Crush it

A handful of tequileros are revisiting traditional production methods in an effort to create more characterful spirits. Meet the volcanic stone wheel making all the difference

- LAURA FOSTER

When it comes to exploring the different factors that can influence the flavors of a fermented or distilled drink, producers often wax lyrical about the growing or sourcing of raw materials, fermentation times and yeasts used, the size and shape of their stills, and the casks that they use.

Extraction of the sugars – be it through milling and then soaking, pressing, or otherwise – is often glossed over. In talking about tequila production, however, more time is often spent on this part of the process – and little wonder, given the impact it has on the final flavor of the product.

This is a story about traditional production methods being usurped by modern, mechanized technology before those methods then started to claw their way back into use.

It’s about slow, inefficient production methods and the deep, rich flavours of the agave plant that they impart to the tequila.

And it all focuses on a huge two-ton volcanic rock wheel called a tahona.

Perhaps the most romantic symbol of tequila production, aside from the agave plant itself, the tahona crushes the agave from which tequila is made. While the development of the mechanized roller mill has pushed this method out in recent years, a small but growing band of producers is reintroducing it. Sitting in a circular pit, the stone trundles slowly around, usually propelled by a tractor.