A Modern Look at Mixto

While in recent years there have been other pretenders to the crown, it’s probably fair to say that tequila remains the bartenders’ choice the world over. 

No two bars are the same of course, and bartending styles and tastes vary wildly around the globe, but it’s unlikely you’ll lose friends in most places by offering a shot of Jalisco’s finest to the people behind the bar. For many (DISCARD included), it is a spirit that provided an early “AHA!” moment in their hospitality journeys, upon realising there was a huge difference between the turpentine-esque stuff you drank (and threw up) at that party when you were seventeen, and the real stuff gracing the shelves at big name bars the world over. It is often a rite of passage for young bartenders – you learn that the horrible stuff you drank was bad because it was made badly, and because crucially, it wasn’t actually all agave in the bottle. Only tequila that could make the boast that it was made from 100% Tequiliana Weber Azul (or blue agave to those similarly lacking in Spanish) could ever be good enough from now on, this was real tequila, the rest was just for frat boys, hen parties, those who weren’t educated, those who weren’t in the know. Idiots.

But surely we’re not so shallow nowadays? For an industry that prides itself on prizing flavour above all else, should that not be the deciding factor on what goes in your speedrail?

The sad passing last year of Don Javier – owner and long-time operator of La Capilla, the oldest and probably most well-known cantina in Tequila – brought about a social media inspired resurgence of his signature drink, the Batanga. A simple affair, the drink comprises tequila, fresh lime, and Coke, in a salt rimmed glass (stirred with a knife if you want to be authentic), but it was his choice of tequila that was surprising. El Tequileño blanco; A mixto. This place – for many years a mecca for thousands of agave loving hospitality folk the world over was going through cases of the stuff. It’s not like they did it accidentally, La Capilla is one of the best bars in the world (number fourteen in 2013, no less), and the best tequila distilleries on earth are on their doorstep. If Don Javier was able to take his pick of the bunch, why would he choose a mixto?
Thing is – and this might come as a shock – sometimes, even at DISCARD, we might not be totally correct all the time. For starters, calling tequila “Jalisco’s finest” is a little disingenuous when tequila can be made in five different states in Mexico, and while we at DISCARD do have a genuine love for tequila, we’re certainly not experts. So DISCARD reached out to some of the finest agave minded people in the business to explore both sides of the debate, and find out whether we have been doing mixto dirty all these years.

So, what is mixto, and if it is so derided, why make it at all? As mentioned earlier, tequila is made either entirely, or in part by fermenting and distilling the sugars found in blue agave. Since 1970, all tequila must contain at least 51% blue agave, but the rest can be made from other sugars, such as corn or cane, generally known as piloncillo. 

Fany Camarena is the Commercial Director for Tequila Ocho, and a sixth generation tequilera and agavera [agave grower]. Based in Arandas, she has been involved in the family business since she was fifteen. “I don’t have a lot of experience with mixto because my family has always produced 100% agave tequila, since 1890. The 100% agave category has grown, and from 2018 to 2020 the industry produced more 100% than mixto. The consumer is more informed and looking for transparency on every product they consume, this is my perception of why mixto is decreasing. Of course, there is always a market for both categories. There could be a market for “high quality” mixto because of the price, that will be always cheaper than a good 100% Agave Tequila, I think there is no comparison.

There is no getting away from the fact that agave is an expensive, resource-hungry commodity, and the cost of this raw material is reflected in the bottle price of premium 100% agave tequilas. Mixto tequilas were introduced at a lower price with the intention of being served in mixed drinks, and for most of us these mixtos were the only tequilas widely available at the time. The odd thing is that while mixto tequilas are generally derided by the bar industry and increasingly knowledgeable consumers, this practice is commonplace, and widely accepted in other categories. No one would bat an eye at a blended whisky being used in a highball, so why do people turn their nose up at a mixto in a Margarita?

Salvador Rosales Trejo is a third generation Tequilero and is in charge of production and commercialisation of Tequila Cascahuin in El Arenal, Jalisco. “I work alongside my father and brothers; we try to maintain authentic and traditional processes for the production of tequila. I have fourteen years experience working formally in the tequila industry. For me there is a lot of passion, pride and tradition in what we do which is distilled agave tequila.” Cascahuin produce a mixto tequila and Salvador – or Chava as he is introduced to us – states there is a place for it if it is made well. “It is important to define quality before anything else. Tequila mixto made with proper development, looking for an interesting profile would be something important within a portfolio.”

It seems to some very much a binary issue – mixto is bad and 100% agave is good – but it is most certainly possible to make a bad 100% agave tequila. Advances in the processing technology used with agave, coupled with an increased global demand meant many brands realising that there was huge profit to be made in sacrificing taste for efficiency. Traditional brick hornos used to caramelize the natural sugars are effective but can take three days to slowly roast and cool the agave before it can be fermented and distilled. Steam pressured autoclaves replaced them in some distilleries, quartering the time needed to cook the agave, and then in more recent years that too gave way allowing some of the larger producers to switch to using a diffuser – which extracts the raw starch from the pina directly, without any pre-cooking at all. This process is super-efficient and wastes little, so it’s great for the bottom line, but many would argue the process creates an inferior tequila.

Steffin Oghene is VP of Business Development & Global Marketing for Tequila El Tequileño, and now lives in Mexico. “I gained an interest in tequila around 2006, but tequila in the UK was really small at this point and only a handful of brands existed so there was limited info to learn from. In 2007, I was asked to run Green & Red in London by Henry Besant and Dre Masso; two of the leading agave experts in the UK at the time. Our team there was fantastic, and we focused on creating an authentic Mexican experience and serving some amazing agave spirits. Since then, I’ve traveled to Mexico hundreds of times and made great friends in the industry who all have the same objective - to spread the word of agave and ensure people have the best experiences drinking the magical spirit of tequila!” 

“Let’s look to the past and the present. Regular tequila [mixto] was an extremely common and popular category in the past and it wasn’t until the late eighties when a raise in price on sugar taxes drove producers to focus and build the 100% category. For years it has been the message that 100% is high quality and mixtos are cheap and low quality. However, this is a bit of a general assumption to apply it to the whole industry. With the rise in modern production methods, we have seen in many cases a decrease in quality of 100% agave tequilas where producers focus on quantity over quality - harvesting immature agave at three years old over mature six- to eight-year-old agave for example. The true statement that everybody should learn is that a well-crafted tequila is a great tequila! A producer that focuses on quality when producing their mixto can produce a product of higher quality than a badly made 100% agave”.

We ask whether there is a feeling in Mexico that the global consumers’ attitude toward mixto has changed in recent years: “I would say that the global consumers’ attitude has changed towards the category as a whole. Consumers have become more educated and understand the category more. It has become more and more a choice spirit and mixto fits into that for those tequila aficionados that understand the quality that can be shown in these products. However, for sure, more education is required for a larger audience to accept good quality mixto in the same way as 100% agave tequila is perceived.” Chava also believes consumer knowledge has risen significantly. “Yes, it has totally changed. Now, the market is looking for 100% agave tequila. But I believe that [to some people] the profile of tequila mixto producers is that they are only looking for better prices and production efficiency; leaving aside the part of being a product that can provide interesting and different characteristics to express other tequila profiles.” 

Two factors that have forced the hand of producers in other categories were a sudden rise in popularity for that spirit, and a lack of aging stock to meet this demand, leading to a push towards blended and non-age statement products. As agave can take up to eight years to grow and the spirit can be aged up to three years, coupled with rising agave prices, the panel were asked whether they felt a similar situation could occur with the tequila industry?

“I don’t think it’s a maybe, I think it’s a definite.” States Steffin. “Agave prices have been so high that producers are reluctant to fill their barrel houses with expensive tequila, and so producers have been extremely careful in how they manage their inventory and have been less active in setting down tequila for the future”. Chava highlights the shortage of agave as a big issue in the future: “What is a reality is the popularity of tequila alongside other factors has taken us to a shortage of raw material [blue agave], maintaining an expensive price in the market, meaning businesses and above all the small businesses don’t have enough inventory to maintain categories like añejo and extra añejo. Therefore, in the near future there may be a shortage or fewer inventories of these categories”. Fany confirms the shortages but is more thoughtful on the future. “I believe that each distillery knows how their customers and importers tendency is going to go and have been planning accordingly. In our case, we say that making tequila is like having a crystal ball that needs to tell you how the future for tequila will be, so you can start acting today to be ready for seven to nine years later, and this applies for Tequila Blanco or Aged Tequila too.”

So, do the panel see any parallels between tequila and Scotch when it comes to more reasonably priced, higher quality blended products? “Yes” states Chava “this topic is growing, and it is normal that we all are seeking growth, I think the issue is more in the form that growth takes”. Fany points again to consumers driving change in the market but stresses the need for honesty and transparency. “I think the new consumers are more conscious about the products which are transparent and honest. We are proud to tell exactly all about our process, what we have blended or how old an aged tequila is. If you do things right, there is no need to ‘non-say it’”. 

Steffin remarks that perhaps the two industries, both so rooted in tradition, might mutually benefit from embracing a more modern, collaborative approach. “What I will say is that in my opinion, despite some amazing creations, in the tequila industry we are still learning and are a little behind Scotch whisky in terms of aging and blending expertise. In fact, there are many working in tequilas that have learned their trade from the Scotch and Cognac industries. Enrique Fonseca, a well-respected master distiller in the industry, studied in Scotland and Cognac, learning the art of aging and blending before setting out on his journey to make tequila. Don Jorge Salles Cuervo, the founder of El Tequileño had learnt the impact from the softer aging methods of larger barrels that were more commonly found in the Cognac and wine industries. But overall, from a consumer perception, I think there is still a way to go in order to educate and in turn gain the same respect that is seen in non-aged and blended Scotch. But to say all mixto is bad and 100% agave is only good is like saying all Blended Scotch is bad and only single malt is good, I would like to see what John Glaser from Compass Box would say about that!”

The tequila industry is certainly steeped in tradition, just a glance at how it is marketed to the trade and consumers shows words like heritage, family, time-honoured used throughout. We ask how the industry is innovating and whether they should be embracing change a little more, especially in light of the success of relatively recent non-traditional products such as extra añejo, or cristalino? 

“I wouldn’t say they are non-traditional’ begins Steffin, “I personally would describe them as part of the evolution of the industry through innovation”. “Extra añejo I think has earned its place to even compete with a bourbon, whisky or a nice rum” says Fany, “the oaky and sweet notes are perfect to sip and savour, but not the same case for a cristalino that I see more as a fad or mode that cannot last forever. Honestly we [at Ocho] don’t see the purpose of doing an extra distillation with an añejo, you spend effort, time and money making a nice tequila that sits on a barrel for more than a year and then you decide to get rid of the colour and cut the flavour and aroma distilling it again or (even worse) passing it through charcoal filters that will remove everything that you have gained. Don’t really see the point. In this case I would better recommend to drink vodka and let’s forget about tequila”. 

To conclude we talk about sustainability, and whether the process of making tequila itself can be improved. An agave plant takes up to eight years to mature and requires a lot of processing and energy to make it into the final product. By using other sugars in place of some of the agave, would that not be creating a more sustainable spirit? “The tequila industry with or without mixto needs to search for ways to impact the environment less” concludes Chava, “and that includes a lot of resources, talking about raw agave we need to be more careful with the way the plant is produced and the land where it is planted, and use more sustainable agricultural practices.” This sentiment is echoed by Fany “when an agavero cares about the agave and his land, there are always ways of reducing the environmental impact and not damaging the soil. We let the land rest using crop rotations for at least two years before planting agave on the same place again, we use organic fertiliser and this reduces the need to use chemical pesticides.” Steffin highlights a different production issue “The biggest challenge for nearly all producers I speak to is how to deal with the vinazas. This is the stillage. It’s a complicated by-product of distillation that is extremely toxic. There are currently loose regulations regarding the disposal of it and unfortunately, many producers still discard of this in local waterways which destroys wildlife and negatively impacts the surrounding area. At El Tequileño, as with other environmentally conscious producers, we combine the vinazas with the agave fibres to create a rich compost which can be used as a natural fertilizer on the agave fields. That way you take from the earth but you also give back!”

It’s clear that all three of our panel are fiercely proud of their products and contribution to the tequila industry, and rightly so. The tequila industry is one that has seen huge changes over the last few years, and with a continued trend upwards in sales globally predicted in the next year or so, it seems inevitable that increased prices of raw materials and reduced quantity of aging stock will force producers and consumers to rethink their positions on mixto – if it’s good enough for the late, great Don Javier, surely it’s worthy of your spicy marg?

As we finish putting this article together there’s a ping as another email comes through with a last word from Steffin. “Just another thing that’s worth mentioning. There are millions of competitions around the world that split mixto from 100% agave. Personally, tequila is tequila and should all be judged in the same way under the same conditions to avoid judges favouring one category over another. I think this would raise some surprises!