There are a lot of tequila brands out there these days to choose from, and some of them aren’t even celebrity-affiliated. Cristalino, or aged tequila that has been filtered to remove its color, is the biggest trend currently, but there are also some brands that are trying out different agricultural and production techniques to set them apart. Mijenta is the latest of these, having just released a new blanco expression that it claims is the first to be made entirely from agaves grown from seed.
This may have been done before on a smaller scale before, but Mijenta does seem to be the first major brand to release a tequila made exclusively from this type of agave. The question you might be asking is: Why does it matter? Well, the answer is kind of subjective. Normally, agaves are grown from clones, or hijuelos, of other plants. The reason for this is to speed up the process—instead of waiting 12 years for an agave to reach maturity to harvest, you have to wait just six to eight years and the chances are there will be more juice to distill. The problem is that this reduces biodiversity, which in turn puts the plants more at risk of being wiped out by disease should a catastrophe strike.
Mijenta‘s Maestra Selection No. 1, the first in a new series, was produced entirely from Blue Weber agave that was grown from seeds. The plants were harvested from a single estate in Presa de Otomites, Jesus Maria, Jalisco at about eight years old, which according to the brand gives the tequila a deeper, more complex flavor profile. “Attempting something that had never been done before, I did not know what the result would be,” said maestra tequilera Ana Maria Romero in a statement. “However, the sugar content of the agaves was so high, I knew as soon as we harvested them that we were going to have a very special tequila. I believe the higher ABV showcases the full richness of the expression.”
According to the official tasting notes, there are aromas of cooked agave, roasted pineapple, and melon on the nose. On the palate, you’ll find chocolate, caramel, dulce de leche, cinnamon, and cardamom, with a bit of minerality on the finish. And, like Romero mentioned, it’s bottled at a high (for tequila) 100 proof which means less dilution. Like other Mijenta expressions, Maestra Selection No. 1 is additive-free, and the bottles are made from sugar cane fiber-based biopolymer in an attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. You can currently find Maestra Selection No. 1 (SRP $100) available to purchase from ReserveBar, along with other Mijenta expressions.
