonus to anyone who would

denounce the existence of an illicit distillery. Therefore, when his coiled was worn out the smuggler only had to get the governing authorities visiting the place of the so-called illicit still, where he had previously judiciously hidden his old coil. The bonus money so

collected would allow him to buy a brand new coil without delay !

In spite of their isolation in the wild Highlands countries the smugglers, who could be spotted due to the smoke of their distillation, could not always escape to the vigilance of Excisemen. If, taking advantage of their knowledge of the land, of their mobility and of all complicities, they would often run away in time, such was no always the case. Hard

confrontations, often marked with gun fires and blood, leaving dead or wounded men on the ground, would then follow.

Gangs of illicit distillers and smugglers could gather up to as many as fifty men and ponies. At the end of XVIIIth they were literally controlling several areas of Scotland where Excisemen would venture only reluctantly and at their own peril. Illicit production had also developed in towns to the point that in 1777 one could count in Edinburgh eight licensed distilleries and 400 illicit stills !

Legalization

After countless wanderings in the regulation, realism and common sense will eventually prevail. In 1823, on the initiative of the Duke of Gordon, the "Excise Act" is voted, with an aim at making licensed distillation an economical and viable occupation, at the same time as generating profits for the authorities, thanks to suitable and reasonable taxation. Illicit still will progressively disappear. In the same time many technical evolutions, such as steam heating and continuous distillation, will accompany the development of the industrialization of distilleries during the course of IXth, marking what can be considered as the start of the modern era of Scotch Whisky.

Highland distillery at the end of XIX th (Drawing of the time by John Barnard)

Several factors will favour the growing of this industry. From 1870 on the phylloxera crisis will bring to almost nought the production of Cognac, offering to Scotsmen an

opportunity which they will not miss. At the same time, the practice of blending will develop in the Lowlands, consisting in the mixing of malt whisky with grain whisky, the latest being distilled in continuous stills from maize or wheat. The spirit produced in this manner is smoother and easier to drink, at the same time as it is much cheaper to manufacture. The legitimacy of grain whisky will be bitterly contested by Highland distillers, until a Royal Commission will rule on its favour in 1909, after 18 months of deliberation.

Stills room (Islay) at the end of XIX th (Drawing of the time by John Barnard)

In Ireland, the whiskey industry had grown to reach its apogee at the end of XVIIIth with more than 1100 licensed distilleries in 1779. Irish Whiskey was then reigning the world over, far above Scotch Whisky.

Locke's distillery in Kilbeggan, Ireland

Illicit distilling was even more widespread than it was in Scotland, with a production equal to 3 or 4 times that of licensed distilleries ! Whereas in 1834 a total of 692 illicit distilleries was recorded in Scotland, more than 8000 were discovered in Ireland ! Regulation and taxation will then be subject, as in Scotland, to many wanderings, their reinforcement which was aiming at restricting smuggling being bound to heavily penalize licensed distilleries. In the same time, the Irish will refuse to adopt the practice of blending. By an irony of fate, the latest had been made possible thanks to the continuous

still developed by an ex Irish Exciseman, Adrian Coffey, who will finally sell his process to the Scotsmen.

The expansion of Scotch Whisky

The Scotch Whisky industry will be subject to important concentration moves between the two World Wars. In parallel, Scotsmen will altogether take rather good advantage of the situation created in the USA by the prohibition between 1919 and 1933. Considerable volumes of Scotch Whisky will be smuggled in, resulting in the Americans discovering the quality of the Scottish drink. The latest, whose main outlets was then constituted of the Commonwealth countries, will see promising openings appear, which will materialize after the second World War.

In 1999, more than 950 millions of bottles of Scotch Whisky were exported, which equals to 30 bottles each second. France represents the N° 1 market for sales of bottled Scotch with 138 millions of them, while sales to the USA amount to 115 millions. Taking in consideration the ageing time necessary for producing Scotch Whisky, there are not less than 18,5 millions of casks currently lying in Scottish bonded warehouses !

One counts today in Scotland approximately 85 working Malt distilleries and 8 grain distilleries.

The Irish Whiskey industry, which is very much concentrated, is limited to 3 Malt distilleries and 2 grain distilleries, which does not prevent it from being currently in full revival.

THE MAKING OF WHISKY

Barley, water, yeast and fire ! The making of whisky can be done in different manners, depending in particular to the geographical origin of production. The main differences are related to the raw material, which is always a cereal, and on the type of distillation which may be either "batch" distillation in a pot still, or continuous distillation in column stills.

This allows for the making of different types of whisky corresponding to various definitions, each offering their specific character, the main ones being Blended whisky, Single Malt whisky and Grain whisky. The most famous whiskies are often issued from the distillation of malted barley in pot

stills. Such is the case in particular of Scotch Pure Malts, of which we will follow the main steps of making. To produce a Malt Whisky, you need barley, water, yeast, heat and (much !) time. This process can be broken down in five main steps : 1 - Malting 2 - Milling 3 - Mashing 4 - Fermentation 5 - Distillation 6 - Ageing Many factors have an influence on the quality and character of whisky : characteristics of malt (Origin of barley, malting process), quality of water, type of yeast, shape of stills, conducting of distillation, origin and quality of casks used for ageing, ambient air being "breathed" during many long years by the spirit through the cask's wood. each of theses elements play a role, and if combination of these parameters can vary to infinite, very few are these which allow for a good whisky.

If you ask to a Scottish distiller which, in his opinion, are the most important factors, chances are that he will reply that the key elements are the quality of his water and the shape of his stills. This is effectively true, even if in reality things are much more complex than that. Beyond the experience painstakingly accumulated by generations of distillers and the resulting mastery, the making of whisky still depends to a certain extent of a mysterious alchemy which escapes any analyse or reasoning.

Even if today's distillers benefit from analysing tools which enable them a better understanding and an improved control of the process, achieving the "marvellous" balance in the combination of all the factors being involved remains a particularly delicate art in which Scotsmen and Irishmen are the undisputed masters.

One of the consequences of the complexity of this art is that the variety of characters to be found among whiskies is definitely comparable to the one that can be observed among wines.

This is precisely this richness which makes this spirit so unique and so fascinating !

Malting

After it has been harvested, barley contains starch which is a non fermentiscible sugar. The process of malting is aimed at transforming this starch in a fermentiscible sugar which itself will be able to be transformed into alcohol.

To start with, barley is soaked in water for two or three days before being spread as a layer approximately twenty to thirty cm thick on the malting area made as a wide flat concrete surface. This is where its germination will start, lasting for about eight days.

Barley will have to be turned over several times a day with wooden shovels so as to allow steady and uniform germination, and its temperature will be controlled permanently. Once the starch has been transformed into sugar, germination will be stopped through the heating of the barley in a kiln during 20 to 48 hours.

Heat will be provided by the burning of coal and to a varying degree by the burning of peat. the smoke of the latest will impart to the malt a character and aromas of very specific type which will be found in the finished product, the peatiest whiskies being those from the island of Islay.

Nowadays, the majority of malts are produced in industrial malting plants, where the process take place in large horizontal steel drums including a perforated bed on which lays the barley, turning on themselves and through which vaporized water then hot air are spread.

Milling The malt is then ground in a mill containing two or three pairs of steel rollers and transformed into grist. The latest must consist of about 10% flour, 20% husks and 70% "middles" or actual grist to allow for a satisfying mashing.

MASHING

Grist is then mixed with hot water in the mashing machine which pours it into the mashtun, which capacity can be in excess of 25.000 litres. Three successive waters, with temperatures varying from 63 to 95°C, are used to produced a sugary liquid known as wort.

The mashtun possesses a double bottom finely perforated which will allow the wort to be drawn off through the underback at the same time as it will retain the solid particles known as draff. Those will be taken away at the end of the process and are excellent food for cattle.

The last water used for mashing will be directed to a tank and used as the third water of the next mashing. Wort will then travel through a heat exchanger to be cooled to about 20°C, to prevent yeast cells which will ferment it from being killed.

Traditional mashtuns may be enclosed by a copper dome so as to preserve heat. They are nowadays very often superseded by lautertuns which allow for a better extraction of sugars contained in the malt.

Fermentation

Wort is the pumped into the washbacks which are large and open fermentation vessels, which can hold up to 70.000 litres and be as high as 5 or 6 m. They may be covered by detachable panels and are usually made of Oregon pine.

Some distilleries use fully closed vessels made of steel which are easier to clean. Yeast is added, being either distillers yeast or a mixture of the latest with brewer yeast, and will start fermentation. The action of yeast on wort's sugar will produce alcohol and carbon dioxide. Wort will bubble, and may even in some occasions generate strong vibrations of the washback itself in spite of its impressive size.

After about 48 hours, bubbling and fermentation are over and the wort has been transformed into wash, an alcoholic liquid of 7 to 8% vol. and not unlike a sort of crude beer, which is pumped into the wash charger.

Distillation This is the process which is at the heart of whisky making. It consists essentially in separating the alcohol contained in the wash from the water, taking advantage of the fact

that alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water, at about 80°C. Distillation comprises two stages accomplished in two stills varying by their capacity and by their shape.

First distillation is done in the wash still which capacity maybe reach 25 to 30.000 litres and will transform the wash into low wines at about 21% vol. Originally heated by a naked flame, usually from the burning of coal or gas, the majority of stills are nowadays heated by coils placed inside them and through which steam circulates. Evaporated alcohol rises up to the upper part of the still, the swan neck, and then through the lyne arm after which it enters the condenser in which alcoholic vapours will transformed into liquid. Traditional condensers were made as coils immersed in large open wooden vessels and cooled by water flowing through them.

Nowadays the vast majority of distilleries are equipped with tubular vertical condensers offering improved calorific efficiency.

The low wines are kept in the spirit charger, wastes of the first distillation known as pot ale being conveyed to a dark grain plant to be transformed into cattle food. The second distillation takes place in the spirit still which usually has a capacity equal to about two third of the wash still's. This is where the stillman's art expresses at its best, when he must retain only the middle cut, eliminating the heads which contain too much high volatility alcohols running at about 80% vol., and the tails comprising the heavy components. As the distillation progresses the alcoholic strength of the flowing distillate diminishes regularly : the moment when the stillman stops collecting the middle cut or heart of run is called the cut, and will usually happen when the hydrometer will read about 62/65% vol. If the cut is made too late, too high a proportion of the tails will result in an unbalanced whisky with unpleasant aromas. To the contrary, if the cut is made too early, the spirit will be deprived from some of its components indispensable to achieve a whisky with satisfying character. One will then obtain a product without major default, but without real interest and personality either. Speed of distillation also has a direct influence on the quality of the collected spirit.

The latest which is perfectly colourless is at about 70% vol. and is pumped into the spirit receiver. The stillman has to do all his operations by intervening on the spirit safe, built with a copper frame holding plate glasses and into which lead all pipes linking the stills to the various holding tanks. It is usually a beautiful object duly padlocked under the control of Custom and Excise, the stillman not being allowed to have any direct contact with the product flowing from the stills.

For controlling the process, the stillman uses hydrometers and can check the purity of the spirit in verifying if it does not get cloudy when mixed with water. Heads and tails will be pumped and kept in the low wine charger to be redistilled in the spirit still at the same time as the low wine intended for the next distillation. Waste of distillation known as spent lees will be thrown away or treated. Some whiskies, notably in Ireland and in the Scottish Lowlands, are subject to a triple distillation process, which delivers a spirit of a higher alcoholic strength at about 85% vol.

Ageing Before being transferred into casks, the newly made spirit will have its strength reduced to 63,5% vol. with demineralised water. The cask being used are usually casks having been previously contained Bourbon, and are used either as they come or after being rebuilt as hogsheads in Scottish cooperage. They will usually be kept on site for ageing or in a centralized warehouses together with other spirits from a same company or group. Last stage of the process of whisky making, ageing is at the same time the longest one and one of the most important. The origin and the quality of casks have a determining role in the end result, as well as, even if to a lesser extent, the location of the warehouse. The quality of he air, its temperature, its humidity, its coastal character or not, have an influence on the ageing process.

The nature of the warehouse itself has its importance, in particular depending whether it is more or less isolate. For instance, it is generally admitted that warehouses with earth ground provide the best results as they maintain higher humidity level. As a matter of fact, during ageing some alcohol evaporate through the wood of the casks with losses of about 2% per year, this is what is called the "Angel Share". In a humid warehouse the loss of spirit will materialize as a decrease of the alcoholic loss, which will advantage the obtaining of a high quality whisky. In a dry warehouse, this loss will materialize through a diminution of volume, with in extreme cases a rising of the alcoholic strength, and will deliver a dryer spirit. Altogether, losses are lower in dry warehouses than they are in a damp ones, the latest which provide the best results are also the most costly. Temperature also has its influence on ageing, if it is higher maturation of the whisky will progress faster.

It is only after three years of ageing in cask that spirit is entitled to be called whisky, but one usually considers that it is only after 8 years that a malt whisky reaches real maturity. Some can reach their optimum at the age of 10 or 12 years, many are those which will take advantage of further maturation up to 15 years or possibly beyond. If some of them may become exceptional at the age of 20 or 25 years, others might suffer of staying too long in a cask, their character ending up in fading away and aromas directly imparted by the cask becoming too preponderant. Last of all, one should not forget the ultimate stage in the long process of whisky making which is bottling. The reduction, which is the operation by which the alcoholic strength, initially at around 60% vol, is brought down to drinking strength - in most cases 40 or 43% vol - is much more delicate than one usually imagines. Quality of filtration has also an important effect, in particular depending whether it is a chill or non chill filtration process. Discovering two Scottish distilleries : To terminate and illustrate this little presentation on the making of whisky, we propose to you to follow us in the visit of two Scottish distilleries which, each one in its specific manner, is quite fascinating and representative of the variety of character which Scottsmen can offer us in this respect. This, as much in the character of their whiskies as in that of these magic places where the uisge beatha is produced.

In both cases, it concerns distilleries which have been saved from a possible, if not likely disappearing, by independant companies, and thanks to the the tenacity of men who did not hesitate to take risks and have not spared their efforts. The latest will have not been done in vain, and in each case, the history if it is only strating -or starting again- is already a very nice one, as you will be able to see for yourself.

Champagne (wine)

Champagne is often served in specialized stemware, accompanied by hors d'oeuvres

Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of wine to effect carbonation. It is produced exclusively within the Champagne region of France, from which it takes its name. While the term "champagne" is used by some makers of sparkling wine in other parts of the world, numerous countries limit the use of the term to only those wines that come from the Champagne appellation. In Europe, this principle is enshrined in the European Union by Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. Other countries, such as the United States, have recognized the exclusive nature of this name, yet maintain a legal structure that allows longtime domestic producers of sparkling wine to continue to use the term "Champagne" under specific circumstances.

Origins Jean François de Troy's 1735 painting Le Déjeuner d'Huîtres (Luncheon with Oysters) is the first known depiction of champagne in painting.

Wines from the Champagne region were known before medieval times. Churches owned vineyards and monks produced wine for use in the sacrament of Eucharist. French kings were traditionally anointed in Reims and champagne wine was served as part of coronation festivities.

Kings appreciated the still, light, and crisp wine, and offered it as an homage to other monarchs in Europe. In the 17th century, still wines of Champagne were the wines for celebration in European countries. The English were the biggest consumers of Champagne wines.

The first commercial sparkling wine was produced in the Limoux area of Languedoc about 1535. Around 1700, sparkling Champagne, as we know it today, was born. English scientist and physician Christopher Merret documented a second fermentation by the addition of sugar at least 30 years before the work of Dom Perignon who, contrary to legend and popular belief, did not invent sparkling wine.Merrett presented the Royal Society with a paper in which he detailed what is now called méthode champenoise in 1662.

Although the French monk Dom Perignon did not invent champagne, it is true he developed many advances in the production of this beverage, including holding the cork in place with a wire collar to withstand the fermentation pressure. It is believed champagne was created accidentally, yet others believe that the first champagne was made with rhubarb but was changed because of the high cost.

Champagne first gained world renown because of its association with the anointment of French kings. Royalty from throughout Europe spread the message of the unique sparkling wine from Champagne and its association with luxury and power. The leading manufacturers devoted considerable energy to creating a history and identity for their wine, associating it and themselves with nobility and royalty. Through advertising and packaging they sought to associate champagne with high luxury, festivities and rites of passage. Their efforts coincided with an emerging middle class that was looking for ways to spend its money on symbols of upward mobility.

In 1866 the famous entertainer and star of his day, George Leybourne, began a career of making celebrity endorsements for Champagne. The Champagne maker Moët commissioned him to write and perform songs extolling the virtues of Champagne, especially as a reflection of taste, affluence, and the good life. He also agreed to drink nothing but Champagne in public. Leybourne was seen as highly sophisticated and his image and efforts did much to establish Champagne as an important element in enhancing social status. It was a marketing triumph, the results of which endure to this day.

In the 1800s Champagne was noticeably sweeter than modern Champagne is today, with the Russians preferring Champagne as sweet as 300 grams per litre. The trend towards drier Champagne began when Perrier-Jouët decided not to sweeten his 1846 vintage prior to exporting it to London. The designation Brut Champagne, the modern Champagne,

was created for the British in 1876.

Champagne and the law

The Champagne appellation highlighted in red

Champagne (wine region)

Regardless of the legal requirements for labeling, extensive education efforts by the Champagne region and the use of alternative names by non-Champagne quality sparkling wine producers, some consumers continue to regard champagne as a generic term for white sparkling wines, regardless of origin. The laws described here were intended to reserve the term as a designation of origin. In the European Union and many other countries, the name Champagne is legally protected by the Treaty of Madrid (1891) designating only the sparkling wine produced in the eponymous region and adhering to the standards defined for it an Appellation d'origine contrôlée; the right was reaffirmed in the Treaty of Versailles after World War I. This legal protection has been accepted by numerous other countries worldwide. Most recently Canada, Australia and Chile signed agreements with Europe that will limit the use of the term Champagne to only those products produced in the Appellation of Champagne in these countries. The United States

permits wineries to to use the semi-generic champagne label of their sparkling wines but does not allow new producers to use the term.

Even the term méthode champenoise or champagne method was forbidden consequent to an EU court decision in 1994. As of 2005, the description most often legally used for sparkling wines not from Champagne yet using the second fermentation in the bottle process is méthode traditionnelle. Sparkling wines are produced worldwide, and many producers use special terms to define them: Spain uses Cava, Italy designates it spumante, and South Africa uses Cap Classique. An Italian sparkling wine made from the Muscat grape uses the DOCG Asti. In Germany, Sekt is a common sparkling wine. Other French wine regions cannot use the name Champagne, i.e. Burgundy and Alsace produce Crémant. Yet some Crémant producers label their wines to mislead drinkers to believe they are buying Champagne.. In addition, many quality producers refuse to use the term "Champagne" on their sparkling wines even if their countries' laws do not explicitly forbid such use.

Other sparkling wines not from Champagne sometimes use the term "sparkling wine" on their label, while most countries have labeling laws preventing use of the word Champagne on any wine not from that region. Some – including the United States – permit wine producers to use the name “Champagne” as a semi-generic name if they have used it before March 10, 2006. The term is banned from all new labels in the United States. One reason American wine producers are allowed to use European wine names is that the Treaty of Versailles, despite President Wilson's signature, was not ratified by the U.S. Senate. The Treaty of Versailles included a clause limiting the German wine industry and allowing use of the word Champagne only for wines from the Champagne region (the site of WWI battles). As the U.S. Senate did not ratify the Treaty, this agreement was never officially respected in the United States.

Sparkling wines mislabeled Champagne can and often are seized and destroyed by legal authorities. The destruction often is completed using heavy machinery.

Current U.S. regulations require that what is defined as a semi-generic name (Champagne) shall only appear on a wine's label if the appellation of the actual place of origin appears and the label was approved by the Federal Government before March 10, 1996 . As US appellations can be quite general, many US sparkling wines use the terms "California Champagne," "New York Champagne" or even the more general "American Champagne."

The Champagne winemaking community, under the auspices of the Comité Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne, has developed a comprehensive set of rules and regulations for all wine produced in the region to protect its economic interests. They include codification of the most suitable growing places; the most suitable grape types (most Champagne is a blend of up to three grape varieties — chardonnay, pinot noir, and pinot meunier — though five other varieties are allowed); and a lengthy set of requirements specifying most aspects of viticulture. This includes pruning, vineyard

yield, the degree of pressing, and the time that wine must remain on its lees before bottling. It can also limit the release of Champagne to market to maintain prices. Only when a wine meets these requirements may it be labeled Champagne. The rules agreed upon by the CIVC are submitted for the INAO's final approval.

The government organization that controls wine appellations in France, the Institut National des Appellations d'Origine, is preparing to make the largest revision of the region's legal boundaries since 1927, in response to economic pressures. With soaring demand and limited production of grapes, French Champagne houses say the rising price could produce a consumer backlash that would harm the industry for years into the future. That, along with political pressure from villages that want to be included in the expanded boundaries, led to the move.

The village of Champagne, Switzerland has traditionally made wine labelled as "Champagne", the earliest records of viticulture dated to 1657. In an accord with the EU, the Swiss government conceded in 1999 that by 2004 the village would phase out use of the name. Sales dropped from 110,000 bottles a year to 32,000 after the change. In April 2008 the villagers resolved to the fight against the restriction following a Swiss open-air vote.

ProductionChampagne production

Le Remueur: 1889 engraving of the man engaged in the laborious daily task of turning each bottle a fraction

Méthode Champenoise is the traditional method by which Champagne (and some sparkling wine) is produced. After primary fermentation and bottling, a second alcoholic fermentation occurs in the bottle. This second fermentation is induced by adding several grams of yeast (usually Saccharomyces cerevisiae, although each brand has its own secret recipe) and several grams of rock sugar. According to the Appellation d'Origine

Contrôlée a minimum of 1.5 years is required to completely develop all the flavour. For years where the harvest is exceptional, a millesimé is declared. This means that the champagne will be very good and has to mature for at least 3 years.

During this time the champagne bottle is capped with a crown cap. The bottle is then riddled, so that the lees settles in the neck of the bottle. The neck is then frozen, and the cap removed. The pressure in the bottle forces out the ice containing the lees, and the bottle is quickly corked to maintain the carbon dioxide in solution. Some syrup is added to maintain the level within the bottle. The process described above is the industrial one, the manual one is in fact no more used, it relied on the skills of the wine maker able to get rid of the lees that had accumulated just under the cap with as little wine as possible.

Champagne producers

List of champagne producers

There are more than one hundred champagne houses and 15,000 smaller vignerons (vine-growing producers) in Champagne. These companies manage some 32,000 hectares of vineyards in the region and employ more than 10,000 people.

An Edwardian English advert for Champagne, listing honours and royal drinkers

Annual sales by all producers total more than 300 million yearly bottles, roughly €4.3 billion. Roughly two-thirds of these sales are made by the large champagne houses with their grandes marques (major brands). Fifty-eight percent (58%) of total production is sold in France, and the remaining 42% exported worldwide – primarily to the UK, the U.S., and Germany. Generally, champagne producers collectively hold stock of about 1 billion bottles being matured, some three years of sales volume.

The type of champagne producer can be identified from the abbreviations followed by the official number on the bottle:

• NM: Négociant manipulant. These companies (including the majority of the larger brands) buy grapes and make the wine

• CM: Coopérative de manipulation. Co-operatives that make wines from the growers who are members, with all the grapes pooled together

• RM: Récoltant manipulant. A grower that also makes wine from its own grapes (a maximum of 5% of purchased grapes is permitted). Note that co-operative members who take their bottles to be disgorged at the co-op can now label themselves as RM instead of RC.

• SR: Société de récoltants. An association of growers making a shared Champagne but who are not a co-operative

• RC: Récoltant coopérateur. A co-operative member selling Champagne produced by the co-operative under its own name and label

• MA: Marque auxiliaire or Marque d'acheteur. A brand name unrelated to the producer or grower; the name is owned by someone else, for example a supermarket

• ND: Négociant distributeur. A wine merchant selling under his own name

Marketing Champagne

Champagne in popular culture

The popularity of Champagne is attributed to the success of Champagne producers in marketing the wine. Champagne houses promoted the wine's image as a royal and aristocratic drink. Laurent-Perrier's advertisements in late 1890 boasted their Champagne was the favorite of King Leopold II of Belgium, George I of Greece, Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Margaret Cambridge, Marchioness of Cambridge, and John Lambton, 3rd Earl of Durham, among other nobles, knights, and military officers. Despite this royal prestige, Champagne houses also portrayed Champagne as a luxury enjoyable by anyone, for any occasion. This strategy worked, and, by the turn of the twentieth century, the majority of Champagne drinkers were middle class.

In the 19th century, Champagne producers made a concentrated effort to market their wine to women. This was in stark contrast to the traditionally "male aura" that the wines of France had—particularly Burgundy and Bordeaux. Laurent-Perrier again took the lead in this area with advertisements touting their wine's favour with the Countess of Dudley,

the wife of the 9th Earl of Stamford, the wife of the Baron Tollemache, and the opera singer Adelina Patti. Champagne labels were designed with images of romantic love and marriage as well as other special occasions that were deemed important to women, such as the baptism of a child.

In some advertisements, the Champagne houses catered to political interest such as the labels that appeared on different brands on bottles commemorating the centennial anniversary of the French Revolution of 1789. On some labels there were flattering images of Marie-Antoinette that appealed to the conservative factions of French citizens that viewed the former queen as a martyr. On other labels there were stirring images of Revolutionary scenes that appealed to the liberal left sentiments of French citizens. As World War I loomed, Champagne houses put images of soldiers and countries' flags on their bottles, customizing the image for each country to which the wine was imported. During the Dreyfus Affair, one Champagne house released a Champagne Antijuif with anti-Semitic advertisements to take advantage the wave of anti-Semitism that hit half of France.

Use in societyChampagne is typically drunk during celebrations. For example Tony Blair held a champagne reception to celebrate London winning the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games.

It is also used to launch ships when a bottle is smashed over the hull during the ship's launch. If the bottle fails to break this is often thought to be bad luck.

VarietiesChampagne is a single Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée. Grapes must be the white Chardonnay, or the black Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier. Also permitted but rare in usage are Pinot Blanc, Arbane and Petit Meslier.

The black Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier give the wine its length and backbone. They are predominantly grown in two areas - the Montagne de Reims and the Valée de la Marne. The Montagne de Reims run east-west to the south of Reims, in northern Champagne. They are notable for north-facing chalky slopes that derive heat from the warm winds rising from the valleys below. The River Marne runs west-east through Champagne, south of the Montagne de Reims. The Valée de la Marne contains south-facing chalky slopes. Chardonnay gives the wine its acidity and biscuit flavour. The majority of Chardonnay is grown in a north-south-running strip to the south of Epernay, called the Côte des Blanc, including the villages of Avize, Oger and Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger. These are east-facing vineyards, with terroir similar to the Côte de Beaune. The various terroirs account for the differences in grape characteristics and explain the appropriateness of blending juice from different grape varieties and geographical areas within Champagne, to get the desired style for each Champagne house.

Most Champagnes are made from a blend of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, for example 60%/40%. Blanc de blanc (white of white) Champagnes are made from 100% Chardonnay. Possibly the most exquisite, and definitely the most expensive of these is grown in a single Premier cru vineyard in Le Mesnil-Sur-Oger for Salon. Blanc de noir (white of black) Champagne is pressed from 100% Pinot Noir or black grapes, using a special quick-pressing, so that the black colour of the skin does not stain the vin de presse (pressed grape juice).

Champagne is typically light in color even if it is produced with red grapes, because the juice is extracted from the grapes using a gentle process that minimizes the amount of time the juice spends in contact with the skins, which is what gives red wine its colour. Rosé wines are produced throughout France by leaving the clear juice of black grapes to macerate on its skins for a brief time. Rosé Champagne is notable as it is the only wine that allows the production of Rosé by the addition a small amount of red wine during blending. This ensures a predictable and reproducible colour, allowing a constant Rosé colour from year-to-year. The amount of sugar (dosage) added after the second fermentation and aging also varies:

• Brut Natural or Brut Zéro (less than 3 grams of sugar per liter) • Extra Brut (less than 6 grams of sugar per liter) • Brut (less than 15 grams of sugar per liter) • Extra Sec or Extra Dry (12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter) • Sec (17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter) • Demi-Sec (33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter) • Doux (more than 50 grams of sugar per liter)

The most common is brut, although throughout the 19th century and into the early 20th century Champagne was generally much sweeter than what we see today.

Most Champagne is non-vintage, produced from a blend of years (the exact blend is only mentioned on the label by a few growers), while that produced from a single vintage is labelled with the year and Millésimé.

Many Champagnes are produced from bought-in grapes by well known brands such as Veuve Clicquot or Mumm.

Blanc de noirs

Blanc de noirs is a French term (literally "white of blacks") for a white wine produced entirely from black grapes. It is often encountered in Champagne, where a number of houses have followed the lead of Bollinger's prestige cuvée Vieilles Vignes Françaises in introducing a cuvée made from either Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier or a blend of the two (these being the only two black grapes permitted within the Champagne AOC appellation). Although Bollinger's wine is famed for its intense richness and full-bodied nature, this has more to do with the way the grapes are planted and when they are

harvested than any intrinsic property of blanc de noirs Champagne, which is often little different from cuvées including a proportion of Chardonnay.

Blanc de blancs

Conversely, blanc de blancs means "white of whites" and is used to designate champagnes made only from Chardonnay grapes. The term is occasionally used in other sparkling wine-producing regions, usually to denote Chardonnay-only wines rather than any sparkling wine made from white grape varieties.

Prestige cuvée

A prestige cuvée, or cuvée de prestige, is a proprietary blended wine (usually a Champagne) that is considered to be the top of a producer's range. Famous examples include Louis Roederer's Cristal, Laurent-Perrier's Grand Siècle, Moët & Chandon's Dom Pérignon, and Pol Roger's Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill.

The original prestige cuvée was Moët & Chandon's Dom Pérignon, launched in 1936 with the 1921 vintage. Until then, Champagne houses produced different cuvées of varying quality, but a top-of-the-range wine produced to the highest standards (and priced accordingly) was a new idea. In fact, Louis Roederer had been producing Cristal since 1876, but this was strictly for the private consumption of the Russian tsar.

Cristal was made publicly available with the 1945 vintage. Then came Taittinger's Comtes de Champagne (first vintage 1952), and Laurent-Perrier's Grand Siècle 'La Cuvée' in 1960, a blend of three vintages (1952, 1953, and 1955). In the last three decades of the twentieth century, most Champagne houses followed these with their own prestige cuvées, often named after notable people with a link to that producer (Veuve Clicquot's La Grande Dame, the nickname of the widow of the house's founder's son; Pol Roger's Cuvée Sir Winston Churchill, named for the British prime minister; and Laurent-Perrier's Cuvée Alexandra rosé, to name just three examples), and presented in non-standard bottle shapes (following Dom Pérignon's lead with its eighteenth-century revival design).

The Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne

All of the over 15,000 growers, cooperatives and over 300 houses that are central to producing Champagne are members of the Comite Interprofessionel du Vin de Champagne (CIVC), established in 1941 under the auspices of the French government (now represented by the Ministry of Agriculture). This organization has a system in which both the houses and the growers are represented at all levels. This includes a co-presidency where a grower representative and a representative of the houses share the running of the organization. This system is designed to ensure that the CIVC's primary mission, to promote and protect Champagne and those who produce it, is done in a

manner that represents the interests of all involved. This power structure has played an important role in the success of Champagne worldwide and the integrity of the appellation itself.

Bubbles Carbonation

Bubbles from rosé champagne

An initial burst of effervescence occurs when the champagne contacts the dry glass on pouring. These bubbles may form on imperfections in the glass that facilitate nucleation or on cellulose fibres left over from the wiping/drying process as shown by Gérard Liger-Belair, Richard Marchal, and Philippe Jeandel with a high-speed video camera. . However, after the initial rush, these naturally occurring imperfections are typically too small to consistently act as nucleation points as the surface tension of the liquid smooths out these minute irregularities.

"Contrary to a generally accepted idea, nucleation sites are not located on irregularities of the glass itself. The length-scale of glass and crystal irregularities is far below the critical radius of curvature required for the non-classical heterogeneous nucleation." G. Liger-Belair et al

The nucleation sites that act as a source for the ongoing effervescence are not natural imperfections in the glass, but actually occur where the glass has been etched by the manufacturer or the customer. This etching is typically done with acid, a laser, or a glass

etching tool from a craft shop to provide nucleation sites for continuous bubble formation (note that not all glasses are etched in this way)

Dom Pérignon was originally charged by his superiors at the Abbey of Hautvillers to get rid of the bubbles since the pressure in the bottles caused many of them to burst in the cellar. As sparkling wine production increased in the early 1700s, cellar workers would have to wear heavy iron mask that resembled a baseball catcher's mask to prevent injury from spontaneously bursting bottles. The disturbance caused by one bottle's disintegration could cause a chain reaction, with it being routine for cellars to lose 20-90% of their bottles to instability. The mysterious circumstance surrounding the then unknown process of fermentation and carbonic gas caused some critics to call the sparkling creations "The Devil's Wine".

Champagne bottles

Side-by-side comparison of champagne bottles. (L to R) On ladder: magnum (1.5 litres), full (0.75 litre), half (0.375 litre), quarter (0.1875 litre). On floor: Balthazar (12 litres), Salmanazar (9 litres), Methuselah (6 litres), Jeroboam (3 litres)

Champagne is mostly fermented in two sizes of bottles, standard bottles (750 mL), and magnums (1.5 L). In general, magnums are thought to be higher quality, as there is less oxygen in the bottle, and the volume to surface area favors the creation of appropriately-sized bubbles. However, there is no hard evidence for this view. Other bottle sizes, named for Biblical figures, are generally filled with Champagne that has been fermented in standard bottles or magnums.

Sizes larger than Jeroboam (3.0 L) are rare. Primat sized bottles (27 L) - and as of 2002 Melchizedek sized bottles (30 L) - are exclusively offered by the House Drappier. The same names are used for bottles containing wine and port; however Jeroboam, Rehoboam and Methuselah refer to different bottle volumes. Unique sizes have been made for special occasions and people, the most notable example perhaps being the 20 fluid ounce / 60 cL. bottle (Imperial pint) made specially for Sir Winston Churchill by Pol Roger. In order to see a side-by-side comparisen, see this site: Champagne sizes

Champagne corks

Corking a Champagne Bottle: 1855 engraving of the manual method

Champagne corks are built from several sections and are referred to as aglomerated corks. The mushroom shape that occurs in the transition is a result of the bottom section, which is in contact with the wine, being composed of two stacked discs of pristine cork, cemented to the upper portion which is a conglomerate of ground cork and glue. Prior to insertion, a sparkling wine cork is almost 50% larger than the opening of the bottle. Originally they start as a cylinder and are compressed prior to insertion into the bottle. Over time their compressed shape becomes more permanent and the distinctive "mushroom" shape becomes more apparent.

The aging of the champagne post disgorgement can to some degree be told by the cork, as the longer it has been in the bottle the less it returns to its original cylinder shape.

Serving ChampagneChampagne is usually served in a champagne flute, whose characteristics include a long stem with a tall, narrow bowl, thin sides and an etched bottom. Riedel makes such glasses for vintage and non-vintage Champagnes. Other manufacturers have copied Riedel's design and make similar, more affordable flutes. Another notable manufacturer is Schott Zwiesel. The Victorian coupe (according to legend, approximating the breast of Marie Antoinette) is not recommended as it disperses the nose and over-oxygenates the wine. More information is found in Champagne stemware.

Additionally one should hold the flute by the stem or base as opposed to the bowl and refrain from overzealous clinking.

Alternatively, when tasting Champagne, a big red wine glass (e.g; a glass for Bordeaux) can be used, as the aroma spreads better in the larger volume of the glass. Glasses should

not be overfilled: flutes should be filled only to ⅔ of the glass, and big red wine glasses not more than ⅓ of the glass.

Champagne is always served cold, its ideal drinking temperature at 7 to 9 °C (43 to 48 °F). Often the bottle is chilled in a bucket of ice and water before opening. Champagne buckets are made specifically for this purpose, and often have a larger volume than standard wine-cooling buckets (to accommodate the larger bottle, and more water and ice).

The ice bucket only serves to chill the wine prior to opening. Chilling allows one to remove the cork without losing any of the wine and carbonation. Once opened the Champagne should not be returned to the ice bucket but allowed to 'warm' so that its flavor profile can be tasted more apparently.

Champagne etiquetteIn Australia, Champagne and other sparkling wine, is sometimes served with a cut or whole strawberry inside the flute, thought to enhance the flavor. In France, an alcoholic fruit liquor such as crème de Cassis, or blackcurrant liqueur, is added to create kir royal.

Opening Champagne bottles

Champagne on the podium of the 2007 Tour of Gippsland

The deliberate spraying of Champagne has become an integral part of some sports trophy presentations, beginning with the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, this opening will waste much of the champagne. To reduce the risk of spilling Champagne and/or turning the cork into a dangerous projectile, a Champagne bottle can be opened by holding the cork and rotating the bottle (rather than the cork). By using a 45 degree angle, the surface of the champagne has the maximum surface area, thus minimizing the excessive bubbling. The cork can ease out with a sigh or a whisper rather than a pop. The flavor will be largely the same, irrespective of the method used, but the volume left in the bottle will differ. The whispering noise made while opening the bottle is sometimes named "le soupir amoureux" (loving whisper).

A sabre can be used to open a Champagne bottle with great ceremony. This technique is called sabrage.

Health benefitsIn April 18, 2007, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published the results of a recent joint study by the University of Reading and University of Cagliari that showed moderate consumptions of Champagne may help the brain cope with the trauma of stroke, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's disease. The research noted that the high amount of the antioxidant polyphenols in sparkling wine can help prevent deterioration of brain cells due to oxidative stress. During the study scientist exposed two groups of mice with blanc de blancs (100% Chardonnay composition) and blanc de noir (Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier based) and a control group with no exposure to Champagne. All groups were then subjected to high levels of neurotoxicity similar to what the human brain experiences during inflammatory conditions. The study found that the groups pretreated with exposure to Champagne had the highest level of cell restoration compared to the group that wasn't. The study's co-authors noted that it was too early to conclusively say that drinking Champagne is beneficial to brain health but that the study does point researchers to more exploration in this area.

Alcohol absorptionIt is a common perception that people become drunk more quickly on champagne. It has been shown that alcohol is more rapidly absorbed when mixed with carbonated water, and this may explain this anecdotal assertion.

Rum Rum is a distilled beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses and sugarcane juice by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak and other casks. While there are rum producers in places such as Australia, India, Reunion Island, and elsewhere around the world, the majority of rum production occurs in and around the Caribbean and along the Demerara river in South America.

Rum plays a part in the culture of most islands of the West Indies, and has famous associations with the British Royal Navy and piracy. Rum has also served as a popular medium of exchange that helped to promote slavery along with providing economic instigation for Australia's Rum Rebellion and the American Revolution.

Origins of the name The origin of the word rum is unclear. A common claim is that the name was derived from rumbullion meaning "a great tumult or uproar".

Another claim is the name is from the large drinking glasses used by Dutch seamen known as rummers, from the Dutch word roemer, a drinking glass.

Other options include contractions of the words saccharum, Latin for sugar, or arôme, French for aroma.

Regardless of the original source, the name had come into common use by May 1657 when the General Court of Massachusetts made illegal the sale of strong liquor "whether knowne by the name of rumme, strong water, wine, brandy, etc., etc."

In current usage, the name used for a rum is often based on the rum's place of origin. For rums from Spanish-speaking locales the word ron is used. A ron añejo indicates a rum that has been significantly aged and is often used for premium products. Rhum is the term used for rums from French-speaking locales, while rhum vieux is an aged French rum that meets several other requirements.

Some of the many other names for rum are Rumbullion, Rumbustion, Barbados water, Rumscullion, Devil's Death (or "Kill-Devill"), Nelson's Blood, and Rumbo.

History

Origins of rum

The precursors to rum date back to antiquity. Development of fermented drinks produced from sugarcane juice is believed to have first occurred either in ancient India or China, and spread from there. An example of such an early drink is brum. Produced by the Malay people, brum dates back thousands of years.

The first distillation of rum took place on the sugarcane plantations of the Caribbean in the 1600s.

Plantation slaves first discovered that molasses, a by-product of the sugar refining process, fermented into alcohol. Later, distillation of these alcoholic by-products concentrated the alcohol and removed impurities, producing the first true rums.

Richard Ligon wrote in 1647 that slaves on plantations on Barbados would consume kill-devil; he described it as a "hot, hellish and terrible liquor".

A 1651 document from Barbados stated "The chief fuddling they make in the island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Divil, and this is made of sugar canes distilled, a hot, hellish, and terrible liquor".

Rum in colonial America

After rum's development in the Caribbean, the drink's popularity spread to Colonial America. To support the demand for the drink, the first rum distillery in the colonies was set up in 1664 on current day Staten Island. Boston, Massachusetts had a distillery three years later. The manufacture of rum became early Colonial New England's largest and most prosperous industry. The rum produced there was quite popular, and was even considered the best in the world during much of the 1800s. Rhode Island rum even joined gold as an accepted currency in Europe for a period of time.

Estimates of rum consumption in the American colonies before the American Revolutionary War had every man, woman, or child drinking an average of 3 Imperial gallons (13.5 liters) of rum each year.

To support this demand for the molasses to produce rum, along with the increasing demand for sugar in Europe during the 1700s and 1800s, a labour source to work the sugar plantations in the Caribbean was needed.

A triangular trade was established between Africa, the Caribbean, and the colonies to help support this need.

The circular exchange of slaves, molasses, and rum was quite profitable, and the disruption to the trade caused by the Sugar Act in 1764 may have even helped cause the American Revolution.

The popularity of rum continued after the American Revolution with George Washington insisting on a barrel of Barbados rum at his 1789 inauguration. Eventually the restrictions on rum from the British islands of the Caribbean combined with the development of American whiskey led to a decline in the drink's popularity. Rum's association with piracy comes from the fact that it was a locally available drink during the peak years for Piracy in the Caribbean. Further embellishment to this association was made with literary works such as the poem "Fifteen men on the Dead Man's Chest" by Robert Louis Stevenson in his book Treasure Island.

Naval Rum

Rum's association with piracy began with English privateers trading on the valuable commodity. As some of the privateers became pirates and buccaneers, their fondness for rum remained, the association between the two only being strengthened by literary works such as Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.

The association of rum with the British Royal Navy began in 1655 when the British fleet captured the island of Jamaica. With the availability of domestically produced rum, the British changed the daily ration of liquor given to seamen from French brandy to rum.

While the ration was originally given neat, or mixed with lemon juice, the practice of watering down the rum began around 1740. To help minimize the effect of the alcohol on his sailors, Admiral Edward Vernon directed that the rum ration be watered down before being issued. In honor of the grogram cloak the Admiral wore in rough weather, the mixture of water and rum became known as Grog.

The Royal Navy continued to give its sailors a daily rum ration, known as a "tot," until the practice was abolished after July 31, 1970.

A story involving naval rum is that following his victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, Admiral Nelson's body was preserved in a cask of rum to allow transport back to England. The tale serves as a basis for the term Nelson's Blood being used to describe rum. The details of the story are disputed, with some historians claiming the term originated instead from a toast to Admiral Nelson.

Rum in colonial Australia

Rum became an important trade good in the early period of the colony of New South Wales. The value of rum was based upon the lack of coinage among the population of the colony, and due to the drink's ability to allow its consumer to temporarily forget about the lack of creature comforts available in the new colony. The value of rum was such that convict settlers could be induced to work the lands owned by officers of the New South Wales Corps. Due to rum's popularity among the settlers, the colony gained a reputation for drunkenness even though their alcohol consumption was less than levels commonly consumed in England at the time.

When William Bligh became governor of the colony in 1806, he attempted to remedy the perceived problem with drunkenness by outlawing the use of rum as a medium of exchange. In response to this action, and several others, the New South Wales Corps marched, with fixed bayonets, to Government House and placed Bligh under arrest. The mutineers continued to control the colony until the arrival of Governor Lachlan Macquarie in 1810.

Caribbean light rum

Until the second half of the 1800s all rums were heavy or dark rums that were considered appropriate for the working poor, unlike the refined double-distilled spirits of Europe. In order to expand the market for rum, the Spanish Royal Development Board offered a prize to anyone who could improve the rum making process. This resulted in many refinements in the process which greatly improved the quality of rum. One of the most important figures in this development process was Don Facundo Bacardi Masso, who moved from Spain to Santiago de Cuba in 1843. Don Facundo's experiments with distillation techniques, charcoal filtering, cultivating of specialized yeast strains, and aging with American oak casks helped to produce a smoother and mellower drink typical of modern light rums. It was with this new rum that Don Facundo founded Bacardi y Compañia in 1862.

Rum categorization Dividing rum into meaningful groupings is complicated by the fact that there is no single standard for what constitutes rum. Instead rum is defined by the varying rules and laws of the nations that produce the spirit. The differences in definitions include issues such as spirit proof, minimum aging, and even naming standards.

Examples of the differences in proof is Colombia, requiring their rum possess a minimum alcohol content of 50 ABV, while Chile and Venezuela require only a minimum of 40 ABV. Mexico requires rum be aged a minimum of 8 months, the Dominican Republic requires one year, and Venezuela requires two years. Naming standards also vary, with Argentina defining rums as white, gold, light, and extra light. Barbados uses the terms

white, overproof, and matured, while the United States defines rum, rum liqueur, and flavored rum.

Despite these differences in standards and nomenclature, the following divisions are provided to help show the wide variety of rums that are produced.

Regional Variations

Within the Caribbean, each island or production area has a unique style. These styles can be grouped by the language that is traditionally spoken.

• Spanish-speaking islands traditionally produce light rums with a fairly clean taste. Rums from Cuba and Puerto Rico are typical of this style.

• English-speaking islands are known for darker rums with a fuller taste that retains a greater amount of the underlying molasses flavor. Rums from Jamaica and the Demerera region are typical of this style.

• French-speaking islands are best known for their agricultural rums (rhum agricole). These rums, being produced exclusively from sugarcane juice, retain a greater amount of the original flavor of the sugarcane. Rums from Martinique and Guadeloupe are typical of this style.

Cachaça is a spirit similar to agricultural rum that is produced in Brazil.

Rum Grades

The grades and variations used to describe rum depend on the location that a rum was produced. Despite these variations the following terms are frequently used to describe various types of rum:

• Light Rums, also referred to as light, silver, and white rums. In general, light rum has very little flavor aside from a general sweetness, and serves accordingly as a base for cocktails. Light rums are sometimes filtered after aging to remove any color.

• Gold Rums, also called amber rums, are medium-bodied rums which are generally aged. The rum can obtain its flavor through addition of spices and caramel/color (a variation often sold as Spiced Rum), but historically gains its darker color from aging in wooden casks (typically oak).

• Dark Rum, also known as black rum, classes as a grade darker than gold rum. It is generally aged longer, in heavily charred barrels. Dark rum has a much stronger flavor than either light or gold rum, and hints of spices can be detected, along with a strong molasses or caramel overtone. It is used to provide substance in rum drinks, as well as color. In addition to uses in mixed drinks, dark rum is the type of rum most commonly used in cooking.

• Flavored Rum: Some manufacturers have begun to sell rums which they have infused with flavors of fruits such as mango, orange, citrus, coconut, and lime. These serve to flavour similarly themed tropical drinks which generally comprise less than 40% abv.

• Overproof Rum is rum which is much higher than the standard 40% alcohol. Most of these rums bear greater than 75%, in fact, and preparations of 151 to 160 proof occur commonly.

• Premium Rum: As with other sipping spirits, such as Cognac and Scotch, a market exists for premium and super-premium spirits. These are generally boutique brands which sell very aged and carefully produced rums. They have more character and flavor than their "mixing" counterparts, and are generally consumed without the addition of other ingredients.

Production Methodology Unlike some other spirits, such as Cognac and Scotch, rum has no defined production methods. Instead, rum production is based on traditional styles that vary between locations and distillers.

Fermentation

Sugarcane is harvested to make sugarcane juice and molasses.

Most rum is produced from molasses. Within the Caribbean, much of this molasses is from Brazil. A notable exception is the French-speaking islands where sugarcane juice is the preferred base ingredient.

To the base ingredient yeast, and potentially water, are added to start fermentation. While some rum producers allow wild yeast to perform the fermentation, most use specific strains of yeast to help provide a consistent taste and predictable fermentation time. Dunder, the yeast-rich foam from previous fermentations, is the traditional yeast source in Jamaica.

“The yeast employed will determine the final taste and aroma profile," says Jamaican master blender Joy Spence.

Distillers that make lighter rums, such as Bacardi, prefer to use faster-working yeasts.

Use of slower-working yeasts causes more esters to accumulate during fermentation, allowing for a fuller-tasting rum.

Distillation

As with all other aspects of rum production, there is no standard method used for distillation. While some producers work in batches using pot stills, most rum production is done using column still distillation.

Pot still output contains more congeners than the output from column stills and thus produces a fuller-tasting rum.

Aging and Blending

Many countries require that rum be aged for at least one year. This aging is commonly performed in used bourbon casks, but may also be performed in stainless steel tanks or other types of wooden casks. Due to the tropical climate common to most rum-producing areas, rum matures at a much faster rate than is typical for Scotch or Cognac. An indication of this faster rate is the angel's share, or amount of product lost to evaporation. While products aged in France or Scotland see about 2% loss each year, rum producers may see as much as 10%.

After aging, rum is normally blended to ensure a consistent flavor. As part of this blending process, light rums may be filtered to remove any color gained during aging.

For darker rums, caramel may be added to the rum to adjust the color of the final product.

Brands• 10 Cane • Angostura • Appleton Estate • Bacardi • Bambu Rum • Barcelo • Bayu • Barbancourt

• Don Lorenzo • Don Q • El Dorado • English Harbour Rum • Estelar • Flor de Caña • Ghostship • Goodwill

• Ocumare • Old Monk • Old Sam's • One Barrell • Panama Jack

Spiced Rum • Pampero • Plantation Rum

• Beenleigh • Bermudez • Black Seal • Bounty Rum • Braddah Kimo's

Maui Rum • Brinley Gold Rum • Brugal • Bundaberg • Cockspur • Cacique • Caney • Captain Morgan • Carupano • Cavalier • Coronation Khukuri

XXX Rum • Cortez, Ron Cortez,

Panamà • Coruba • Cruzan • Diplomatico

• Gosling's • Green Island • Havana Club • Honey Rum • Hoochery • Jolly Roger • Lemon Hart • Lambs Rum • Macuro • Malibu Rum • Mathuros Rum,

Kingdom of Thailand • Matusalem • McDowell's No.1

Celebration Rum • Mitjans • Mount Gay • Montilla • Myers • Newfoundland Screech • New Grove Oak Aged

Rum • New Grove Plantation

Rum

• Pusser's • Pyrat • RedRum • Ronrico • Ron Cortez • Ron Diaz • Ron Viejo de

Caldas • Ron Zacapa

Centenario • Royal Reserve • Rum Nation • Santa Teresa • Santiago De Cuba • Sailor Jerry • Silver Kiss Rum • Stroh • Tanduay • Varela Rum,151

proof, Panamà • VooDoo Spiced

Rum • Wray and Nephews• Zaya

Sake

Sake barrels at Itsukushima Shrine.

Sake (Japanese: �; pronounced [sa.kɛ] is a Japanese alcoholic beverage made from rice. In Japanese, the word sake (usually preceded by the honorific prefix o-) does not exclusively apply to this specific single beverage; instead, the word Nihonshu ��� (literally, "Japanese alcoholic beverage") is used to distinguish it from other beverages. In English, the word sake never refers to anything other than Nihonshu. This article uses the word "sake" as it is used in English.

Sake is also commonly referred to in English as "rice wine", but the characterisation implied is not accurate. Wine is made from the single fermentation of plant juices (Other than sparkling wine, which can be a double fermentation to create the carbonation.). Sake is produced by multiple fermentation of rice, which is more similar to how beer is produced. Also, outside Japan there exist other beverages known as "rice wine" that are significantly different from Nihonshu.

Other beveragesThe word "sake" can also refer to different beverages in different regions of Japan:

• In Southern Kyūshū, sake usually refers to a distilled beverage, sweet potato shōchū (imo-jōchū ���). Shōchū is a distilled spirit made with kōji-kin (� or �), Aspergillus oryzae.

• In Okinawa, sake may refer to shōchū made from sugar cane, awamori (��, literally "heaping bubbles") or kūsu (��, literally "ancient drink").

HistoryThe history of sake is not well documented and there are multiple theories on how it was developed. One theory suggests that the brewing of rice started in China, along the

Yangtze River and was subsequently exported to Japan. Another theory traces sake brewing back to 3rd century Japan with the advent of wet rice cultivation. The combination of water and rice lying around together would have resulted in molds and fermentation.

Regardless, the first sake was called kuchikami no sake, (Japanese for "chewing the mouth sake" or mouth chewed sake) and was made by people chewing rice, chestnuts, millet, acorn and spitting the mixture into a tub. The enzymes from the saliva allowed the starches to saccharify (convert to sugar). This sweet mixture was combined with freshly cooked grain and allowed to naturally ferment. This early form of sake was likely low in alcohol and consumed like porridge. This method was used by Native Americans; see cauim, and pulque. Chinese millet wine, xǐao mǐ jǐu (���), made the same way, is mentioned in inscriptions from the 14th century BC as being offered to the gods in religious rituals. Later, from approximately the 8th century BC, rice wine, mǐ jǐu (��) with a formula almost exactly like that of the later Japanese sake, became popular in China.

Centuries later, chewing was rendered unnecessary by the discovery of kōji-kin (�� Aspergillus oryzae), a mold whose enzymes convert the starch in the rice to sugar, which is also used to make amazake, miso, and soy sauce. Rice inoculated with kōji-kin is called "kome-kōji" (��), or malt rice. A yeast mash, or shubo (��), is then added to convert the sugars to ethanol. This development can greatly increase sake's alcohol content (18%–25% by vol.); as starch is converted to sugar by kōji, sugars are converted to alcohol by yeast in one instantaneous process.

Kōji-kin was discovered most likely by accident. Kōji spores and yeast floating in the air would land in a soupy rice-water mixture left outside. The resulting fermentation would create a sake porridge not unlike the kuchikami no sake but without the hassle of needing a whole village to chew the rice. This porridge was probably not the best tasting, but the intoxication was enough to keep people interested in making it. Some of this mash would be kept as a starter for the next batch.

Experimentation and techniques from China sometime in the 7th century AD gave rise to higher quality sake. Sake eventually became popular enough for a brewing organization to be established at the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, then the capital of Japan. This resulted in full-time sake brewers, and these craftsmen paved the way for many more developments in technique. It was during the Heian Era (794-1185) that the development of the three step addition in the brewing process was developed (a technique to increase alcohol content and reduce chance of souring).

For the next 500 years the quality and techniques used in brewing sake steadily improved. The practice of using a starter mash or "moto" was adopted, for the purpose of cultivating the maximum possible amount of yeast cells before brewing . Brewers were also able to isolate kōji for the first time and, thus, were able to control with some consistency the saccharification (converting starch to sugar) of the rice.

Through observation and trial and error, a form of pasteurization was also developed. Batches of sake that began to sour due to bacteria during the summer months were poured out of their barrels into tanks and heated. However, the resulting pasteurized sake would then be returned to the bacteria infected barrels. Hence the sake would become more sour and, by the time fall came around, the sake would be unpalatable. The principles behind pasteurization (and better methods of storing sake) would not be understood until Louis Pasteur discovered them some 500 years later.

During the Meiji Restoration, laws were written that allowed anybody with the money and know-how to construct and operate their own sake breweries. Around 30,000 breweries sprang up around the country within a year. However, as the years went by, the government levied more and more taxes on the sake industry and slowly the number of breweries dwindled to 8,000.

Most of the breweries that grew and survived this period were set up by wealthy landowners. Landowners who grew rice crops would have rice left over at the end of the season and, rather than letting this stash of rice go to waste, would ship it to their breweries. The most successful of these family breweries still operate today.

During the 20th century, sake-brewing technology grew by leaps and bounds. The government opened the sake-brewing research institute in 1904 and, in 1907 the very first government-run sake tasting/competition was held. Yeast strains specifically selected for their brewing properties were isolated and enamel-coated steel tanks arrived. The government started hailing the use of enamel tanks as easy to clean, lasting forever, and being devoid of bacterial problems. (The government considered wooden barrels to be "unhygienic" because of the potential bacteria living in the wood.) Although these things are true, the government also wanted more tax money from breweries as the wood in wooden barrels sucks up a significant amount of sake (somewhere around 3%) that could have otherwise been taxed. This was the end of the wooden-barrel age of sake and the use of wooden barrels in brewing was completely eliminated.

In Japan, sake has long been taxed by the federal government. In 1898 this tax brought in about 55 million yen out of a total of about 120 million yen, so about 46% of the government's total direct tax income

During the Russo-Japanese War in 1904–1905, the government banned the home brewing of sake. At the time, sake made up an astonishing 30% of Japan's tax revenue. Since home brewed sake is tax-free sake, the logic was that by banning the home brewing of sake, sales would go up, and more tax money would be collected. This was the end of "doburoku" (homebrewed) sake, and the law remains in effect today even though sake sales now make up only 2% of government income.

When World War II erupted, the sake-brewing industry was dealt a hefty blow as the government clamped down on the use of rice for brewing. Most of the rice grown during this time was used for the war effort, and this, in conjunction with many other problems, was the end for thousands of breweries all over Japan.

Previously, it had been discovered that small amounts of alcohol could be added to sake to improve aroma and texture. But by government decree, pure alcohol and glucose were added to small quantities of rice mash, increasing the yield by as much as four times. 95% of today's sake is made using this technique, left over from the war years. There were even a few breweries that were able to produce "sake" that contained no rice at all. Naturally, the quality of sake during this time suffered greatly.

After the war, breweries slowly began to recover, and the quality of sake gradually went up. However, new players on the scene — beer, wine, and spirits — became very popular in Japan, and in the 1960s beer consumption surpassed sake for the first time. Sake consumption continued to go down while, in contrast, the quality of sake steadily improved.

Today, sake has become a world beverage with a few breweries springing up in China, Southeast Asia, South America, North America, and Australia. More breweries are also turning to older methods of production.

While the rest of the world may be drinking more sake and the quality of sake has been increasing, it is not clear sailing for the sake industry. In Japan, the sale of sake is still declining and it is uncertain if the exportation of sake to other countries can save Japanese breweries. There are around 1,500 breweries in Japan now, whereas there were about 2,500 in 1988.

Brewing

Moromi, a stage in the brewing process

Sake is produced by the multiple parallel fermentation of polished rice. The process of milling removes the protein and oils from the exterior of the rice grain, leaving behind starch. A more thorough milling leads to fewer congeners and generally a more desirable product. Multiple fermentation means that there are multiple steps in the fermentation process — the starch is converted to sugar by enzyme action, and then the sugar is converted to alcohol by yeast. This is typical of beverages created from starchy sources, such as beers.

Sake brewing differs from beer brewing in two significant ways. In sake brewing, enzymes for the starch conversion come from the action of a mold called kōji, but in beer brewing the enzymes come from the malt itself. In sake brewing, the multiple processes

of fermentation occur simultaneously in the same step, while in beer these processes occur in different, serial steps.

After fermentation, the product is heavily clouded with grain solids and is generally filtered, except in the case of nigori sake. Generally, the product is not aged because consumers prefer the flavor of the fresh product, which degrades quickly in the presence of light, air, and heat. A few varieties of aged sake serve a niche market, however, and can be purchased for a reasonable price if one knows who and where to inquire.

In Japanese, a sake brewery is called a kura (�, "warehouse").

Types of brewing process

Nigori, or unfiltered sake.

By varying the brewing process, many different types of sake can be created. Categorized by brewing method, there are several types of sake:

• Kimoto (��) is the traditionally orthodox method for brewing sake which has been in use for at least 300 years, though very rare today. The mash is hand beaten and made into a paste which then ferments.

• Yamahai (��) is a traditional method of brewing sake introduced in the early 1900s, where the starter or "moto" is left for a month to allow it to sour. The method was originally developed to speed production time, however, now it is used to impart a higher acidity and complex flavors.

• Sokujō (��) is the modern sake which is made by adding a small amount of lactic acid to the mash to speed the production time. Sokujō sake tends to have a cleaner flavor than Kimoto or Yamahai.

• Namazake (��) is sake that has not been pasteurized and is best served chilled, and may be made with any of the above ingredients, or brewing processes.

• Genshu (��), supposed to be undiluted junmai sake, around 18-20% alc. by volume. Most genshu is honjōzō-shu to make it more economical, however, the method of sake brewing is growing in popularity among premium brands as well.

• Muroka (���), means unfiltered. This type of sake is made as traditional seishu (i.e. not nigorizake), but does not go through the charcoal filtering, so there is a small amount of cloudyness. In recent years, muroka nama genshu sake is growing in popularity as it has a large enough flavor profile so that it can stand up to full flavored western foods.

• Nigorizake (���), is cloudy sake. The sake is passed through a very loose weave to separate it from the mash. It is of course not filtered thereafter and there is much rice sediment in the bottle. Before serving, the bottle is shaken to mix the sediment and turn the sake white or cloudy.

• Doburoku (��) is the classic home-brew style of sake and is traditionally a cloudy milky color, as the most delicious flavors are found in the white residue. Doburoku is created by adding steamed rice at the end of fermentation, starting a second fermentation and raising the alcohol level. It is also unpasteurized. Please note that although the kanji for doburoku and nigorizake are the same and both are opaque, they are in fact different styles of sake, with doburoku being the "chunkier" of the two.

By creating a starter-culture of micro-organisms, a higher-quality brew is possible. The starter-culture, called "moto" (�) is stored at 5-10°C, allowing the lactic acid micro-organisms to become dominant in the culture. Lactic acid is important to flavor and preventing un-wanted infections. Subsequently, the rice, kōji, and water is added at three separate stages. The mixture is called moromi (� or ��), and grows the mass by three additions. By initiating a brew with a starter-culture, the subsequent batches to moromi also increase the alcohol levels.

Varieties

An American-produced bottle of ginjō-shu sake.

Various types of sake offered for sale at a Japanese grocery in the United States.

There are two basic types of sake: futsū-shu (���), "normal sake"; and tokutei meishōshu (�����) "special designation sake". Futsū-shu does not qualify for any levels of special designation. It is the equivalent of table wine and is over 75% of all sake produced. On the other hand, the tokutei meishōshu or "special designation sake" is distinguished by the degree to which the rice is polished and the added percentage of jōzō alcohol or absence of such additives.

There are four types of tokutei meishōshu (actually six, due to mixing and matching the junmai and ginjō varieties).

• honjōzō-shu (����), with a slight amount of distilled alcohol added. The distilled alcohol helps pull some extra flavors out of the mash. This term was created in the late 1960s to distinguish it (a premium, flavorful sake) from cheaply made liquors to which large amounts of alcohol were added simply to increase volume and/or give it a high alcohol content.

• junmai-shu (���, literally "pure sake"), made from rice only. Before 2004, the Japanese government mandated that at least 40% of the rice be polished away, with no alcohol added, if the sake was to be considered junmai. Today, it can represent any sake milled to any degree, that contains no additives or distilled alcohol.

• ginjō-shu (���), rice weight polished to 40% or less. • daiginjō-shu (����), rice weight polished to 50% or less.

The term junmai can be added in front of either ginjō or daiginjō if no alcohol is added to result in either junmai ginjō or junmai daiginjō. However, distilled alcohol often is added in small amounts to ginjō and daiginjō to heighten the aroma, not to increase volume, so a junmai daiginjō without added alcohol is not necessarily a better product than daiginjō. In fact, most brews that win the gold medals at the Hiroshima Kanpyōkai (one of the most prestigious judging events) cannot be called junmai due to the small amounts of alcohol added.

In addition, there are some other terms commonly used to describe sake:

• kuroshu (��), sake using unpolished rice (brown rice), more like the Chinese production method.

• koshu (��), aged sake. Most sake does not age well, but this specially made type can age for decades, turning the sake yellow and giving it a honeyed flavor.

• taruzake (��), sake aged in cedar barrels. The barrel aging gives this type its characteristic spiciness. Also refers to sake casks broken open for the opening of buildings, businesses, parties, etc. As the cedar barrels imparts a flavor, premium sake is rarely used for this type.

• seishu (��), the official name for Japanese sake, but excluding nigorizake and doburoku.

• tei-seihaku-shu (����), sake with low rice polishing ratio. Generally and traditionally, it has been said that the lower the "seimai-buai" rice polishing ratio is (see below), the better the potential of the sake is. This is true

with the majority of sake in March 2007 but, in these few years, sake has intentionally been made with high rice polishing ratios, such as 80%, to produce a characteristic flavor, mainly for the scent of the rice itself to remain.

• shizuku-dori (���), sake that is separated from lees without external pressure by hanging moromi bags and allowing it to drip slowly.

• tobin-gakoi (����), sake that was pressed into separate bottles usually using the shizuku-dori method, each containing 18 liters. The resulting bottles permits the brewer to select the best sake of the batch for shipping.

• shiboritate (���), sake that has been shipped without the traditional six-month aging/maturation period. The result is usually a more acidic, "greener" sake.

Some other terms commonly used in connection with sake:

• kasu (�), the sake lees left after filtering, used for making tsukemono, cuisine (sakekasujiru, etc.), livestock feed, and shōchū.

• nihonshu-do (����), = (|1/specific gravity|−1) × 1443 Specific gravity is measured on a scale weighing the same amount of water at 4°C and sake at 15°C. The sweeter the sake is, the lower the number gets. When they started to use the nihonshu-do, 0 was the break-even point between sweet sake and dry sake. Now this point is +3. Most sake varies in nihonshu-do between sweetest −30 to most dry +15

• seimai-buai (����), the rice polishing ratio, meaning the leftover weight after polishing. Generally, the lower the number, the better the sake's potential. Tei-seihaku-shu (see above) does not fit this traditional formula.

Serving sakeSake set

Sake can be served in a wide variety of cups; here is sakazuki (flat saucer-like cup), ochoko (small cylindrical cup), and masu (wooden box-like cup).

In Japan sake is served cold, warm or hot, depending on the preference of the drinker, the quality of the sake and the season. Sake is one of the few alcoholic beverages that is regularly consumed hot. Typically, hot sake is consumed in winter and cold sake is consumed in summer. As heating serves to mask the undesirable flavors of lower-quality sake, it is said that the practice became popular during World War II to mask the rough flavor of low-quality sake resulting from scarcity of quality ingredients.

The most common way to serve sake in the United States is to heat it to body temperature (37°C/98.6°F), but professional sake tasters prefer room temperature (20°C/68°F), and chilled sake (10°C/50°F) is growing in popularity.

Sake is served in shallow cups, called choko. Usually sake is poured into the choko from ceramic flasks called tokkuri. Other, more ceremonial cups, used most commonly at weddings and other special occasions, are called sakazuki. Drinking from someone else's sake cup is considered a sign of friendship, or to honour someone of lower status. The influx of premium sakes has inspired Riedel, the Austrian wine glass company, to create a footed glass specifically for premium sakes such as ginjō and daiginjō.

One item used by some traditional sake drinkers is a masu, a box traditionally made of Japanese cypress. In some of the more traditional Japanese restaurants, as a show of generosity, the server may put a glass inside the masu (or put the masu inside a saucer) and pour until a large amount of sake overflows and fills this secondary container.

Aside from being served straight, sake can be used as a mixer for cocktails, such as the Japanese tamagozake, saketinis, or the sake bomb.

StorageIn general, it is best to keep sake refrigerated in a cool or dark room as prolonged exposure to heat or direct light will lead to spoilage. Sake stored at room temperature is best consumed within a few months after purchase.

After opening the bottle of sake, it is best consumed within 2 or 3 hours. It is possible to store in the refrigerator, but it is recommended to finish the sake within 2 days. This is because once premium sake is opened, it begins to oxidize which affects the taste. If the sake is kept in the refrigerator for more than 3 days, it will lose it's "best" flavor. However, this does not mean it should be disposed of if not consumed. Generally, sake can keep very well and still taste just fine after weeks in the fridge. How long a sake will remain drinkable depends on the actual product itself, and whether it is sealed with a wine vacuum top.

Ritual uses

A cask of sake before the kagami biraki

Sake is often consumed as part of Shinto purification rituals (compare with the use of grape wine in the Christian Eucharist). During World War II, Kamikaze pilots drank sake prior to carrying out their missions. Today barrels of sake are broken open (Kagami biraki) during Shinto festivals and ceremonies or following sports victories: this sake (called iwai-zake, literally "celebration sake") is served freely to all to spread good fortune. Sake is also served during the light meal eaten during some tea ceremonies.

In the New Year Japanese people drink a special sake called toso. Toso is a sort of iwai-zake. It is made by soaking tososan, a Chinese powder medicine, overnight in sake. Even children sip a portion. In some regions the first sipping of toso is taken in order of age from younger to older. History dates back to the ninth century. This sake was introduced under emperor Saga.

Kagami biraki is the ritual breaking open of a new sake barrel with a wooden mallet, performed at weddings, business openings, New Years, and other special events.

Beer in Ancient times

Exactly when beer was first brewed cannot be determined. Two slate tablets are displayed in the British Museum in London, which were, in the year 1926, scientifically estimated to be about 9000 years old. The scientist, a Mr. E. Huber, was of the opinion that the inscriptions on these tablets showed the coarse milling of emmer (A prehistoric grain type, similar to spelt, used for the brewing of beer). He concluded that this was possibly the oldest evidence of the brewing of beer. More recent research has indicated that the tablets are probably not so old as Mr. Huber thought and that even the connection with the brewing process may be doubtful.

The oldest proven records of brewing are about 6000 years old and refer to the

Sumarians

Sumaria lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, encompassing Southern Mesopotamia. The Sumarians discovered the fermentation process by chance. Of course, nobody knows today, exactly how this occurred, but it could be that a piece of bread became wet and was simply forgotten. After a short time the bread began to ferment and a inebriating pulp resulted. The Sumarians were able to repeat this process and are assumed to be he first civilized culture to brew beer. They had discovered a "divine drink" which they offered to their gods.

Gilgamesh

From the Gilgamesh Epic, written in the 3rd millennium B.C., we learn that not only bread but also beer were very important. This epic is recognized as one of the first great works of world literature. Ancient oral sagas from the beginning of human history were recorded in writing for the first time. The Gilgamesh Epic describes the evolution from primitive man to "cultured man".

Enkidu, a shaggy, unkempt, almost beastial primitive man, who ate grass and could milk wild animals, wanted to test his strength against Gilgamesh, the demigod-like sovereign. Taking no chances, Gilgamesh sent a whore to Enkidu to learn of his strengths and weaknesses. Enkidu enjoyed a week with her, during which she taught him of civilization:

"(..)Enkidu knew not, what bread was nor how one ate it. He had also not learned to drink beer. The whore opened her mouth and spoke to Enkidu: `Eat the bread now, O Enkidu, as it belongs to life. Drink also beer, as it is the custom of the land. (..) " Enkidu drank seven cups of beer and his heart soared. In this condition he washed himself and became a human being.

The Sumarian empire collapsed during the 2nd millennium B.C., hopefully not because of their beer consumption, and the

Babylonians

Babylonians became the rulers of Mesopotamia. Their culture was derived from that of the Sumarians, and as a consequence of this, they also mastered the art of brewing beer. Today we know that the Babylonians new how to brew 20 different types of beer. Of these, 8 were brewed from pure emmer, 8 from pure barley and 4 from a mixture of grains. In Babylonian times beer was cloudy and unfiltered. The predecessor of the drinking straw was used to avoid getting the brewing residue, which was very bitter, in the mouth. Lager beer was even exported to Egypt, 1000 kilometers away.

Hammurabi, an important Babylonian king and empire founder, decreed the oldest known collection of laws. One of these laws established a daily beer ration. This ration was dependent on the social standing of the individual. For example, a normal worker received 2 liters, civil servants 3 liters, and administrators and high priests 5 liters per day. In these ancient times beer was not sold, but exchanged for barley. As beer brewing was a household art, it was women's work. King Hammurabi ordered a female saloonkeeper drowned because she accepted silver for her beer. Drowning was also the punishment for serving low quality beer. The

Egyptians

carried on the tradition of beer brewing. They also used unbaked bread dough for making beer. Peasants along the Nile, the so-called Fellahs, still make beer the same way today. The Egyptians added dates to the brew to improve the taste. The importance of beer brewing in ancient Egypt, can be seen from the fact that the scribes created an extra hieroglyph for "brewer".

After Egypt was succeeded by the Greeks and

Romans

beer continued to be brewed. Plinius reported of the popularity of beer in the Mediterranean area before the growing of grapes for wine took hold. Thereafter, in Rome itself, wine became the drink of the gods (Bacchus). Beer was only brewed in the outer areas of the Roman Empire where wine was difficult to obtain. For the Romans, who almost exclusively drank wine, beer was a horrible barbarian drink. As Tacitus, who first wrote an extensive report about the ancient Germans, the

Teutons

put it: "To drink, the Teutons have a horrible brew fermented from barley or wheat, a brew which has only a very far removed similarity to wine".

Beer of that era could not be stored, was cloudy and produced almost no foam.

The oldest proof that beer was brewed on German soil, comes from the early Hallstatt Period (about 800 B.C.). Bier amphora found near the present day Kulmbach have been dated back to this time. A few hundred years after the birth of Christ, beer was a standard commercial article. This was confirmed by the finding of a beer seller's mug near Trier. The ancient Germans regarded beer not only as a sacrifice to the gods but also brewed beer, as in Egypt, for their own enjoyment and it played an important role in their daily lives. For example, in the Finnish poetic saga Kalewala, 400 verses are devoted to beer but only 200 were needed for the creation of the earth. According to the Edda, the great Nordic epic, wine was reserved for the gods, beer belonged to mortals and mead to inhabitants of the realm of the dead. Baking bread and brewing beer were the work of women in the first centuries after the birth of Christ and remained so until the Middle Ages.

Beer in Ancient times

The baking of bread and the brewing of beer was the province of women in the first centuries after the birth of Christ. This began to change shortly before the end of the first millennium, when the

Monastery Breweries

turned their attention to beer brewing. The reason the monks were so intensively concerned with making beer was because they wanted a pleasant tasting, nutritious drink to serve with their meals, which were frugal at best, especially during the fasting periods. As the consumption of liquids was not considered to break the fast, beer was always permitted. The consumption of beer in the monasteries reached astounding levels: Historians report that each monk was allowed to imbibe 5 liters of beer per day.

We can see in many paintings that the monks enjoyed their beer, nonetheless, after a short time they began to brew more than for their own consumption. Upon payment of a fee, the monks received the right to sell beer and with this many monasteries developed into well managed commercial enterprises. The beer was purveyed in monastery pubs. Because the monasteries actively promoted beer brewing, their beer was of high quality and popular. The people in the burgeoning towns also wanted their beer with the result that the art of brewing developed and became a respected trade. The local sovereigns

introduced beer taxes which rapidly began to fill their coffers. As the monastery pubs did not have to pay these taxes because of their older, privileged brewery status, they adversely affected this new source of income and many were quickly closed by the dukes and princes. Emperor Sigismund (1368-1437) was the first emperor to issue such a decree. Even though many monastery breweries were closed by the sovereigns, we owe much to the monks for being the first to scientifically develop the brewers' art. For example, hops are said to have first been used to flavor beer in Brabant monasteries in what is now Belgium. This explains the legend falsely attributing the creation of beer to the Brabant king

Gambrinus

"In life be I called Gambrinus, King of Flanders and Brabant. I have made malt from barley and first conceived of the brewing of beer. Hence, the brewers can say they have a king as master brewer." King Gambinus is still revered today as the patron saint of beer. The use of hops in the making of beer started a "bitter" argument about the so-called

Flavorings License

("Grutrecht" in old German). Grut was a mixture of all sorts of herbs used to flavor beer. The flavoring license was similar to a patent, allowing a brewery to produce its own flavoring mixture and became the legal basis for every brewery and ensured a monopoly position for the respective brewmaster. With the advent of hops as a flavoring, Grut was no longer necessary and therefore the monopoly position of the breweries endangered. For this reason, the use of hops was often simply and forcibly forbidden. Among other things, juniper berries, sweet gale , blackthorn, oak bark, wormwood, caraway seed, aniseed, bay leaves, yarrow, thorn apple, gentian, rosemary, tansy, Saint-John's-wort, spruce chips, pine roots - and above all henbane found their way into these Grut mixtures. Some of these herbs were downright poisonous, others induced hallucinations. As we know today, the hallucinogen Alkaloid, for example, is produced from henbane during the brewing process. This could well be the reason that superstition played an important role around the brewing kettle. The main victims of this superstition were the

Beer Witches

Because things often went wrong with the beer brewing which nobody could explain with the body of beer brewing knowledge available in early times, the guilty parties were often sought in the mystical realm. Many wondrous herbs and cult objects still surrounded brewing kettles into the late middle ages. Superstition went so far that brewing failures were blamed on "brew witches" or "beer witches". The last known burning of a "brew witch" took place in 1591. This practice can be referred to as the "darkest" chapter of beer brewing history. The end of this superstitious era came when the use of hops caught on. Even though often forbidden at first, this practice prevailed in the long run. For one thing, the beer became less perishable and the brewing process more stabile. Things didn't go wrong as often and fewer witches had to be hunted. With the use of hops the beer revealed its "clear character". Beer began to closely resemble the modern product range, both in taste and appearance. In order to guarantee a high level of reliability, quality and consistency, the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm IV, proclaimed the

German Beer Purity Law

in 1516. This decree established for the first time that only barley (later malted barley), hops and pure water could be used to brew beer. The use of yeast was not yet known at that time. The success of the fermentation process was left to chance, as the brewers unknowingly relied on yeast particles in the air. Today this Beer Purity Law is the oldest still valid food law in the world. In the eyes of the European Union, however, this law was inhibitive to competition. Now, as a result of the EU ruling, beer may be imported into Germany which was not brewed in accordance with the Beer Purity Law, as

long as this fact is clearly stated. The German brewers still abide by their centuries-old tradition. Of course the Beer Purity Law had its predecessors. A regulation promulgated in 1493 by the Duke of Bayers-Landshut, for example, stated that:

"Herewith shall beer brewers and others not use anything other than malt, hops and water. These same brewers also shall not add anything when serving or otherwise handling beer, upon penalty to body and chattels."

Together with the quality improvement, the distribution and export of beer also increased. The worldwide export was carried out by the

Hansa

As time passed, export took on an ever increasing role. Regular brewing centers developed. In the 14th century Bremen was the primary beer supplier for the Netherlands, England and the Nordic countries. Due to international beer export by the Hansa, Hamburg also developed into one of these brewing centers. In 1500 there were 600 breweries in Hamburg alone. The Hansa even exported beer to far away India. In the small middle German and Maerkish (Brandenburg) communities of this period, breweries were the most important financial contributors to the local economy. Other German beer centers were Brunswick and Einbeck. Bock beer was first created in Einbeck and became such a favorite of a Bavarian duke, that he soon hired away the Einbeck master brewer. There is, of course, also a long-standing brewing tradition in Berlin, residence of the Soldier King,

Friedrich Willhelm I.

Under his rule beer became socially acceptable and presentable at court. His legendary "Tobacco Council" was, in principle, nothing more than the first collection of drinking buddies. His son, later known as Friedrich the Great, learned the brewing trade as a young man. Industrial developments did not simply pass over the beer brewers but started to take their effect at the beginning of the 19th century. Two extremely important inventions revolutionized beer brewing. The first was James Watt's steam engine and the second invention was artificial cooling by Carl von Linde. At that time it had already been scientifically proven that the making of good beer required certain temperatures. Some of these temperatures occurred naturally only in winter. From the time of von Linde's invention on, brewing could take place in summer too.

Beer in Modern times

Steam engine 1765

With the introduction of James Watt´s steam engine, industrialization and rationalization began to invade brewing. The first breweries to use steam power called themselves Steam Beer Breweries. Today, one brewery in German still uses the name steam beer.

Beer transportation 1835

The first German railway line was opened between Nürnberg and Fürth. The first goods transported were (otherwise we wouldn't have mentioned it here) two barrels of beer.

Industrial developments did not simply pass over the beer brewers but started to take their effect at the beginning of the 19th century. Two extremely important inventions revolutionized beer brewing. The first, as previously

mentioned, was James Watt's steam engine which dramatically increased the efficiency of the breweries. The second, even more important to the brewing industry, invention was by

Carl Linde

In von Linde's time , it had already been scientifically proven that the making of good beer required certain temperatures. The brewing of bottom fermented beer (lager beer), for example, demands temperatures of 4 to 10 degrees Centigrade. Such temperatures occur only in winter, or in deep cellars with the use of large quantities of block ice. Through the invention of refrigeration by Carl von Linde, beer brewing became seasonally independent. Fittingly, the first refrigeration equipment was tested in a Munich brewery.

Louis Pasteur

Considerable scientific research took place in breweries in the 19th century. A famous work from 1876 by Louis Pasteur was "Etudes sur la Biere" (studies concerning beer). Louis Pasteur gained his knowledge of microorganisms from these studies. This basic knowledge is still indispensable today, not only in the

production of beverages, but also in medicine and biology. (Everyone knows the word "pasteurized" from the milk cartons in the supermarket.) We owe our knowledge, that the beer witches were the victims of unsanitary work procedures and sloppy brewers, to Louis Pasteur. Another pioneering discovery in beer brewing was the work of

Christian Hansen.

The Danish scientist, Christian Hansen, successfully isolated a single yeast cell and induced it to reproduce on an artificial culture medium. With the ensuing yeast propagation methods, the purity of the fermenting process has been improved and beer taste perfected.

Salvator Battle 1888

Beer and its price have always been of extreme importance to German consumers. The consequences a beer price increase can bring with it were shown in 1888 in Munich when the Salvator battle took place, as citizens violently rebelled against such a price increase.

Kegs

Wooden barrels have been almost completely replaced by metal barrels for most pub trade. In 1964 metal kegs were introduced in Germany. Firstly, cleaning and filling was much simpler. Secondly, tapping and closing off was

much easier for the bar personnel. This was a big hit with pub and restaurant owners. Kegs are cylindrical, made of stainless steel or aluminum and contain an extractor tube. Some compressed carbon dioxide remains in the keg after closing off to prevent the beer residue from drying out.

Although our "Beer History" has come to an end here, thousands of German brewers and millions of fans of German beer around the world write new chapters every day.

Coming from the best vineyards and transported on ships to Northern European countries, the Poitou, La Rochelle, and d'Angoumois have been greatly appreciated by the English, the Dutch, and the Scandinavians since the 13th Century. Starting in the 17th Century, they were transformed in eau-de-vie (literally, "water of life") and improved by ageing in oak casks. Cognac is born. And this is how the adventure of a city that was to become the capital of a world class business began. 3rd Century

Expansion of the Saintonge vineyards: The roman emperor Probus extends to all Gauls the privilege of owning vineyards and growing wine. 12th Century

Guillaume X, Duke of Guyenne and Count of Poitiers creates a large vineyard known as the "Vignoble de Poitou". 13th Century

Dutch ships bringing salt from the area to Northern European countries also carry wines from the “Vignoble de Poitou”. This early wine trade helps develop a business mentality in the Charente region. The success of the local wines leads to the expansion of the vineyard of Poitou into the Saintonge and Angoumois. The city of Cognac becomes renowned for its wine trade adding to a reputation for storing salt since 11th Century. 16th Century

Dutch ships come to Cognac and Charentais ports in search of the famous wines of the “Champagne” and the “Borderies” areas. The wines from the vineyards in Aunis suffer from excessive production and dropping quality. Because of their weakness, they can’t survive long sea voyages. The Dutch start using them in their newly established distilleries where they are transformed into “brandwijn” – burnt wine – hence the name “Brandy”. It is drunk with water in an attempt to recreate the original wine. 17th Century

At the beginning of the century, double distillation makes its appearance in the region. It will allow the transformation of local wines into eau-de-vie and their transportation by sea without damage. Given its concentration, eau-de-vie is also much cheaper to ship than wine. The first distillation stills in the Charente were built by the Dutch. They are progressively modified until French distillers refine the method of double distillation also known as Charentaise distillation. Delays in the handling of ship cargo leads to the realization that eau-de-vie improves when it spends extended time in oak casks (made with wood from the Limousin) and that it can even be consumed straight from the cask. 18th Century

From the end of the 17th century, and most especially from the beginning of the 18th century, the market becomes organized. In order to meet demand, “Local Offices” -most of them of an Anglo-Saxon origin- are created in the main towns of the region. Some of them still exist nowadays. They collect eaux-de-vie and establish long-term commercial relationships with buyers in Holland, England, Northern Europe, and later in America and the Far East. 19th Century

Starting in the middle of the 19th century, many trading houses begin to ship eau-de-vie in bottles instead of casks. In turn, this new form of commerce gives birth to related industries such asglassmaking – since 1885 Claude Boucher works with full dedication in the St. Martin de Cognac glass factory, with the aim of automating bottle-making procedures –, case-making, corks and printing. The Vignoble now occupies nearly 280 000 hectares. Around 1875, phylloxera arrives in the Charente and destroys most of the vineyards, leaving only 40 000 hectares by 1893. This tragedy will lead to the creation of a Viticulture Committee which is established in 1888. It will become today’s Station Viticole – Cognac’s technical center – in 1892. The economic recovery of the region will take many years of patient effort. 20th Century

The vineyards are slowly replanted using American rootstock immune to phylloxera. Somewhat fragile due to grafting, traditional grape varieties (Colombard, Folle Blanche…) are little by little replaced by the Ugni Blanc, which is more resistant and is now used for more than 90 per cent of the production of Cognac. On May 1st, 1909, the geographical area for production is delimited by the government. From 1936, Cognac is recognized as a Controlled Appellation of Origin. During the Second World War, a wine and eaux-de-vie distribution bureau is created to protect the stocks of Cognac. When the war ends, it is replaced by the Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac and in 1948 the Station Viticole is placed under its authority. Henceforth, all the stages involved in Cognac

elaboration are subject to regulations destined to protect the product, and thus its reputation is increasingly known and respected. 21st Century

Cognac is exported to over 150 countries. Regardless of the way it is consumed, it is, from the Far East to the American continent and in Europe, a synonym of great quality, a symbol of France, and her lifestyle. Like all luxury products, the success of Cognac is dependent on the international environment. That is why all the producers make every effort to protect Cognac’s unrivalled quality, its uniqueness and its authenticity in the face of global competition.

Gin History, Development & Origin

The first confirmed date for the production of gin is the early 17th century in Holland, although claims have been made that it was produced prior to this in Italy. In Holland it was produced as a medicine and sold in chemist shops to treat stomach complaints, gout and gallstones. To make it more palatable, the Dutch started to flavour it with juniper, which had medicinal properties of its own.

From Dutch courage to William of Orange British troops fighting in the Low Countries during the Thirty Years' War were given 'Dutch Courage' during the long campaigns in the damp weather through the warming properties of gin. Eventually they started bringing it back home with them, where already it was often sold in chemists' shops. Distillation was taking place in a small way in England, but it now began on a greater scale, though the quality was often very dubious. Nevertheless, the new drink became a firm favourite with the poor.

The formation by King Charles I of the Worshipful Company of Distillers, where members had the sole right to distil spirits in London and Westminster and up to twenty-one miles beyond improved both the quality of gin and its image; it also helped English agriculture by using surplus corn and barley. When King William III - better known as William of Orange - came to the English throne in 1689, he made a series of statutes actively encouraging the distillation of English spirits. Anyone could now distil by simply posting a notice in public and just waiting ten days. Sometimes gin was distributed to workers as part of their wages and soon the volume sold daily exceeded that of beer and ale, which was more expensive anyway.

Licensed to sell Little nips of whisky, little drops of gin, Make a lady wonder where on earth she's bin - Anon

In 1729, an excise licence of £20 was introduced and two shillings per gallon duty was levied. In addition to which, retailers now required a licence. This almost suppressed good gin, but the quantity consumed of bad spirits continued to rise. In 1730 London had over 7,000 shops that sold only spirits. Daniel Defoe wrote of "the prodigious number of shopkeepers whose business is wholly and solely the selling of spirits". In certain areas, spirits were sold on average from one private house in four.

The abuse of alcohol by the poor became a major problem. Smollett, the 18th century Scottish novelist wrote: "In these dismal caverns ('strong water shops') they (the poor) lay until they recovered some of their faculties and then they had recourse to this same mischievous potion". Lord Hervey declared: "Drunkenness of the common people was universal, the whole town of London swarmed with drunken people from morning till night." William Hogarth in his 'Gin Lane', an engraving of about this period, portrays a scene of idleness, vice and misery, leading to madness and death.

The Gin Riots The problem was tackled by introducing The Gin Act at midnight on 29 September 1736, which made gin prohibitively expensive. A licence to retail gin cost £50 and duty was raised fivefold to £1 per gallon with the smallest quantity you could buy retail being two gallons. The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole, and Dr. Samuel Johnson were among those who opposed the Act since they considered it could not be enforced against the will of the common people. They were right. Riots broke out and the law was widely and openly broken. About this time, 11 million gallons of gin were distilled in London, which was over 20 times the 1690 figure and has been estimated to be the equivalent of 14 gallons for each adult male. But within six years of the Gin Act being introduced, only two distillers took out licences, yet, over the same period of time, production rose by almost fifty per cent.

Respectability, high quality and patronage The Gin Act, finally recognised as unenforceable, was repealed in 1742 and a new policy, which distillers helped to draft was introduced: reasonably high prices, reasonable excise duties and licensed retailers under the supervision of magistrates. In essence this is the situation which exists today. These changes led to more respectable firms embarking on the business of distilling and retailing gin and it became the drink of high quality, which it has since remained. Many companies established themselves as well-to-do manufacturers, often becoming patrons

for major enterprises; one such was the sponsorship of the attempt to discover the North West Passage 1829-33: the attempt failed, but the expedition did establish the true position of the North Magnetic Pole. Gin had been known as 'Mother's Milk' from the 1820s but later in the century it became known as 'Mother's Ruin', a description perhaps originating from the earlier 'Blue Ruin' of the prohibition era in the previous century.

From gin palaces to high society

By this time the battle for trade was hotting up between the beer shops and the gin shops. Following the 1820 'Beerhouse Act', beer was sold free of licensing control and 45,000 beer shops - aimed to be the cosy homes from home - had appeared by 1838. Spirit retailers still required licences and, to compete with the beer shops, they devised the 'gin palaces' which first appeared about 1830. These were designed to be an escape from home. As home for the poor - who continued to be gin's main supporters - was often a sordid slum, the gin palace was large, imposing and handsome and even luxuriously furnished. By the 1850s there were about 5,000 such places in London and Charles Dickens describes them in his 'Sketches by Boz' in the mid-1830s as "perfectly dazzling when contrasted with the darkness and dirt we have just left." In the mid-1830s the temperance movement started. Whilst it failed to make a big impact, it did encourage much debate on drink which was still a problem. Thomas Carlyle wrote of gin as "liquid madness sold at tenpence the quartem". By 1869 this led to an Act licensing the sale of beer and wine (spirits were still licensed). Two years later a further Act was introduced which would have halved the number of public houses in the country, but public opinion was outraged. One bishop stating in the House of Lords that he would "prefer to see all England free better than England sober" and the act was withdrawn. As reforms took effect, so the gin production process became more refined. So gin evolved to become a delicate balance of subtle flavours, and began its ascent into high society.

Tequila's Pre-Columbian Origins

The valleys that lie beside the volcano at the heart of the Tequila region were the home of the a complex society that reached its peak between 200 BCE and 350 CE. Archeologists estimate more than 50,000 people may have lived within 15 miles of the Tequila volcano. Known today as the Teuchitlán tradition (named for the nearby town), this society was the cultural center of West Mexico, with unique, complex architecture and a trade network that stretched from Guatemala to Arizona.

The Teuchitlan culture was already in decline and being replaced by the El Grillo phase when the area was subject to migrations of outsiders (possibly originating in nearby Guanajuato) began to enter the area in the Epiclassic (550-900 CE). These newcomers were seem to have adopted the Nahua* language, which was probably present in the Basin of Mexico. Many Pre-Columbian people in Mesoamerica cultivated the agave. Domestic agaves included (popular names in parentheses): Agave zapota (sapodilla), Agave atrovirens (maguey), Agave fourcroydes (henequen), Agave latissima (maguey). Agave mapisaga (maguey). Agave sisalana (sisal) and Agave tequilana (tequil maguey).

Agave nectar was known and widely used among the Pre-Columbian cultures. Along with honey, it was used a flavouring for several dishes, and as a sweetener when drinking chocolate. Both were highly valued and traded extensively throughout Mesoamerica. These products augmented other Mesoamerican foodstuffs: maize and posolli gruels and their atolli and pinolli drinks. There is evidence that sweetmeat dessert-like substances made with toasted squash seeds or popped amaranth seeds and boiled agave syrup or honey were made and given as gifts and used as ritual offerings. Mildly alcoholic (fermented) drinks called aguamil, pulque and balche were made using agave syrup and/or honey.

Salud! To Mayahuel, the Aztec goddess who bore 400 gods, provided sustenance to Mexico’s people and from her bosom oozed the first alcoholic drink of the Americas. Known as pulque, this 2000 year-old, white, foamy, viscous beverage of four to eight percent alcohol, is the mother of mezcal and the abuelita of tequila, Mexico’s national drink.

Agave nectar (aguamiel) is harvested primarily in Southern Mexico from the agave varietal maguey shawii and from other members of the agave family, most related to the Blue Agave and other maguey species from which mezcal and sotal are made. However, there is a big difference in the harvesting process to obtain agave nectar as opposed to the production of tequila.

Agave nectar is usually sustainably harvested from the plant through a process which extends it’s life for about three years. Just before the agave grows its quiote, the top section of the piña is cut and scooped out into a hollow. The agave juice collects in this hollow is harvested daily. The nectar is then allowed to go through a natural enzymatic process, similar to honey, which results in a sweeter and thicker agave juice, somewhat sweeter than honey but with a thinner consistency. It has an additional advantage: it does not crystalize like honey or maple syrup.

Agave syrup is also quite low on the glycemic index, lower than honey, and the fructose releases its sugars slowly, so they do not raise the blood sugar. Agave nectar does not induce the pancreas to produce or release insulin. This makes agave nectar a great natural sweetener for anyone concerned about their sugar intake. Agave syrup was also taken to make a low-alcohol, fermented drink called pulque. This appears to have been done for millennia, and was a widespread practice. Maya codices depict feasting and drinking what was probably a form of pulque. Aztec codices also show scenes with pots brimming over, signifying the fermentation process. These are often shown with depictions of rabbits, symbolizing fertility and plenty. Pulque appears in pre-Hispanic "history" about 1000 A.D. A joyous mural called the "Pulque Drinkers" was unearthed in 1968 during excavations at the Great Pyramid in Cholula, Puebla, 70 miles east of Mexico City. From many graphic indications, it is obvious that pulque was not a new thing when the mural was painted; the drink is at least 2,000 years old. It is the sap, called aguamiel or honey water, that becomes pulque through a natural fermentation process which can occur within the plant, but usually takes place at a "Tinacal" (place of production).

The beverage became such an important element socially, economically and, as a consequence, religiously, that myths, legends and cults proliferated around it and its source, the maguey, many of which continue today. In the great Indian civilizations of the central highlands, pulque was served as a ritual intoxicant for priests-to increase their enthusiasm, for sacrificial victims-to ease their passing, and as a medicinal drink. pulque was also served as a liquor reserved to celebrate the feats of the brave and the wise, and was even considered to be an acceptable substitute for blood in some propitiatory ceremonies. Today the giant pulque maguey (the most common being the San Francisco Tlaculapan) are first processed after 12 years of growth. Often an outstanding plant will have an initiation attended by the local governor in honor of a potentially long production cycle. A good plant can produce for up to 1 year. The center of the maguey is regularly scraped out activating the plants production of aguamiel. A local custom for a man without sons is to process 6 plants, make and drink a special pulque, and then make sons. The drink is often considered a mythic aphrodisiac. The name Tlyaol is given to a good strain that makes one particularly virile. Pulque is frequently the potion of choice used by women during menstruation and lactation.

Another use for agave seldom recognized is as a musical instrument. According to the Virtual Analysis of Mayan Trumpets, the Mayans and other indigenous people

used the hollowed quiote of large agave to create an instrument that appears similar to a didgeridoo. And the Shakuhachi Society of B.C. is doing just that: making didgeridoos from agave quiotes (from American agave). So there is a reason to let them grow naturally, although the market for such instruments is small.

*"Nahuatl" is generally used for the set of dialects that descended from Proto-Nahua, a.k.a. Proto-Aztecan "Nahua" refers to speakers of Nahuatl, both as a noun and an adjective. "Aztec" is a more recent word of uncertain origin, that refers to the Late Post-classic (1000-1500 CE) Colhua Mexica, their empire, and/or their entire cultural setting.

Tequila's History

Part 1 of 3: 16th & 17th Centuries

Distillation of agave syrup was likely inspired by the native drink pulque - tequila's distant and once-removed cousin. Early in the 16th century, someone among the invading Spanish recognized the potential for the agave: if it could produce a low-alcohol drink, it could also be used to make something stronger. Fortunately for the Spaniards, then, that they arrived in what is now Mexico. Had they landed in what is now the USA, they would not have found even pulque. According to Henry Bruman (see sources), no native alcoholic beverage was made further north than today's Southwest states of Nevada and Arizona. Distillation in Europe goes back to the 13th century. It may have been started in Mexico by the Conquistadors or their troops as early as the 1520s, although 1535 has also been proposed. There is academic disagreement over how and when it started, but the general belief is that it began within two decades of the arrival of the Conquistadors. Some references suggest it was started by sailors who arrived with the Conquistadors. Records show the Spaniards were already brewing beer by 1544, and pulque was also being made.

Some researchers also believe there is evidence of Prehispanic distillation, but this remains unproven and based solely on interpretation of archeological remains that may be early Filipino stills. While that interpretation has been disputed, however similar finds have recently been made in China that are much older. Some believe distillation was initially introduced by Filipinos arriving via the Manila galleons which docked in Colima and Jalisco. The seamen used their stills initially to make coconut brandy (they may have also brought the coconut palm with them - it was introduced into Western Mexico through the ports of Colima and Acapulco, from Panama around 1539, from the Solomon Islands around 1569 and from the Philippines from 1571 onwards). The Filipino technology used local materials and was easily fashioned for small-scale distillation, which helped spread the process among the natives, outwards from the coast, into areas where there were no palms, so the agave was used instead. Others believe it was the Spanish themselves who brought distillation to the New World. There is some evidence the Conquistadors tried to make spirits by distilling the fermented pulque directly in these native stills, in Colima and possibly also in Chiapas. However, archeological evidence tends to lean towards the Filipino introduction.

The commercial or larger-scale technology changed when the Spanish imported Arab alembic stills made of copper in the late 16th century, originally brought in to distill sugar cane for rum production. However, the Filipino methods, using easily-obtained native resources and native plants, spread rapidly. It is still is use in many parts of

Mexico and can be seen in many small mezcal or moonshine producers. Similar technology remains in use worldwide. Alcohol was not merely a luxury: it was a necessity. The Spanish were accustomed to drinking alcoholic beverages with meals - in Europe, water could be a dangerous drink, unpurified and teeming with bacteria and parasites. Most people drank weak wine and beer with meals. Alcohol helped kill the bacteria.

In his first letter home, the Conquistador Cristobal de Oñate wrote to King Carlos about sugar obtained from agave... "From these plants they make wine and sugar, which they also sell." The agave followed the Conquistadores as they pushed the boundaries of their empire further and further. Cristóbal de Oñate and his Spaniards fought many bloody battles against Osaña's brave Teochinchenses, but in 1530, the natives surrendered and laid down their weapons (consisting of bows and arrows tipped with obsidian, spears and shields). They transferred control of the hill "Chiquihuitillo" where the town of Tequila now sits. On April 15, 1530, the colonial township of Santiago of Tequila was established by Cristóbal de Oñate and a group of Franciscans. Juan de Escarcena was appointed to take charge and govern the new villa. In 1531, the Spaniards around the new colony constructed a rudimentary mud still known as an alquitarra, in which they distilled the agave nectar to produce some of the first mezcal. These small stills were placed in the local ravines where there was an abundance of water aiding in the distillation process. The City of Guadalajara was founded on February 14, 1542, after the colonies of Nochistlán Tonalá, Tlacotán by Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán and Cristóbal de Oñate become insolvent. The town of Guadalajara had been founded, then moved after native attacks, three times before finding its final home at its present site. Around this time, the first commercial fair of the Americas was held: The Fair of Candlemas of San Juan of The Lakes. The commercial carriers became distributors of the region's mezcal drink.

In The Agaves of Continental North America, Howard Scott Gentry writes: The diffusion of agave cultivation from its original nucleus in the Mesoamerican highlands occurred rapidly after the conquest. When the Spaniards began colonization of more northern regions, like Durango and Saltillo, they took Nahuatl people with them as interpreters, laborers, and farmers. The farmers took maguey with them and established the pulque culture which still persists as the northern fringe of the pulque complex. Other agaves, for ornamental and fiber uses, were apparently first carried overseas by both Spaniards and Portuguese: Agave americana to the Azores and Canary Islands; A. angustifolia, A. cantala, and others to Asia and Africa. By the eighteenth century A. americana, A. lurida, and others were established along the Mediterranean coasts. The spread of the genus to the Old World reached its height in the nineteenth century, when agaves became popular throughout Europe as ornamental succulents in both private and public gardens. In northern Europe their culture was generally limited, because of the cold winters, to pot and greenhouse culture. Agave fiber industries were developed in the nineteenth century by colonial interests in Indonesia and the Philippines, and in East Africa in the twentieth century with A. sisalana. Methods of culture, fiber harvest, and selection of varying forms have been developed in different regions, according to the regional environments and available working resources. Additional observations are given in the section dealing with fiber, pp. 16-20, and under individual species in the taxonomy part of this work.

In the "Relacion de Zapotitlan," from 1579, there may also be an early reference that mezcal wine was already being produced:

"There is in this province a tree named mexcatl which the Spaniards named maguey. They produced with it wine, vinegar, syrup, rope, fabric, timber, needles, nails, and a very proven balsam for injuries."

In 1536, in his work, The History of the Indians of the New Spain, the Franciscan friar, Toribio de Benavente (Motolinia), wrote about the drink 'mexcalli.' Initially, the Conquest generated a surge in business for Spanish wine makers, shipping considerable amounts to the New World. But Spanish explorer and conqueror, Hernando Cortez, changed that. As governor of New Spain (1521-1527), Cortez ordered grape vines from Spain and had them planted (1,000 vines per 100 families) on the colony's farms. He also allowed wines to be made from wild grapes before the new vines could bear fruit.

New Galicia, where today's Jalisco would be born, was the western frontier of the Spanish Empire in the New World, a barren, wild place crisscrossed with jagged mountains, canyons and crags. In 1604, Bernardo de Balbuena called the area of New Galicia, "the frontier human exchange and trade" and said it was "useless and barren of all human life, at the mercy of the natural elements and the domain of the grasses and frightening solitude." By the end of the 16th century, the wine trade with Spain trade had declined; Mexico was self-sufficient in wines and didn't need to buy any from Spain. Eager to maintain the market for Spanish products in the New World, and reap the taxes on wine exports, in 1595 Phillip II banned the planting of new vineyards in Mexico and other Spanish colonies, but was evidently not concerned about agaves. The church was exempt from the ban, so wine production shifted from secular to religious producers.

Don Pedro Sanches de Tagle, Marquis of Altamira and Caballero de la Orden of Calatrava, is known today as the 'father of tequila.' He established the very first tequila factory in his Hacienda Cuisillos, in 1600, cultivating the local agave for

distillation. He arrived in Jalisco that year, and local tax records show the production of mezcal wines began very soon after his arrival. Obviously the Marquis' commercial efforts were a success because in 1608, the governor of New Galicia, Juan de Villela, imposed the first taxes on mezcal wine. As it says on Tequilas Don Rafael, the exact location of the first distillery is still in dispute:

Where was mezcal wine or tequila first distilled? Some say it was in Amatitán, some that it was in Arenal. Unfortunately there are no documented sources for either version. What is known for a fact is that a wealthy landowner from the region of Tequila, don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle, marquis of Altamira, was the first to compile the different traditional techniques to plan an industry with a better production proccess. He was also the first to plant agave exclusively to make mezcal wine. There was enough water for such an industry in Tequila, but not in Amatitán.

The factories (fabricas) were also called 'taverns' (tabernas) because the mezcal was consumed there as well as manufactured. Early records often refer to distilleries simply as tabernas. Over the next centuries, mezcal was used for everything from generating taxes to curing illness. The Filipino technology for distillation spread rapidly over the next 17th and 18th centuries, first into Tequila and Los Altos, then into Michoacan, Guerrero and Oaxaca, and finally reaching Sonora, San Luis Potosi and Tamaulipas. The Filipinos also seem to have travelled inland to many locations, often referred to in historical records as "Chinese Indians" by the Spaniards. By 1621, these "wines of mezcal" were being regularly supplied to nearby Guadalajara and the first references to an "abundant" mezcal harvest appeared in local records. In 1623, Fray Antonio de Tello wrote from Colima about the stills in use there:

The stills are hollow trunks, the thickness of a man, covered by a copper encasing full of water, which is changed as it is heated, and in the middle of the hollow part there is a round fitted board, with a pipe protruding from one side, through which the distillation occurs.

Bruman found similar stills in use in several places in Mexico in 1938. Mezcal was initially served in a vessel know as a cuernito later called a caballito, made from the hollowed and cleaned tip of bull’s horn. The point of the horn made it impossible to rest the drink, and the limited supply of horns meant patrons had to share them, so they learned to drink and pass the horn to the next person. Later this point would be cut off, permitting the horn to be set down. In 1621, Domingo Lázaro de Arrequi sent reports to Guadalajara of the first commercial drink, which he described as, "the hearts of roasted mezcal which are crushed by a stone wheel to extract the mosto for fermentation in the alquitarra, creating a liquid as clear as water but as strong as aguardiente." He wrote that mezcal was "clearer than water, stronger than moonshine." By 1630, the arrieros (vendors that traveled from pueblo to pueblo on their donkeys

selling goods) were spreading the word about the vino mezcal, and possibly selling it at their stops.

The first reliable reference to the spirit comes from this year, in the Description of New Galicia (Descripcion de la Nueva Galicia) by Domingo Lazaro de Arregui. In 1636, Don Juan Canseco y Quiñones, president of Council of Nueva Galicia, decided the increasing popularity of pulque and distilled spirits (including vingarrota and tepache) among the indigenous people was becoming a health risk. He decided to control the production of vino mezcal by authorizing the distillation and manufacturing process, which made it easier to collect taxes on production - taxes which increased significantly in the next decade as the government tried to generate funds for public works. This also made it easier to establish some basic quality control on the mezcal, as well as to collect taxes on it. In 1651, Spanish doctor Jeronimo Hernandez wrote that tequila (mezcal) was used for medicinal purposes, including rheumatic cures by rubbing tequila on the affected parts of the body. After the Conquest, the area around today's Jalisco state was originally called New Galicia by the Spanish conquerors. The community we now know as Tequila officially became a village in 1656. It was originally named after the current governor of New Galicia, La Torre Argus De Uloa y Chavez. Some sources say Tequila was named for the local Ticuilas Indians. Tax records of the time show that mezcal was already being produced in the area. The local mezcal soon established a reputation for having a superior taste. Barrels of the "Mezcal wine from Tequila" were soon being shipped to nearby Guadalajara as well as more distant cities like San Luis Potosi and Aguascalientes.

Tequila's History:

Part 2 of 3: 18th & 19th Centuries

In the 1700s, mezcal wines became an important product for export because the town of Tequila lay on the route to the newly opened Pacific port of San Blas. Mezcal wines from the region developed a reputation for quality even in urban Mexico City. The thirsty miners in the nearby Bolaños mines were also a good market for the product. The community of Arandas, in the highlands (Los Altos) of Jalisco east of Guadalajara, was founded in late 1721. In 1742, Don Matias de la Mota y Padilla wrote about the popularity of mezcal among natives, in his History of the Conquest of New Galicia. It had apparently become more popular than the native pulque. he also wrote of "monopolies" of coconut wine and mezcal production, suggesting production had come under the control of a few families.

In, 1740 Malaquisa and José Antonio de Cuervo registered to produce vino mezcal at their tavern (La Chorrera.) in La Cofradía de las Ánimas. They also sold 20,000 litres to Guadalajara. The first officially licensed manufacturer was José Antonio Cuervo ("Joe Crow" of the Cuervo Montaño family). He had been given the rights to cultivate a parcel of land from the King of Spain in 1758. He acquired this property - the hacienda (Cofradía de las Ánimas) - from Vicente de Saldivar, who was already running a small, private distillery (taberna) on the land. The distillery was later moved to the hacienda de Abajo, which had been bought by his brother, Jose Prudencio, in 1781. Cuervo's industriousness soon had the distillery producing around 800,000 liters of mezcal a year. Taxes on tequila were used to help fund the construction of the University of Guadalajara in the mid-18th century. But that was a short-lived venture: in 1785, the production of all spirits, including mezcal wines and pulque, were banned by the government of Charles III to favour and promote the importation of Spanish wines and liqueurs. Officially, production was halted but went underground until 1795, when King Ferdinand IV ascended the throne and lifted the ban. Prohibition may have led the native population to bake the agave underground - literally - a practice that continues today in mezcal production. In 1786-89, records show taxes on pulque production represented 3.5 million pesos paid to the Crown, so enforcement of the ban was likely not very stringent in all places. Authorities eventually realized taxation, rather than prohibition, was the better means of control. The University of Guadalajara was paid for in part by taxes on mezcal wines.

In 1795, although the family had been producing it for several decade, Jose Antiono's son, José Maria Guadalupe Cuervo got the first licence to produce mezcal wine from the Crown. Jose thus founded the first official Mexican distillery. His Casa Cuervo (or Taberna de Cuervo) proved very profitable. According to one story, 1800 was the first year in which tequila was successfully aged in wood, the date celebrated in the tequila of that name. At this time there were only 24 haciendas farming agaves for mezcal, 12 in Tequila, the rest around Amatitan.

A record from 1805 shows José Guadalupe was making 400,000 "cribas" (receptacles) of mezcal a year, "each requiring the burning of three loads of firewood." Cuervo's property at the time included 12 fields of agave - not just the blue agave (called chinos azul, or blue Chinese), but also the mano largo. In 1812, José died and left his holdings to a son, José Ignacio, and a daughter, María Magdalena Ignacia Cuervo. She married Vicente Albino Rojas - her dowry was the distillery. Vicente disapproved of the name 'Taberna de Cuervo," and changed its name to 'La Rojeña' after himself. Vicente operated the factory and increased production, and eventually inherited it after the death of his wife. By mid-century Cuervo's fields had more than three million agave plants. Although he died before the railroads were built into the area, Vicente exported his mezcal to fairs in Aguascalientes, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi and by the mid-19th century had more than 3 million agave plants under cultivation. He died before the railroad came to Tequila, bringing another boom to the industry. Fabrica La Rojena is now the oldest distillery in Latin America, and one of the most prosperous. Jesus Flores took over the distillery after Vicente's death. Flores was the owner of two other distilleries at the time - La Floreña and La del Puente. In preparation for the arrival of the railroad, Flores moved the equipment to La del Puente, expanded production and renamed the distillery to La Constancia. The railroad opened new, more efficient means to transport tequila and it was soon being sold further afield than the mules could ever reach. During the 19th century, it was common to name the tabernas, or distilleries, after their owners, adding 'eña' to the name or nickname: La Floreña, La Martineña, La Guarreña, La Gallardeña and La Quintaneña are examples. Later, the names would reflect values or political convictions (La Preservancia: Perserverance) and La Constancia (Constancy). That practice is still a custom today: La Cofradia is 'brotherhood,' La Fortaleza is 'strength' and La Quemada is 'burned'.

During Mexico's War of Independence (1810-21), tequila became a stock item among the soldiers on all sides of the conflict. Mezcal production rose during the early period of the war. But when the more distant port of Acapulco supplanted San

Blas as the major Pacific port during that period, export tequila declined in importance. By 1815, tequila production had fallen. Several distilleries were founded in the period between 1810 and 1820, but most of them closed before mid-century. One of the few that survived was started in 1805 by Jose Maria Castañeda. It passed through two more generations and different hands before it was finally sold to Don Cenobio Sauza, in 1873. Mexico gained its independence from Spain in 1821. Until 1821, Jalisco was under separate government from Mexico. Spanish names replaced native ones for many of its communities. J. C. Beltrami, an Italian, visited Jalisco in 1823 and wrote, "The tequila maguey produces a high-quality liquor that is called mezcal wine." In 1825, the Englishman W. H. Hardy wrote, " This smaller maguey plant is fermented and produces a whiskey, which is distilled into a much stronger spirit called chinguerite." During the next century, the agave plants would be exported to Europe and her colonies as ornamental plants or as sources for fibre. In some places - like South Africa - they would thrive in the local ecosystems. Tequila did not achieve its former prominence again until after 1821, when Mexico attained independence, and Spanish products were harder to get. In 1821, tequila producers banded together to demand the authorization of Free Commerce, so they could be free to make and sell their products. On October 3, 1835, a decree gave the municipalities more independence from the control of the capital. Tequila production expanded, but was inconsistent and not closely regulated. It wasn't until the Republic was reinstated that the production of tequila was transformed into a real, viable industry. By 1832, Guadalajara had a population of 93,875.

In 1836, the Mexican state of Texas broke from the republic (not for freedom, but to protest Mexico's abolition of slavery, since slavery was popular in Texas). Texas declared its independence. Mexico refused to accept this, and sent in the troops to take back the rebellious state. But there were Americans there now, and the US didn't appreciate their citizens being killed by Mexicans. The Battle of the Alamo,

1845, was the event that launched the Mexican-American war, 1846-48, during which Mexico lost 1.3 million sq. km, almost half of its original territory. This period also brought Americans in contact with Mexican food, culture and mezcal. Wagonloads of mezcal commonly followed the troops and soon became popular on both sides of the conflict. But although the war gave American soldiers exposure to tequila, the poor distribution network did not allow it to grow. First railroad construction began in 1842, but was interrupted several times by wars, and didn't get completed until January, 1873. The first line ran from Mexico City to the east coast and the city of Veracruz. Roads were still very poor, however. The Republic Line stage coach took 10 days to go from Mexico City to Durango in 1879. To go onwards to Chihuahua, travellers needed a horse and travel another 10 days. Carrying freight across the country was not only slow but expensive. There were "dry customs," tariffs collected at state borders and sometimes at municipal boundaries. On April 7, 1845, a severe earthquake shook central Mexico, damaging many buildings in Jalisco. Another severe earthquake struck the state on June 19, 1858. Sometime around 1850, the change from baking agaves in ground pits to above-ground ovens began. This marks the point at which mezcal and tequila began their separate journeys. The majority began to change in the 1880s-1890s. It would take 70 years before all producers had made the switch. In 1854, the French writer Ernest de Vigneaux identified the mezcal in regional terms when he wrote,

"Tequila lends its name to the mezcal liquor, in the same way Cognac does to the liquors of France."

The next conflict brought international forces into Mexico. The War of the Reform between Mexican liberals and conservatives, began in 1858 and ended in 1861 with the installation of Benito Juarez as president. At its peak in 1859, it paralyzed the economy of Jalisco as opposing sides clashed frequently in the state. Of the 30 major battles of the War of the Reform, 12 took place in Jalisco. A large segment of southern Jalisco, including Guadalajara, were devastated, leading to a mass migration of middle class persons. Ernest de Vigneaux, a Frenchman, was captured during one of these battles, and as a prisoner of war, he wrote about his experiences being transported through the region in 1853:

"The terrain is desolate, the land arid and rocky. Immense fields of maguey signal our proximity to Tequila, the city of mezcal. The sight of those dry and rocky plains covered with thorny plants brings to mind the forgotten circle of Dante's inferno. It is not, however, a cursed land. After banana and corn... the American maguey is the most precious gift nature has bestowed on Mexico."

Defeated conservatives fled Mexico, and sought foreign help to continue their fight. In 1862 - while the American Civil War was raging - Napoleon III of France decided he would establish an empire in Mexico. Napoleon III sent in troops, along with

forces from Britain and Spain, although the latter troops soon withdrew. But again, Mexican culture, food and spirits received exposure to the invading European forces.

At the battle of Puebla, May 5, 1862, French troops were defeated in their march ion Mexico City. That day has been celebrated ever since as Cinco de Mayo. The French tried again in 1863 and took the city after a two-month siege. Napoleon III put the Austrian prince, the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Abzburg, on a Mexican throne as 'emperor.' The liberals, led by Juarez, resisted bitterly. Despite the support from French troops and Mexican conservatives, Maximilian could not consolidate his empire. Under American pressure to leave Mexico, the French withdrew in 1867, leaving Maximillian and his wife to meet their deaths by execution. Juarez became president that year and initiated various reforms to modernize Mexico before dying in 1872. In 1860 Jesús Flores, owner of the taverns "La Floreña" and "La del Puente" (also known later as "La Constancia"), acquired "La Rojeña" from the Cuervo family. Flores was the first producer to bottle tequila in glass vessels. His bottles were called damajuanas, hand blown, rounded-shape 5 liter bottles, wrapped in agave fiber. Later these bottles would be as large as 32 litres. The use of the small pocket-sized 'pachoncita' bottles at the end of the century really gave tequila sales a boost because workers could carry them around in their baggy pants. Cuervo shipped its first three barrels of tequila to the USA in 1873 (this is contradicted by a comment that it was Sauza who sold the first eight barrels to the USA that year). That year, the name tequila for the regional mezcal was first noted in the tax records. In 1874 Tequila was defined as a city as a reward for the "patriotic and valiant conduct" of the residents in fighting against the troops of rebel leader Manuel Lozada - "the Tiger of Alica."

In 1876, General Porfirio Diaz, hero of the battle of Puebla (1862) seized power and effectively governed Mexico until the Revolution of 1910. Diaz established order and a workable government. Civil wars ceased and banditry disappeared from the countryside. Provincial governors obeyed laws and the army became professionalized while the "Rurales" - a militarized police - maintained order throughout the country. General Diaz and his wealthy intellectual supporters adopted French positivism as a national creed, and Francophilia became a national standard. This period of stability and peace is known as the Porfiriato. By 1880, Cuervo was selling 10,000 barrels of its tequila in Guadalajara alone. Jesus Flores remarried in 1888 to Ana Gonzalez, whose sister was married to Luciano Gallardo, owner of La Gallaredeña distillery. in 1891, Cuervo was awarded a certificate and gold medal by President Diaz for the excellence of their tequila.

A railway line was built from Mexico City to Leon in 1882, followed by a line to the Pacific coast, and a few years later by another to Paso del Norte. On August 2, 1882, the first train crossed the border at El Paso, travelling from the United States into Mexico. In 1884 The Central Mexican Railroad (Ferrocarril Central Mexicano) is inaugurated, providing service between Mexico City and Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua was also opened. Other railroad lines were laid in the next few years, connecting the major cities of Mexico, and opening trade with the USA. In 1900, after Flores had died, his widow married the administrator, José Cuervo Labastida, and soon the product became known as 'José Cuervo,' and the taberna returned to its original name and the product was called "Jose Cuervo." The

plantations had four million plants growing. Today Cuervo - its plant is still called La Rojeña - is the largest manufacturer of tequila, with a huge export market.

Meanwhile, another great tequila family was building it empire. In 1873, Don Cenobio Sauza, former administrator of La Antigua Cruz (founded in 1805 by José Castaneda) purchased the distillery. Sauza had previously leased "La Gallardeña" distillery for production and he later purchased this distillery as well. Sauza also bought a distillery from Vicente Orendain in 1889. The former Cuervo employee would found Sauza Tequila, and become Cuervo's great rival. Sauza changed the name to La Preservancia in 1888 - the name it still bears - and he started making mezcal wine. One legend says it was Don Cenobio who determined the blue agave was the best of all the magueys for making tequila, in the 1870s, and the rest of the distillers followed his lead. Some say tequila was first exported to the USA in 1873, when Sauza sold three barrels to El Paso del Norte, in Texas. This was the beginning of the export market for tequila. Records from 1873-74 show a small amount of mezcal and other alcoholic beverages made in Mexico were exported to England, Spain, France, the USA and New Grenada. Don Cenobio was also known for defending his plantation against bandits. Before his death in 1906, he purchased 13 more distilleries and numerous fields of agave for his own use. Sauza today owns about 300 agave plantations and is the second largest tequila manufacturer. The family sold the company to the Spanish corporation, Pedro Domecq, in 1976. His great grandson, Guillermo Sauza, still operates his own distillery, Los Abuleos, using his family's traditional production methods (and is one of the few distillers left to use a tahona exclusively). Don Cenobio is credited with determining the blue agave was the best agave for tequila in the 1890s, and his choice was echoed by others in the industry at the expense of other varieties then in use.

Other distilleries were established during the 19th century, some of them flourishing, others closing. Tequila Herradura ("horseshoe") was opened in the Hacienda San Jose del Refugio, built in 1802, but purchased in 1862 by Aurelio Lopez Rosales and his sister, Maria de Jesus Rosales. In 1870, Aurelio reopened an old aguardiente still on the premises, replaced the clay pots with copper, and started producing his own tequila. Aurelio registered the trademark in 1923, and in 1927, deeded the hacienda to David Rosales Cuervo. The distillery remained in family hands until sold to Brown Foreman in late 2006. Herradura's original distillery is now a company museum. Herradura became the first distillery to produce a reposado tequila and has always made only 100% agave tequilas. Herradura is are the only tequila company allowed to use the terms "100% Natural" and "estate-bottled" on its labels. Vicente Orendain acquired a distillery from Jose Antonio Cuervo in the 1830s, later selling it to Sauza.

Other distilleries founded around this time include the Destiladora de Occidente (1860s), Tequila San Matias (1886) and Tequila Viuda de Romero (1852; although it didn't get that name until 1873). El Centinela was established in 1904, the first distillery (fabrica or factory) in the highlands area. Los Camachines, in Los Altos (maker of Gran Centenario) was founded in 1857. A reference to mezcal wine as 'tequila' was first recorded by the French traveller Ernest de Vigneaux, in 1854, but it was decades before it was in common use.

A special tequila tax funded the construction of the state legislature and the implementation of Guadalajara’s first public waterworks system. According to Ron Cooper, of Del Maguey Mezcal, in 1870 several of the largest producers asked the Mexican government for permission to name their mezcal "tequila," after the town of Tequila in Jalisco state. The government agreed. This period also saw the trend to use only blue agave for making tequila, and some of the earliest commercial shipments to the USA.

In the 1880s, the rapid growth of the railroads across North America helped spread tequila further. Popularity and growth were aided by the relative stability during the 35-year rule of Porfirio Diaz (the 'Porfirato' period), during which the tequila industry stabilized and matured. In 1883, Don Eladio Sauza was born.The San Matias distillery was founded in 1884. During this time, tequila's growing popularity proved both challenging and creative. Until the late 19th century, the piñas were roasted in stone-lined pits in the ground, heated by wood fires, as mezcal is made today. As demand for tequila grew, producers found they were running out of both wood and agave. As Jalisco's hills were progressively deforested by the demand for wood, it cleared new land for agave planting. Around this time, producers realized their method of production was no longer sustainable. The above-ground, steam-heated horno, or oven was developed to replace the traditional in-ground pits. Although the original ovens also used wood to heat the boilers, they did not demand as much fuel as the traditional pits. By the end of the 19th century, all manufacturers were using the above-ground ovens. The use of steam instead of direct fire to cook the agave heads is credited to Don Cenobio This production change also helped define tequila as different from its ancestor, mezcal. Tequila lost the strong, smoky flavour imparted by the wood and this surely contributed to the growing popularity. It was smoother, with more agave flavours. However, it was still identified in name as a form of mezcal, mezcal wine or mezcal brandy.

By 1893, "mezcal brandy" was regularly exported into the USA and won an award at the Chicago World's Fair that year. Mexican spirits were exported to Europe in the 1870s. Meanwhile, distilleries in Jalisco were slowly switching from making aguardiente (from sugarcane) to tequila. Around this time, the product from Jalisco - mezcal of Tequila - became known simply as 'tequila' in the same way as brandy made in a certain region of France became known as cognac. Tequila - known as "mezcal de Tequila" - won an award at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. After that, tequila makers and the Mexican government dropped the word "mezcal" from the name. In 1895, power mills, presses and grinding equipment came into widespread use throughout the industry to crush the cooked agave heads and separate the juices, replacing the traditional tahonas. In 1896, German naturalist Franz Weber arrived in Mexico to study and classify the flora of the nation. His work will be remembered in the Agave tequilana Weber azul, renamed in his honour in 1902. In 1897, Carl Lumholtz, the famous Norwegian ethnologist spent several years living with remote Indian tribes in Mexico. He discovered the Huichol Indians in eastern Nayarti distilled agave juice using simple pot stills, the pots being quite unlike any other Spanish or pre-Columbian vessels. In 1902, Lumholtz wrote that Prehispanic natives developed their own methods of distillation, but that hypothesis has yet to be proven. By the close of the century, tequila exports were growing slowly, but steadily. In 1899 they were worth 3,062 pesos, but a year later that had grown 20% to 5,664 pesos.

Tequila's History:

Part 3 of 3: 20th & 21st Centuries

By the turn of the century, many companies had started selling tequila in bottles, instead of just barrels, a move that helped increase sales. The most popular were the small pocket-sized 'pachoncita' bottles that fit into the baggy pants of worker, first appearing in 1906. The first wave of modernization began around this time, and the number of distilleries in Jalisco grew to 87 by 1910, then dropped precipitously to only 32 when the Diaz regime collapsed and the country was thrown into political and military turmoil during the Revolution. Exports had fallen to about 10% of total production (estimated at about 600,000 liters total). But the same was also happening to other spirits producers: the number of aguardiente distillers in Jalisco dropped from 38 to 27 between 1900 and 1910, in part because of the growing popularity of tequila. In 1900 Ana González Rubio (the second wife of Jesús Flores) inherited "La Constancia." She married José Cuervo Labastida, who renamed this distillery "La Rojeña" the name it still has today. In the early years of the century, Cuervo's tequila won prestigious international awards at exhibitions in Europe, including the Gran Premio in Madrid, 1907, and the Grand Prix in Paris, 1909. In 1902, the blue agave was renamed to the Agave tequilana Weber azul (also written as Agave tequilana Weber var. azul) to honour German naturalist Franz Weber, who classified Mexican flora in 1896. Cuervo was the first distiller to put tequila into bottles - pioneered by owner Flores - in the late 19th century when others were still using barrels. His first bottled tequila was sold in 1906. The difficulty of handling and transporting tequila to the city of Monterey led to the creation of a cylindrical, half-litre bottle. This was the first step to establish the bottling of tequila on a commercial level. Soon distillers were putting tequila in handy flat-sided bottles that could easily be kept in a pocket. At the same time, he moved Cuervo to his new, larger site - La Constancia - to take advantage of the transportation network the new railroad offered. In 1904, Porfirio Torres Perez founded the El Centinela distillery. In 1910, El Centennario (makers of today's Siete Leguas) was founded, the first distillery in the highlands (Los Altos).

Many of the distillery owners had homes in the capital, Guadalajara in this period, a 12-hour coach ride from Tequila. Political differences divided the families, with the Cuervos leading the Liberal faction, and the Sauzas leading the Conservative. The more prosperous families also diversified their investments, mostly in real estate, mining, textiles and flour. They also expanded their plantations to include other crops such as bean and corn, and raised cattle as well.

Tequila gained national importance during the Revolution in the early part of this century, when it became a symbol of national pride and the passion for French products was replaced by patriotic fervour for Mexican goods. However Pancho Villa was a teetotaller, who had drunks in his army shot as cowards and traitors. And when he was Revolutionary Governor of Sonora, Plutarco Elias Calles dealt with public drunkards by putting them in front of the firing squad. Tequila quickly became associated with the hard-riding rebels and gun-slinging heroes of the revolutionary period from 1910-1920. During this time, tequila was also smuggled to American troops guarding the border, helping spread it to nearby US states. In the first novel about the Revolution, Mariano Azuela wrote of one character, "Rather than champagne, which sparkled in bubbles and dissolved in the light and the candles, Demetrio Macias preferred the clear tequila of Jalisco." Pancho Villa's real name, by the way, was Doroteo Arango - commemorated in Los Arango tequila - and his horse was Siete Leguas, now another tequila brand. As the rebel forces of Pancho Villa approached Guadalajara, many people from the Jalisco countryside joined forces with the Villistas. Villa entered Guadalajara on December 17, 1914, forcing Manuel M. Diéguez, an ally of President Venustiano Carranza and the Governor of Jalisco, to flee. Soon after, Villa called together the richest men of both Jalisco and Guadalajara and announced a forced loan of one million pesos. Passing out money to the poor, Villa became enormously popular, but his victory was short-lived and soon he had to leave the city. By April, the Constitutionalist forces of Diéguez once again controlled Guadalajara.

Revolutionary troops occupied Guadalajara, confiscating cartloads of tequila for their own use. The popular drink in those days was the torito de Jalisco, a mix of tequila and fruit juice.

American troops invaded Veracruz in 1914 after a confrontation between Mexican troops and American sailors in that city. American soldiers are reported drinking tequila in 1916, as they defended against Pancho Villa's raids against the US town of Columbus, NM. In 1914, Virginia Gallardo, future heiress of the Cuervo holdings, married the German consul in Guadalajara, Juan Beckmann. In 1921, Jose Cuervo died, leaving everything to Anita Gonzalez Rubio. The end of the Revolution brought stability, but also changes. The Francophilia of Diaz's regime was replaced by a new national sense of pride and place. National products and art became popular again, and tequila enjoyed a renaissance.

During these years, Don Eladio Sauza took over the business from his father, Don Cenobio, and expanded it by opening branches in Mexico City, Monterrey and even a concession in Spain. By the 1920s, the last of the tequila makers had switched from cooking the agave heads in ground pits to above-ground ovens. This irrevocably separated mezcal and tequila as products. In 1926, President Plutarco Elías Calles signed the so-called "Intolerable Acts" These strongly anti-clerical laws antagonized many Catholics and laid the foundation of the so-called "Cristero Religious War." Los Altos and the "Three-Fingers" border region of northern Jalisco became battlefields in the war which started in 1926.

From 1926 to 1932, the government of Jalisco changed hands ten times. At one point, some 25,000 rebels had been mobilized to resist the articles of the Constitution. The bloody conflict was formally ended in June 1929. However, outbreaks of violence continued into the 1930s. Distillers conveniently 'forgot' that many of the revolutionary armies raided their plants and confiscated tequila for which the owners were never repaid. But many of the larger tabernas suffered in the aftermath when the government redistributed their land and gave away many acres of agave to the peasants.

In 1928 distillers attempted to for an organization to represent themselves, but it broke apart in bickering before it could get started. By 1929, the number of distillers was down to a mere eight to suffer through the Depression. The post-Revolutionary leaders like Victoriano Huerta eschewed tequila for French cognacs - as had Diaz and his cronies - but tequila managed to make a comeback through its popularity among the people. Modern production techniques, many copied from the wine industry, including cultivated yeasts and microbiological sanitary practices, were introduced in the late 1920s when peace returned and after the Depression, the industry expanded again. Prohibition in the USA (1920-33) boosted tequila's popularity when Mexican liquor was was smuggled across the border. But that was short-lived because the Depression (1929) came swiftly on the heels of Prohibition. In 1930, an epidemic of Spanish Influenza attacked Northern Mexico. Doctors prescribed tequila as the best medicine to fight it. From then on, tequila was drunk with lime and salt because that’s how the doctors prescribed it. Tequila producers shipping to the city of Monterrey started to produce cylindrical glass bottles of 0.5 liter (17 ounces), to make it easier to transport tequila. As the tequila sales slump continued into the 1930s, the government's land reform of this period broke up many large estates, including several haciendas used for tequila production. The combined effect meant that the number of agave plants under cultivation dropped by two-thirds. Only eight distilleries were left intact in Tequila by 1929. Once again tequila makers tried to create an organization to represent themselves, and this time it managed to stay together until World War 2. The decision to use non-agave sugars (usually cane sugars) in fermentation along with those from the agave was made in the 1930s in part because of this shortage, a fateful move that changed the industry and affected its reputation for decades. The

official standard established in 1949 required that the sugars in the beverage come 100% from blue agave, but by 1964 distillers were allowed to use 30% other sugars, which soon climbed to 49%.The blander product, however, was more palatable to American tastes and helped boost export sales.

Tequila Orendain was founded in 1926, by Don Eduardo Orendain (today it is the third largest exporter of mixto tequilas). An agave shortage in 1930 forced the government to relax regulations on tequila production, and allow tequila to be made from only 51% agave sugars - the start of the mixto trade. For many years after this, Herradura was the only company exclusively producing 100% agave tequilas, and was for 30 years the only 100% agave tequila available in the USA. These new mixto tequilas were more bland than 100% agave tequilas, which also made them more appealing to American consumers, thus helping promote tequila sales north of the border. Don Javier Sauza took over the family business from his father, Don Eladio, in 1931.

Several important laws regarding tequila manufacturing were also passed in the 1930s, including the 1932 requirement for manufacturers to be certified to be able to make tequila. A law permitting local (municipal) taxes on alcohol production was passed Feb. 16, 1933. Another law regarding tax collection on alcohol production was enacted on Nov. 30, 1935. After the death of Ana González Rubio, in 1934, her niece Guadalupe Gallardo inherited everything. Later on she gave everything to Virginia Gallardo, who married Juan Beckmann, German consul in Guadalajara. Today her grandson, Juan Beckmann Vidal, still presides over the José Cuervo Company.

1935 is the earliest date suggested for the invention of the margarita, when the bartender at Rancho La Gloria, Carlos 'Danny' Herrera, created if for his customer, fledgling actress Marjorie (Margarita) King. This story has also been dated in 1938 and the early 1940s.

During World War 2, tequila rose in popularity in the USA after spirits from Europe became hard to get. This was also good for the domestic market, because Mexicans turned to tequila when imports of whiskey and other spirits became difficult to get. Production grew, the demand for tequila increased, and agave fields expanded 110% between 1940 and 1950. The market became flooded with poor-quality products to meet this sudden demand. The first reference to appellations of origin in Mexico was made in the Industrial Property Law of 1942, which established the concept of appellation of origin. This law was repealed in 1976 and replaced by the Law on Inventions and Marks, which established the protection process and added obligations for the user of the appellation of origin.

In 1943 "La Perseverancia" was fully in the hands of Francisco Javier Sauza, son of Eladio Sauza and grandson of Cenobio Sauza, its founder. He would push Sauza's success even further during his lifetime.

In 1948, when European spirits like whisky were once again available to Americans, exports fell to an all-time low, while national consumption grew - thanks in great part to the positive portrayal of tequila as a macho drink of heroic rancheros in Mexican movies from the 1930s to 1950s. Tequila manufacturers began looking for new export markets in Europe and South America. Despite the slump the increased demand during the war meant more money coming in, and in the 1950s many distilleries used their extra revenue to modernize and upgrade their facilities. Agricultural reform under President Lopez Mateos during this time saw 30 million acres of land parceled out to farmers - some of it going to maguey farmers across the nation. Sometime between 1930 and 1955, depending on which legend you believe, the margarita was born in Mexico or in a nearby state. This cocktail would become the most popular mixed drink in bars for the next four decades. See the recipes page for more. Efforts to regulate the industry also grew in this period, with two groups created between the two world wars, eventually evolving into today's regulatory organizations. In 1944, the Mexican government decided that any product called 'tequila' had to be made by distilling agave in the state of Jalisco. Labelling practices were also standardized in the 1940s and 50s, but it would be several years before standards became law. The first standards for tequila were laid out in 1947 and "de calidad para el tequila" was passed on June 14, 1949. It has been upgraded and revised ever since, most recently in 2006. During the 1950s, many producers modernized to meet the new standards and the increased demand. The number of agave fields grew iin 1950 to 5,697, a 110% increase over 1940. The first normas (law) to define tequila types was passed 12 Mar., 1964, but this only had blanco and añejo as types, and allowed caramel colouring in añejos. The DEN-R-9-1964 law also set the percentage for mixto at 70% agave sugars (it was dropped to the current 51% in 1970). The requirement for agave content in mixto tequila was recommended to be increased from 51% to 60% in the latest normas, but this was not done. Reposado was included in the 1968 normas. In 1970, conditions defining the use of the term 100% agave were established, and the amount of agave sugars in mixto dropped to 51%. These were followed with additional refinements to the specifications and descriptions in 1976, 1978, 1993, 1994 (when the permitted additives to mixto were specified) and 2000, the latter date when the Denomination of Origin was included in the law. Tequila production doubled in the 1951-55 period, leading to a crisis of overproduction and no growth for the rest of the decade.

On October 21, 1959 the Cámara Regional de la Industria Tequila (Regional Tequila Chamber), an industry organization, was officially founded. This would become the National Chamber in 1990. Popularity grew again in the 1960s along with increased consumption; and the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City helped worldwide exposure. But it wasn't until the growing population of American tourists and baby-boom visitors to Mexico started to discover the premium brands in the mid 1980s that tequila moved from a 'party' drink to snob appeal among the cocktail set. In September, 1966, Mexico signed the Lisbon Agreement which states that all parties shall undertake to protect, on their territories and in accordance with the terms of the agreement, the appellations of origin of the products of other countries which are recognized and protected as such in the country of origin, and registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). In 1973 Tequila Herradura and the Regional Chamber of the Tequila Industry applied for the declaration of protection for this appellation of origin from the Secretariat of Trade and Industrial Promotion. In 1973, Cazadores opened its distilley, near Arandas. Today it is the fifth highest-selling brand in Mexico. On December 9, 1974, a declaration of protection was published in the Official Federation Gazette. It stated that tequila could be applied only to the liquor of the same name. This was published in accordance with the Official Quality Standard (NOM) for tequila, which also and delimited the territory of origin. This first set of regulations governing where tequila could be made were amended in 1976 when the first NORMA was released. Although tequila had already been subject to compliance with standards since 1949, the NORMA also gave legal protection to the name tequila for the first time. Tequila gained international recognition when the Mexican Government issued its Declaration for the Protection of the Appellation of Origin Tequila (also called the Denomination of Origin Tequila - DOT). Because of its geographical origin,,

reputation and essential specific qualities, the government decreed that "tequila" was to be considered a geographical indication of Mexico. This prevented the word from being used as a generic name on other spirits not made under the controls of the Mexican government. The AOC, or Appellation de Origin Controllee was published on April 13, 1978 in the Registry of Appellations of Origin under the Lisbon Agreement created by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Since then, every single bilateral and multilateral trade agreement that Mexico has entered into, including NAFTA, contains a clause granting exclusivity of the name Tequila to Mexico. However, it wasn't until 1996 that Mexico, as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), signed an international agreement for all countries to recognize tequila as a Denomination of Origin product from only a certain geographical area in Mexico. As a result of this declaration, there are only five regions where tequila can be legally made, most within the northwest part of the country and within 100 miles of Guadalajara. Most are within the state of Jalisco (including the communities of Tequila, Tepatitlan, Guadalajara, Amatitan, Arandas, Arenal, Capilla de Guadalupe, Zapotlanejo and Atotonilico), the rest are in the adjoining states of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and the northeastern state of Tamaulipas. The areas are all semi-arid with clay soils, mostly plateaus and highlands. In Jalisco's Tequila region, the fields crowd the slopes of two extinct volcanoes.

The margarita blossomed at the cocktail of choice in the 1970s, driving a new tequila boom. Cuervo and Sauza were producing 60% of all tequila in 1976, when a strike of both laborers and transport personnel paralyzed both firms for 20 days. The two companies then agreed to buy their agave from the union representing the strikers and to pay 1% of the value of their finished product. The Official Gazette of October 13 1977 states that "it is necessary to have more volume of raw material in order to produce tequila and in that way satisfy the increased demand for this product, especially in the exterior and avoid using different sugars of agave in its manufacturing." This suggests an early awareness of the importance of 100% agave tequilas for the export market.

In order to guarantee tequila's quality, the Normas Oficial Mexicana (NOM also called the NORMA) was established in 1978 to regulate all of the agricultural, industrial and commercial processes related to tequila. In the 1970s while demand for tequila was increasing worldwide, Sauza distillery formed a partnership with the leading Mexican brandy producer, Pedro Domecq. Pedro Domecq purchased the entire Sauza operation in 1988. Tequila reached high society in the 1980s when Robert Denton launched Chinaco's ultra-premium tequila into the market. In 1983, it was the first ultra premium on the shelves. As noted on Wine Patrol's site, "Denton marketed the tequila like a fine cognac, and demanded the highest prices of any tequila on the market. The rich, elegant Chinaco Añejo lived up to the promises, and almost single handedly created the North American market for upscale tequila. "

It took US drinkers by storm and demand outpaced production - and many other distillers quickly followed Chinaco's lead. Despite its initial success, Chinaco closed for a few years in the early 1990s. This drove two diehard Chinaco drinkers - John Paul De Joria and Sammy Hagar - to make their own tequila: De Joria went on to found Patron, and Hagar Cabo Wabo, both successful. Chinaco returned in 1998, by which time it had to compete against considerably more ultra-premium tequilas beside it on the shelves. The severe Mexican economic crisis of the early 1980s resulted in tequila sales dropping from 34 million liters in 1980 to 13 million in 1986. Forty percent of all tequila producers went out of business during this period. Even Cuervo's Los Altos distillery closed for a year. A common measure was to reduce the alcoholic content from 45% to 38%, the minimum allowed by law. By 1980, there were 33 distilleries cultivating 30-35,000 hectares and employing 5,800 people to make tequila. That has grown in the past 27 years to more than 100 companies (see the NOM list); all but two are in Jalisco, the main outsiders being Chinaco in far-away Tamaulipas on the Gulf coast, and Corralejo in nearby Guanajuato. More than 50,000 hectares of agave are under cultivation today, and

the workforce is around 38,000-40,000, of which 33,000 work in the fields or production. By 1987, Cuervo was leading Sauza in tequila production, 18 million liters to 16 millions liters, even though the latter had 65% of the Mexican market, because Cuervo was exporting 70% of its production. In 1988, Pedro Domecq purchased the Sauza operation. When Allied Lyos acquired Pedro Domecq in 1994, Allied Domecq was formed and Sauza Tequila joined some of the world's leading spirit brands including Kahlua, Maker's Mark bourbon, Courvoisier, Tia Maria liqueur, Beefeater gin and others. In 1991, the Law on Industrial Property Promotion and Protection, was passed, later changed to the Industrial Property Law. It was amended 1994. This law provides the legal framework in force in Mexico for the protection of appellations of origin.

The Tequila Regulatory Council (Consejo Regulado de Tequila, or CRT) was founded in 1994 to oversee production, quality and standards in the industry. That same year, Mexico joined NAFTA, the world's largest free trade agreement. And hot on the heels of the signing came the 1994 economic and currency crisis in Mexico, widely known as the Tequila Crisis (or the Tequila Effect: Efecto Tequila). Mezcal was protected by an AOC designation, signed in March, 1995. In 1996, as tequila's popularity grew, agave farmers felt they were being exploited by some producers. They formed a protest that saw many producers blockaded, and although eventually solved, the protest cost the industry millions. In November, 1996, La Parternidad Mexicana de Tequila was formed in Brussels, consisting of a body of 15 countries within the European Union. This opened a market for tequila of a potential 350 million people. In 1997, tequila producer Don Jesus Lopez Roman was gunned down in a still-unsolved gangland-style killing in front of his distillery. Roman, owner of the Tequila San Matias distillery, had been a vocal proponent for improvements in the industry, but his persistent and highly vocal stand on having all tequila bottled in Mexico - no more bulk mixto shipments - gave him enemies in the industry. The European Union signed a trade accord in 1997, recognizing Mexico as the sole producer of tequila. before that agreement, Mexico had been concerned about the

lack of recognition of appellations of origin in countries that were not party to the Lisbon Agreement. before the 1997 agreement, only France, Italy and Portugal respected the AOC under the Lisbon agreement. The EU and Mexico celebrated by smashing thousands of bottles of counterfeit tequila made or sold in the EU. Some of those companies have since come under the regulations and make or sell real tequila, but others disappeared. South Africa recently threatened to ignore this international agreement by allowing a distillery to open to manufacture a product called 'tequila.' In 1997, a South African firm in Graaff-Reinet announced it would open a 'tequila' plant in that country in 1998, using blue agave grown locally from Mexican stock that had invaded South African ecosystems. Although they planned to call it 'tequila, their product would have only 10% agave, the remainder will be other alcohols and sugars. Protests from the Mexican government finally deterred the plans of Reinet Distillers, and their product is to be named 'Spirit of Agave,' not tequila. In fall, 2000, agave growers within the Denomination of Origin Zone formed a National Union with around 2,600 individual members. The organization's first President was Miguel Angel Gonzalez Aldana. On January 1, 2000, the Agreement on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) with the World Trade Organization (WTO)came into effect in Mexico. This agreement defines geographical indications as those which identify a good as originating in the territory of a signing party, or a region or locality in that territory (indication of source), where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin (appellation of origin). In October, 2000, the CRT started working with Interpol to track down and eliminate fake tequilas. That same month, the CRT revealed that 110,000 liters of adulterated tequila had made it across the border into the United States, as heavily bribed officials looked the other way. The CRT launched legal proceedings accusing the un-named Mexican exporters of "theft" for illegally placing the tequila label on the adulterated liquor. On August 16, 2001 the Official Federation Gazette published an amendment to the Declaration of Protection for Tequila to allow the use of tequila in other beverages. Between 2000 and 2003, the agave shortage sent the price of agave soaring from $0.40 a kilo to $16-$18 USD per kilo. The years 2001 and 2002 were named "Oro Azul" - Blue Gold as a result. In February, 2000, the CRT allowed tequila to be made at a lower alcohol level -35% - to help companies cope with the shortage. In 2002, a nephew of then-president Vicente Fox announced plans to launch both tequila and wine bearing the family name. Xavier Fox Padilla, planned to launch sales of Mi Mexico Fox tequila and Gran Pasion de Fox wine in the United States and Europe. The company was registered with the CRT, but this author has not been able to determine if any products have been released as of June, 2007. Also in 2002, Francisco Beckmann Vidal, and his sons Francisco and Jorge Beckmann, seventh-generation descendants of Jose Antonio de Cuervo, formed Agave Brands, based in Guadalajara. They started shipping their La Certeza Tequila, an ultra-premium, 100% agave tequila, to the United States in 2006.

In June, 2004, a WTO dispute between the United States and Mexico over Mexico's 20% tax on certain soft drinks that used any sweetener other than sugar cane grown in Mexico, escalated to tequila. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, demanded retaliatory tariffs on Mexican tequila and other products if the corn syrup tax was not removed. The WTO later ruled Mexico's tax was discriminatory and should be removed. Since 2005, South African producers have made what they claim is a 100% blue agave product, now sold under the brand name Agave as as 'agave spirit.' Similar efforts to make tequila outside Mexico have been made in Japan and Spain. In response to this crisis, Mexican tequila manufacturers opened trade offices in Madrid and Washington to protect the use of the name tequila, and to promote the spirit in export markets. For the last two decades, large international corporations have shown a growing interest in tequila, usually manifested in buying distilleries. Some of the largest tequila manufacturers - Cuervo, Sauza, and most recently Herradura - are owned by international companies. The CRT announced that in 2006, tequila sales reached an all-time high, exporting 140 milling litres, an increase of 19.65% over 2005. Total production was 242 million litres, a 15.68% increase over 2005. About 778,000 tonnes of agave were used for the 2006 production. There are almost 1,000 brands of tequila available today, many of which are for export only and not sold in Mexico. About 110 companies are registered as producers, although there are only 50-60 actual distilleries. Although the US has been the largest consumer for many years, Mexican consumption has grown apace and internal sales almost equalled exports by 1997 (exports: 84.35 million liters; national sales 72.19 million liters).

Vodka History, Developement & Origin

Vodka is a drink which originated in Eastern Europe, the name stemming from the Russian word 'voda' meaning water or, as the Poles would say 'woda'. The first documented production of vodka in Russia was at the end of the 9th century, but the first known distillery at, Khylnovsk, was about two hundred years later as reported in the Vyatka Chronicle of 1174. Poland lays claim to having distilled vodka even earlier in the 8th century, but as this was a distillation of wine it might be more appropriate to consider it a crude brandy. The first identifiable Polish vodkas appeared in the 11th century when they were called 'gorzalka', originally used as medicines.

Medicine & Gunpowder During the Middle Ages, distilled liquor was used mainly for medicinal purposes, as well as being an ingredient in the production of gunpowder. In the 14th century a British Ambassador to Moscow first described vodka as the Russian national drink and in the mid-16th century it was established as the national drink in Poland and Finland. We learn from the Novgorod Chronicles of 1533 that in Russia also, vodka was used frequently as a medicine (zhiznennia voda meaning 'water of life'). In these ancient times Russia produced several kinds of 'vodka' or 'hot wine' as it was then called. There was 'plain wine' (standard), 'good wine' (improved) and 'boyar wine' (high quality). In addition stronger types existed, distilled two ('double wine') or more times. Since early production methods were crude, vodka often contained impurities, so to mask these the distillers flavoured their spirits with fruit, herbs or spices. The mid - 15th century saw the first appearance of pot distillation in Russia. Prior to that, seasoning, ageing and freezing were all used to remove impurities, as was precipitiation using isinglass ('karluk') from the air bladders of sturgeons. Distillation became the first step in producing vodka, with the product being improved by precipitation using isinglass, milk or egg white. Around this time (1450) vodka started to be produced in large quantities and the first recorded exports of Russian vodka were to Sweden in 1505. Polish 'woda' exports started a century later, from major production centres in Posnan and Krakow.

From acorns to melon

In 1716, owning distilleries became the exclusive right of the nobility, who were granted further special rights in 1751. In the following 50 or so years there was a proliferation of types of aromatised vodka, but no attempt was made to standardise the basic product. Types produced included; absinthe, acorn, anisette, birch, calamus root, calendula, cherry, chicory, dill, ginger hazelnut, horseradish, juniper, lemon, mastic, mint, mountain ash, oak, pepper, peppermint, raspberry, sage, sorrel, wort and water melon! A typical production process was to distil alcohol twice, dilute it with milk and distil it again, adding water to bring it to the required strength and then flavouring it, prior to a fourth and final distillation. It was not a cheap product and it still had not attained really large-scale production. It did not seek to compete commercially with the major producers in Lithuania, Poland and Prussia. In the 18th century a professor in St. Petersburg discovered a method of purifying alcohol using charcoal filtration. Felt and river sand had already been used for some time in Russia for filtration.

Vodka marches accross Europe The spread of awareness of vodka continued throughout the 19th century, helped by the presence in many parts of Europe of Russian soldiers involved in the Napoleonic Wars. Increasing popularity led to escalating demand and to meet this demand, lower grade products were produced based largely on distilled potato mash. Earlier attempts to control production by reducing the number of distilleries from 5,000 to 2,050 between the years 1860 and 1890 having failed, a law was enacted in 1894 to make the production and distribution of vodka in Russia a state monopoly. This was both for fiscal reasons and to control the epidemic of drunkenness which the availability of the cheap, mass-produced 'vodkas' imported and home-produced, had brought about. It is only at the end of the 19th century, with all state distilleries adopting a standard production technique and hence a guarantee of quality, that the name vodka was officially and formally recognised. After the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks confiscated all private distilleries in Moscow. As a result, a number of Russian vodka-makers emigrated, taking their skills and recipes with them. One such exile revived his brand in Paris, using the French version of his family name - Smirnoff. Thence, having met a Russian émigré from the USA, they set up the first vodka distillery there in 1934. This was subsequently sold to a US drinks company. From this small start, vodka began in the 1940s to achieve its wide popularity in the Western World.

Living out our past through wine...

Fermented beverages have been preferred over water throughout the ages: they are safer, provide psychotropic effects, and are more nutritious. Some have even said alcohol was the primary agent for the development of Western civilization, since more healthy individuals (even if inebriated much of the time) lived longer and had greater reproductive success. When humans became "civilized," fermented beverages were right at the top of the list for other reasons as well: conspicuous display (the earliest Neolithic wine, which might be dubbed "Chateau Hajji Firuz," was like showing off a bottle of Pétrus today); a social lubricant (early cities were even more congested than those of today); economy (the grapevine and wine tend to take over cultures, whether Greece, Italy, Spain, or California); trade and cross-cultural interactions (special wine-drinking ceremonies and drinking vessels set the stage for the broader exchange of ideas and technologies between cultures); and religion (wine is right at the center of Christianity and Judaism; Islam also had its "Bacchic" poets like Omar Khayyam).

Whatever the reason, we continue to live out our past civilization by drinking wine made from a plant that has its origins in the ancient Near East. Your next bottle may not be a 7000 year old vintage from Hajji Firuz, but the grape remains ever popular—cloned over and over again from those ancient beginnings.

...we continue

to live out our past by drinking

wine made from a plant

that has its

origins in the

ancient Near

East...

Dr. Patrick McGovern peering into the world's oldest wine jar (on display at the Museum and in the Guinness World Records), dating to 5400-5000 B.C.

Neolithic Period “Chateau Hajji Firuz”

If winemaking is best understood as an intentional human activity rather than a seasonal happenstance, then the Neolithic period (8500-4000 B.C.) is the first time in human prehistory when the necessary preconditions for this momentous innovation came together.

Most importantly, Neolithic communities of the ancient Near East and Egypt were permanent, year-round settlements made possible by domesticated plants and

animals.

With a more secure food supply than nomadic groups and with a more stable base of operations, a Neolithic "cuisine" emerged. Using a variety of food processing techniques—fermentation, soaking, heating, spicing—Neolithic peoples are credited with first

How did we know it was

wine?

Overview of two Neolithic houses at Hajji Firuz Tepe, during excavation.

producing bread, beer, and an array of meat and grain entrées we continue to enjoy today. Crafts important in food preparation, storage, and serving advanced in tandem with the new cuisine. Of special significance is the appearance of pottery vessels around 6000 B.C. The plasticity of clay made it an ideal material for forming shapes such as narrow-mouthed vats and storage jars for producing and keeping wine.

After firing the clay to high temperatures, the resultant pottery is essentially indestructible, and its porous structure helps to absorb organics. A major step forward in our understanding of Neolithic winemaking came from the analysis of a yellowish residue inside a jar excavated by Mary M. Voigt at the site of Hajji Firuz Tepe in the northern Zagros Mountains of Iran. The jar, with a volume of about 9 liters (2.5 gallons) was found together with five similar jars embedded in the earthen floor along one wall of a "kitchen" of a Neolithic mudbrick building, dated to ca. 5400-5000 B.C. The

Mary Voigt (white hat) excavates the "kitchen" of the Hajji Firuz Neolithic house that yielded the six wine jars, which had been set into the floor along one wall of the room.

Did you know...? Humans and most of what they

surround themselves with (clothing, habitations, and cuisine), are primarily organic in chemical

composition. Organics are easily destroyed and dispersed; only the

application of microchemical techniques can reconstruct what

existed originally. The methods and approaches that have been

developed for ancient wine can be applied to other organic

materials—whether DNA, dyes, woods, resins, drugs, honey, or whatever—as long as they have

been well preserved enough (best in dry, desert regions or

underwater, where oxygen is not available).

structure, consisting of a large living room that may have doubled as a bedroom, the "kitchen," and two storage rooms, might have accommodated an extended family. That the room in which the jars were found functioned as a kitchen was supported by the finding of numerous pottery vessels, which were probably used to prepare and cook foods, together with a fireplace.

One of six jars once filled with resinated wine from the "kitchen" of a Neolithic residence at Hajji Firuz Tepe (Iran). Patches of a reddish residue cover the interior of this vessel. Height 23.5 cm. (Jar on display at the Museum and in the Guinness Records.)

Egypt Wine for the Afterlife The wild grape never grew in ancient Egypt. Yet a thriving royal winemaking industry had been established in the Nile Delta—most likely due to Early Bronze Age trade between Egypt and Palestine, encompassing modern Israel,the West Bank and Gaza, and Jordan—by at least Dynasty 3 (ca. 2700 B.C.), the beginning of the Old Kingdom period. Winemaking scenes appear on tomb walls, and the accompanying offering lists include wine that was definitely produced at vineyards in the Delta. By the end of the Old Kingdom, five wines—all probably made in the Delta—constitute a canonical set of provisions, or fixed "menu," for the afterlife.

Did you know...? Many of the

Museum's millon+ artifacts in its

collections relate to fermented beverages or

cuisine. (Think of Greek classical

pottery and Dionysus cavorting with his satyrs and

maenads!)

The evidence for winemaking in the Delta during the preceding Early Dynastic Period (Dynasties 1 and 2) is more inferential. Rather than recording a large number of wine jars in an offering list, actual jars in large quantities were buried in the tombs of the pharoahs at Abydos and those oftheir families at Saqqara, the main

religious centers. The jars are stoppered with a round pottery lid and a conical clay lump that was pressed over the lid and tightly around the rim. The clay stopper was generally impressed with multiple cylinder seal impressions giving the name of the pharoah.

While chemical tests have yet to verify that the Dynasty 1 and 2 jars contained wine, less common seal impressions on the jar stoppers do include hieroglyphic signs for "grapevine/vineyard" (see drawing at top of page) and possible geographic locations (e.g., Memphis, the northern capital, near Saqqara), in addition to the king's name. Such seals have been interpreted as a primitive kind of wine label, possibly giving the location of the winery and its owner. The impressions with only the king's name might then be an abbreviated form of registration for jars that generally contained wine. Viniculture in Egypt must have taken some time to develop, and the Early Dynastic "wine jars" may well represent the first "fruits" of the nascent industry.

Early Dynastic "wine jar" and stopper from a royal tomb at Abydos, Egypt.

Close up of the stopper. It bears the name of Den, a Dynasty 1 pharaoh.

...such seals have

been interpreted

as a primitive kind of wine

label...

More about the jars found in Abydos' royal tomb

Is it possible to know when the first grapevines were transplanted to the Nile Delta? The answer is vital for understanding the prehistory of an industry that eventually spread over the entire Delta, to the large western oases, and even to towns on the upper Nile where the climate would seem to preclude viniculture. The domesticated grapevine could only have come from some region of the Levant that was already exploiting it, and many specialists—farmers, horticulturists, traders, and above all, vintners—would've been involved in the establishment and success of the developing industry.

The grapevine hieroglyphic itself (pictured above), showing a grapevine trained to run along a trellis or arbor, indicates that the Early Dynastic viniculture was quite sophisticated.

Drawing of a cylinder seal impression on a jar stopper bearing the name of Khasekhemwy, a Dynasty 2 pharoah. It shows a grapevine trained to run along a trellis or arbor.

Detail from a drawing of hieroglyphics found on a jar stopper from a royal tomb at Abydos, Egypt. The arrow points to the early hieroglyphic sign for "grapevine/vineyard

Mesopotamia Under the Grape Arbors... It has usually been argued that barley beer was the alcoholic beverage of choice in ancient Sumer,

since the hot, dry climate of southern Iraq makes it difficult to grow grapevines, and the textual evidence for viniculture and winemaking in Mesopotamia is minimal before the 2nd millennium B.C. But based on chemical evidence for wine inside jars that could've been used to transport and serve it, wine was probably already being enjoyed by at least the upper classes in Late Uruk times (ca. 3500-3100 B.C.). Early Dynastic cylinder seals depict the royalty and their entourages drinking beer with tubes/straws from large jars and a second

beverage—presumably wine—from hand-held cups.

The wine imported into lowland Greater Mesopotamia could have been brought from the northern Zagros Mountains of Iran or other parts of the Near East, at least 600 kilometers away. The 5th century B.C. Greek historian Herodotus describes shipping wine down the Euphrates or Tigris from Armenia at a much later period: round skin boats were loaded with date-palm casks of wine and delivered to Babylon. River transport was also an option in the Late Uruk Period. But if

the demand for the beverage were great enough, transplantation of grapevines to closer locales in the central Zagros and possibly as far south as Susa would be anticipated. When the Late Uruk trade routes were suddenly cut off at the end of the period, the pressure to establish productive vineyards closer to the major urban centers would have intensified.

Did you know...?

Queen Pu-abi, who was buried with her

servants—who had all been ceremonially

poisoned—was accompanied to the

afterlife with hundreds of gold and

silver goblets, drinking-tubes or

straws of lapis lazuli, and a five-liter silver jar, which is thought

to have been her daily allotment of

barley beer!

Did you know...?

Museum scientists have analyzed what participants ate and drank at the final funerary feast of

King Midas at Gordion (ca. 700

B.C.) and discovered that it

was lamb stew and a mixed fermented beverage of wine, barley beer, and

honey mead!

Future excavation will be decisive in tracing the prehistory of viniculture and winemaking in this region of the ancient Near East; already there is a strong indication that the domesticated grape plant had already been transplanted there

as early as the mid-3rd millennium B.C. Elamite cylinder seals, foreshadowing similiar scenes on Assyrian reliefs some two millennia later, depict males and females seated under grape arbors, drinking what is most likely wine.

A "banquet" scene on an impression of a lapis cylinder seal from Queen Pu-abi's tomb. A male and female on either side of a wide-mouthed jar are shown imbibing barley beer through drinking tubes, while others below raise high their cups, probably containing wine, which is served from a spouted jar.

A Mesopotamian "banquet" scene as depicted on a lapis lazuli cylinder seal from Queen Pu-abi's tomb in the Royal Cemetry at Ur, dating to ca. 2600-2500 B.C.

One of a Kind Laboratory Ancient Evidence; Modern Technology

Chocolate, cocoa, olive oil, beer,

wine: as good then as they are now... Help us find out more by providing financial support of this unique

Archaeological Chemistry has come of age in the last twenty years. Ancient foods, perfumes, dyes, and other organics—which could only be imagined from ancient writings—are now routinely detected by highly sensitive instruments in the laboratory. Whole new chapters relating to our human ancestry and genetic development, cuisine, and medical practice are opening up.

The Museum's Archaeological Chemistry Laboratory, developed under the leadership of Dr. Patrick McGovern, is a state-of-the-art facility. No other museum-based research lab of its kind exists in the United States. Beginning with the chemical identification of the earliest Royal Purple, the famous dye of the Phoenicians, the lab has gone on to develop techniques for identifying fermented beverages: barley beer, honey mead, and of course, the earliest grape wine.

The museum of the future has much to gain from this rapidly developing field. Non-destructive analysis of skeletal material, botanical remains, and residues inside pottery vessels will shed light on human biocultural and technological development—from the past and for the future.

lab. Please contact Dr. Patrick McGovern.

Wine "wreath" hanging in Dr. Patrick McGovern's one of a kind Archaeological Chemistry laboratory in the Museum's Applied Science Center.

Map of the ancient Near East and Egypt, showing the

distribution of the modern wild grapevine in purple shading. Grape remains (primarily pips) recovered from Neolithic and

Late Uruk sites are indicated by the grape cluster symbol. The occurrence of wine jars, which have been chemically identified

as such, are indicated by the jar symbol.

Detail of wine jugs from an Egyptian wall painting.

The Grapevine

Tree Resins

The terebinth tree continues to be abundant in the Middle East, growing even in desert areas. A single tree, which can grow to as much as 12 meters high, can yield up to 2 kilograms of resin.

Winemaking is very much constrained by the grapevine itself, even given the necessary containers and the means of preservation. The wild vine is dioecious (meaning it has unisexual flowers on separate plants that must be pollinated by insects). Only the female plant produces fruit.

The wild grapevine grows today through the temperate Mediterranean basin, as well as in parts of western and central Asia. Sometime during the Neolithic Period, the wild Eurasian grapevine was eventually developed as our domesticated type. The domestic vine's advantages over the wild type can be traced to its hermaphrodism (bisexual flowers occur together in the same plant, enabling self-pollination by the wind and fruit production by every flower).

The genetic "history" encoded in the DNA of modern wild and domesticated grapes, together with that of any available samples, suggests an alternative means to track the development of viniculture in the Old World. Using recombinant DNA techniques, it might be possible to delimit a specific region of the world and the approximate time period when the wild grape was domesticated. A "Noah" hypothesis would seek the progenitor(s) of modern domesticated grape varieties and their sequence of development and transplantation. (Noah, the biblical patriarch and "first vintner," is said to have planted a vineyard on Mount Ararat after the flood, later becoming drunk after he drank the fermented beverage.)

Pliny the Elder, the famous 1st century A.D. Roman encyclopedist, devoted a good part of one of his books to the problem of preventing wine from turning to vinegar. Tree resins--pine, cedar, and often terebinth (which Pliny described as the "best and most elegant" resin)--were added to Roman wines for just this purpose. Roman also used resins for medicinal purposes; indeed, modern chemical investigations have proven that resins can kill certain bacteria, thereby protecting organic compounds from degradation. In recent times, terebinth tree resin has been used to make chewing gum in Greece and prepare perfume in Egypt. The only modern carryover of the ancient tradition of resinated wine is Greek retsina.

The grapevine, Vitis vinifera vinifera, showing three varieties of the domesticated grape: red, white, and blue.