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To gain deeper insight into the craftsmanship behind Blanco Ahumado, Miami Living sat down with Master Distiller Viridiana Tinoco for an inside look at the production process. Miami Living: What inspired Clase Azul to create a smoky tequila like Blanco Ahumado? Tinoco: At Clase Azul, we are always looking for different ways to share the magic of Mexican culture with the world. For Clase Azul Tequila Blanco Ahumado, we wanted to recover ancestral methods that are not always explored in tequila making, fusing them with the artisanal mastery and attention to detail that distinguishes Clase Azul. As a master distiller, I wanted to revive these processes to create a tequila that captures the transformative power that fire exerts on agave, resulting in a delicately smoky profile, an innovative expression of tequila that distills the unique character of our home, Los Altos de Jalisco. Miami Living: The cooking process for Blanco Ahumado involves a traditional pit oven—uncommon in tequila production. What challenges or surprises did you encounter when using this method? Tinoco: Creating Clase Azul Tequila Blanco Ahumado was extremely challenging. I tried to recreate the mezcal process we use in our mezcal Durango, given I wanted to achieve the same smoky characteristics, thinking I would get the same results in a smoked blanco tequila. However, when I started creating Blanco Ahumado, I wasn’t capturing those notes in the tequila. We went through many trials throughout the process to perfect the cooking hours and design a customized distillation to achieve the notes that are now intensely expressed in the distillate. Miami Living: Can you walk us through the role of your proprietary yeast in shaping the final flavor profile? What sets it apart from other fermentation methods in tequila-making? Tinoco: Our proprietary yeast is one of the most important pillars in the unique character of our tequilas. After years of research, we developed an exclusive strain extracted from the ecosystem of our agave fields in Los Altos de Jalisco. In our research we tested 33 of the yeasts we found and only one could transform sugar into alcohol – while also contributing a very distinctive aromatic complexity. Unlike commercial strains that tend to standardize tequila profiles, our yeast works in harmony with our long fermentation times and open tanks, which allows for the expression of more delicate and profound nuances. At Clase Azul we also don’t see fermentation as merely a technical process but as a living phase of creation. We carefully monitor the temperature and the environment in the fermentation room; we have studied every detail in this crucial process and the impact each variable has on the flavor profile of the distillate. Our attention to detail along with our proprietary yeast results in a profile that is unmistakably ours.