Olmeca Altos

OLMECA ALTOS IS A HIGH QUALITY, SUPER PREMIUM, 100 PER CENT AGAVE TEQUILA. AT ITS HEART IT COMBINES THE BEST OF THE TRADITIONAL AND MODERN METHODS OF MAKING TEQUILA TO PRODUCE A TASTE THAT IS BOTH INCREDIBLY SOFT AND SMOOTH AT THE SAME TIME AS BEING RICH AND COMPLEX.

OLMECA ALTOS IS EXCLUSIVELY produced at the ‘Destileria Colonial de Jalisco’ located near Arandas in ‘Los Altos’ (the Highlands) region of Jalisco. The state of the art distillery was opened in 1997 and acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2001. The distillery is equipped to produce high quality, premium tequilas for Olmeca, as well as producing tequila for the local Mexican market.

Created in 2009, Olmeca Altos’ Maestro Tequilero Jesus Hernandez teamed up with two of the world’s most recognised bartenders; Henry Besant and Andres Masso. Searching for a 100 per cent agave tequila for craft cocktails at an affordable price for their bar in London, they collaborated with Jesus to create a high quality, agave-rich tequila good enough to sip or mix in a cocktail.

The genius of Olmeca Altos is that it combines the traditional and modern methods of making tequila. Maestro Jesus was part of the design team for the Distillery and insisted on the installation of a ‘Tahona’ wheel pit for the crushing of the cooked agaves during the production process. This 500-year-old method is only done by a handful of tequila producers today.

The traditional Tahona method consists of crushing the cooked agaves with a two tonne volcanic millstone to draw out the sweet juice and syrup from the fibre, giving the tequila a richer, softer, rounder flavour. The prolonged contact between the agave’s juices and fibres during this stage, as well as in fermentation, promotes the soft, vegetal aromas and flavours that are balanced nicely by the vibrancy of the machine wheel crushed agave tequila. The distillates from the two separate processes are combined at the end to produce a perfectly balanced tequila.

The ‘Los Altos’ region is located at 2,100m above sea level and provides the ideal growing conditions for agaves. The slightly cooler temperatures and higher rainfall produce agaves with a higher content of fermentable sugars compared to their lowland counterparts. Combined with the famous ‘tierra roja’ (red earth), a soil high in iron oxide and other minerals, this unique terroir contributes to the cultivation of the highest quality agaves, which are matured for seven to ten years, depending on climatic variables, before they are harvested when fully ripe.

Olmeca Altos is one of the few tequilas in the world that has its own dedicated team of jimadores who hand harvest the agaves using techniques handed down over generations; the head jimadore has 33 years experience working the fields and with his sons can harvest a fully ripe agave within 10 minutes.

After roasting and crushing the agaves the fermented ‘mosto’ is then distilled twice in order to concentrate the alcohol and select the heart of the distillate. At this stage the liquid is boiled at different temperatures (60 - 90°c), condensing, separating, and concentrating the alcohol. The spirit comes out of the still at approximately 57% ABV, maintaining a large amount of agave flavours.

Even though copper is a soft metal that needs a lot of maintenance, Olmeca uses copper pot stills because copper has the property of attracting sulphur and other free radicals from the fermented ‘mosto’. This has a large impact on the final taste of the distillate.

Olmeca uses American white-oak barrels for the aging process. These barrels have been previously used for aging bourbon. New barrels are not used for aging Olmeca because they deliver too much oakiness, masking the delicate fruity and spicy tequila flavours.

During the 8 to 10 month aging process, for the Olmeca Reposado, subtly sweet, woody flavours are absorbed by the spirit as it interacts with the barrel and the ambient air. ❧

Tasting notes

OLMECA ALTOS PLATA

Appearance: Clear

Aroma: Herbal and savoury notes of cooked agave, balanced with slightly sweet and subtle citrus notes

Flavour: Initially sweet in the mouth, leading to full-bodied mouth-feel with citrus notes and cooked agave. The finish is well balanced and long lasting OLMECA ALTOS REPOSADO

Appearance: Golden yellow

Aroma: Sweet, fruity and fresh citrus notes of orange and grapefruit balanced with cooked agave notes of vanilla and subtle oak

Flavour: A sweet sensation in the mouth with soft tannins and subtle citrus notes. The full-bodied mouth-feel is accentuated by balanced flavours of roasted agave, vanilla and soft integrated oak