Tequila
Is a distilled spirit, made from the blue agave variety of the maguey plant. To obtain the juices, the heart of the plant is chopped, shredded, and cooked into a pulp, it is then pressed for its juices.

The birth of tequila came from the combination of the Aztecs fermented 'pulque', and the process of distillation that was intoduced by the Spanish conquistadores.

Tequila comes in four different styles, they are:

Blanco (white or silver)

This is an unaged tequila, and is either bottled immediately, or stored in stainless steel tanks for no more then 60 days. Many feel that Blanco is the best style to use for cocktails, since it will have a more crisp and lively flavor that would otherwise have been subdued by aging.

Reposado (rested)

This is tequila that has been aged in wooden tanks for not less then two months. This limited aging makes it slightly more mellow then Blanco.

Anejo (aged)

Is a fully aged tequila, by law it has to age for at least a year, and while the Reposado can be aged in any size of tank, an Anejo barrel can't be larger then 600 liters. Many feel that Anejo makes the best sipping tequila because it is the most mellow and subdued, however others feel that Blanco or Reposado are better for sipping because they retain more of the characteristic tequila flavor.

Joven (gold)

Is unaged, like Blanco, but it has been colored and flavored (usually with carmel) to make it look at taste more like an Anejo. It is also usually not made from 100% agave, and the carmel will help mask what might otherwise have been the harsher flavor of a "mixto".

When talking about Tequila, it is important to note that it holds a similar position as Cognac. By this, I mean that Tequila is a spirit that legally can only come from a specific geographical region in Mexico (Jalisco). All other spirits of this type are known as "Mezcal" (also spelled "Mescal"). Thus all Tequilas are Mezcal, but all Mezcals are not Tequila.

The best tequila will be labled "100% Agave", which means that it has been distilled entirely from the fermented juices of the agave plant. If it doesn't say "100% Agave", then that means it is probably a "mixto", which means that in addition to fermented agave, some other fermented spirit has been added to extend it. Since 1995, if it says "Tequila", it has to have been made from at least 60 percent agave.

One common misconception about Tequila is that this is the spirit that includes "the worm". In truth, you should never be able to find a bottle of true Tequila that includes a worm. You might find certain brands of Mezcal that use such a marketing device to try to differentiate themselves, but I wouldn't expect much at all in the way of quality from a spirit that has to stoop to such cheap gimmicks to sell their product. If you would like more information about Mezcal in general, and the "worm" in specific, I'd recommend checking out http://www.mezcal.com/worms.html