My finished Tequila

[Glock19Fan]

Hello.

I started a small batch of tequila back in January, and pulled the oak out yesterday. It was just a small experimental batch, being just 3 quarts (2 quarts were left at 75 percent, while the other was around 50-55 percent).

The two 75s were left in the jar as white tequila, while the 50-55 was aged with white oak, a stick about middle finger length, but a little bit thicker. It was kiln dried I believe, but was not toasted/charred.

The end result was suprising. It had the flavor of store bought tequila, but had hint of wood taste to it, but wouldnt be noticable if you didnt think about it, or were specifically tasting for it.

The big thing I noticed it that the wood was absolutly necessary to get that "tequia" flavor out of it. Before the oak sat in it, it just tasted like normal spirit, maybe a hint of agave taste to it. Even the unaged 75 tequila tasted the same. But the wood really brought that flavor into it.

I aged it for a just under 6 months, and I intend on aging the white tequila the same way, but with a little bit less oak.

I have around 5 gallons of rum sitting in a new barrel from Gibbs (light charr) that will hit 3 months on the 28th, and I will probably open it up and try it out in a day or two. Last month it had a wonderful smell to it, but had a little too much oak flavor to it, but it is sitting at 70 percent, so when it is finished in a few months, I think cutting it down to 40 percent, along it blending with white rum if necessary, will mellow out the excess oak flavor in it.

[Hawke]

For my taste, I've found oaking at around 65% to give the best results. Lower proof seems to bring over more of the wood taste, and higher gets into some bitter flavors. (Of course I haven't done any Tequilla)
Just thought I would throw that out there, as you may want to try different aging ABV's to find the right taste for you.

[FuriousGeorge]

This is something I'd like to attempt once I become a little more seasoned in this hobby.

Where did you acquire the pina for the mash?

[Glock19Fan]

I just purchased blue agave nectar from the cheapest source I could find. It was fairly expensive, about like good honey, which is why I kept a small batch.

[MuleKicker]

where did you buy your agave from? and how much was it?

[chunkystyles]

where did you buy your agave from? and how much was it?

I would like to know this also. Any information you can give on the wash that you used would be appreciated.

I've been wanting to get a batch of tequila going since it is my dad's favorite spirit. I need to repay him for making me such an excellent still.

[myerfire]

I got agave essence from Brewhaus. I didn't make an entire bottle and just eyeballed how much to mix up, it ended up being to heavy on the agave and I didn't like it. My advise would be to start out with a little of the agave and adjust as needed.
myerfire

[Glock19Fan]

I just calculated how much sugar was in the agave and used a 50% by weight of the agave and 50% of white sugar.

So for example, if a 16 ounce bottle of the agave nectar had 225 grams of sugar by weight, you would use two bottles (225x2=450 (one pound)) per pound of sugar you use.

I have the exact recipe including water yeast, ect if anyone wants me to look.

[MuleKicker]

where did you get the agave nector????????

[MuleKicker]

I was at the grocery store last night, i went to but some honey, wouldnt you know, right next to the honey was quart jugs of agave nector. 5.30 per jug. i guess it is spendy. I bet you can substitute some of the bulk with sugar to make a good wash. im going to try, and no one can stop me.

[Glock19Fan]

If you found it for $5.30 for a quart, you found a pretty good price. That is typically what I pay for it at Krogers for 16 ounces.

It can be found at just about any grocery store. Like mentioned, you can either find it by the honey and molassas, or you can find it in the organic section. There are generally two types. One it dark, and one is light. I couldnt decide with to use, so I did half and half.