Tequila Calle 23 Blanco

Tequila Calle 23 Blanco

Vintage Spirit Garage

This first masterpiece by Sophie Decobecq, a young French woman who has lived in Mexico for about fifteen years to make traditional tequila, is a limited production, bottled after double distillation in traditional stills.
Like mezcal, another Mexican spirit, tequila is a product made from the agave plant, a member of the asparagus family (did you know that?) with long, thick, succulent leaves lined with thorns. The plant is almost entirely edible: its flowers (which appear only once in the agave's life), its sap-rich leaves, its sweet flower stems, and its sap, called aguamiel because of its sweetness, are eaten. Sugar is also extracted from it. Since pre-Columbian times, the sap from the flower stem has been transformed into a sweet wine called pulque. Pulque, produced by fermenting aguamiel, is distilled from the heart of the plant, particularly from the blue agave (called agave tequilana), to make tequila. Mezcal, on the other hand, can be made from around fifteen varieties of agave.
Calle 23 begins with the careful selection of blue agave plants growing on the plateaus of the state of Jalisco, between Tepatitlan and Arandas. After harvesting, the leaves are cut to leave only the core, called a piña because of its resemblance to a large pineapple. The piñas are cooked in large stainless steel autoclaves for about fifteen hours, cooled, and pressed. The resulting aguamiel ferments naturally to become pulque, a step prior to a double distillation in a copper still, until the distillate reaches between 52 and 54 degrees of alcohol. Spring water is then added to bring it down to 40 degrees. Without undergoing any aging, Calle 23 Blanco is ready to bottle.
Crystalline and colorless, it is agave juice in its purest form. On the nose, it evokes agave fresh from the cooking process with its herbaceous notes. On the palate, it attacks with sweetness and mellowness, expressing the characteristic flavor of the plant, complemented on the finish by notes of white fruits (tart apple, pear), almond and fresh walnut. Soft and mellow, devoid of aggressiveness, more velvety than biting, it is a good initiation tequila for those who are still unfamiliar with this beverage. To be enjoyed alone and very cold, or in a cocktail (we no longer present the margarita, see our recipe below), it is incomparable.
How to make a margarita? SOS Culinaries! We will opt for the slush margarita, with crushed ice, because in the end everyone prefers that. You just need a good blender. We advise you to prepare it in large quantities to delight lots of friends. Here we go: for four people, 20 cl of Calle 23 Blanco tequila, 10 cl of Cointreau or Triple Sec, 20 cl of freshly squeezed lime juice, 80 cl of ice cubes, and lime slices for serving. Don't forget 3 tablespoons of fleur de sel for the rim of the glass; it's essential. Start by spreading the salt in a saucer. Rub the rim of the glasses with a lime slice, coat the rim of the glasses with salt, and set aside. In the blender, combine the tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and ice. Pulsate everything mercilessly until you get a liquid snow of homogeneous texture. Pour into the glasses (without disturbing the salt), garnish with a lime slice, and serve immediately. You can also serve from a pitcher, but the glasses should be salted anyway.