Tony Salles<\/strong>, Master Distiller at tequila El Tequile\u00f1o, had a dilemma. His brand had recently achieved wider distribution outside of Mexico and into Canada, and some customers to the North were complaining that they could see solids in their bottles. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve mostly sold in Mexico, where it is warm, so in 60 years of producing we never had this issue before,\u201d Salles says.<\/p>\n When it comes to removing solids, some spirits producers choose a process called cold filtration, which chills the liquid to around freezing (26 to 32 degrees Fahrenheit), and then scrapes the solids from the top. However, Salles believed this process would change the profile of his tequila.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like when you put chicken soup in the fridge overnight,\u201d he says. \u201cIf you scrape the fat from the top of the broth and reheat it, it will not taste the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Tequila, like most other spirits, is usually filtered before bottling. Producers often use paper, cellulose (a more porous plant-based material), or activated carbon, to remove any unwanted particles left from the production process. It can also improve the texture, and create brilliance in the tequila. But filtration is rarely talked about as an essential step in tequila making.<\/p>\n \u201cFiltration is a process that has been learned generation to generation based on the technologies that we have at the time,\u201d says Salvador Rosales, Jr.<\/strong> of Tequila Cascahu\u00edn, who runs the distillery along with his father, Salvador Rosales Sr. \u201cFirst we look to remove any unwanted particles, usually using paper, and then it\u2019s a matter of what kind of profile you are looking to create.\u201d<\/p>\n Some methods are known to cut the alcohol burn, or make the tequila smoother for drinking, such as activated carbon, he says. But it may also take a little bit of the aromas and flavors away, making the tequila simpler. For some consumers, this is preferred.<\/p>\n The recent rise of cristalinos \u2013 aged tequilas that are filtered until they appear clear, like a blanco \u2013 have brought more attention to filtration in tequila. Producers of these products often rely on activated carbon to strip the color away, knowing that many flavor and aroma components will also be lost. This creates a \u201csmoother\u201d tequila.<\/p>\n While filtration is the defining step in the process for cristalinos, in other expressions it is considered a final touch. Except when you have customers worried about cloudiness.<\/p>\n \u201cActivated carbon has been widely used in tequila to remove the \u2018haze\u2019\u201d (or fatty acids),\u201d says Eduardo Espinosa de los Monteros<\/strong> of Filtration de Proceso, who has 15 years of experience filtering high-value liquids.<\/p>\n He points out that there are grades of carbon, such as micropores and macropores. These have different capabilities for \u201cadsorption\u201d, or the concentration of molecules on the surface. Micropores help in removing odors, whereas macropores remove stronger colors and pronounced flavors, Espinosa de los Monteros says, which is presumably better for cristalino production. But all carbon filtration will change the profile of a tequila to a certain extent, depending on the concentration used and the amount of contact it has with the liquid, he notes.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why Tequile\u00f1o\u2019s Salles wasn\u2019t considering carbon filtering for his regular line, even though he recently started producing a cristalino that uses carbon filtration to remove the color left from barrel aging.<\/p>\n He already uses paper, cellulose, polypropylene (a type of thermoplastic), and a very old ceramic filtration method he learned from his father to make sure that his tequila was clean and brilliant. So when it came to the issue fatty acids, he was thinking more about education.<\/p>\n \u201cTequila is a natural product, with fats that contain flavor. It is not the same as vodka, which is valued for its neutrality,\u201d Salles says.<\/p>\n But to address his customers\u2019 comments, he ran an experiment using cellulose to filter his \u201cordinario<\/em>\u201d (the liquid produced in the first distillation of the tequila making process.) The cellulose vendor assured him that filtering at this stage would eliminate the issue of solids forming in cold weather.<\/p>\n Some of the ordinario was 100% filtered by the cellulose, some at 75%, 50%, and finally 25% filtered. (A photo of the sample bottles is at the top of this story.) His team tasted all the samples against their normally produced blanco. The consensus came quickly: even at the 25% filtered the tequila did not taste the same.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lost some complexity and flavor,\u201d Salles says. In the end, they decided not to change their process.<\/p>\n Although Tequile\u00f1o decided not to filter their ordinario, a number of other producers choose this method to remove unwanted particles, and prevent cloudiness in their finished product.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did a lot of trial and error,\u201d says Jos\u00e9 Valdez<\/strong>, General Director & Maestro Tequilero of Tequila Partida. \u201cFor us, carbon filtering and cold filtering removed too much flavor.\u201d <\/p>\n Instead, Partida uses paper and cellulose filters to clean their core line tequilas and prevent cold-weather haze. (They too recently started producing cristalinos, and use carbon filtering for those products.)<\/p>\n At Distilleria Cascahu\u00edn, they steered away from cold filtration of their core Cascahu\u00edn line in Mexico, even though they have a system on site.<\/p>\n \u201cWe use cellulose cartridges to filter by gravity, not even using a pump, so it gently removes the particles, but does not change the profile of our tequila,\u201d says Rosales Jr.<\/p>\n They use cold filtration for some products produced for export, except when it comes to Cascahu\u00edn exported to Japan. Since the importer was already aware of esters and their solid-making potential, they decided to put a sticker on their bottles, informing customers that these fatty acids are a normal and natural part of the tequila making process.<\/p>\n Over at the Feliciano Vivanco Distillery, NOM 1414, Master Distiller Sergio Cruz<\/strong> takes a similar approach. For finer tequilas, they use a gentle filtering method, allowing the liquid to pass through cellulose using gravity. The aim is to remove any unwanted particles that may come from tanks or barrels.<\/p>\n \u201cThese products usually don\u2019t need much filtering because we take care through every part of the process,\u201d Cruz says.<\/p>\n However, when it comes to more economical products, he may pump the tequila through cellulose and activated carbon plates to clean up the rustic profile and smooth out the flavors.<\/p>\n \u201cIt also depends on the product, and the region (where it is sold),\u201d says Cruz. \u201cHere in Arandas, people like a tequila where the agave and the alcohol are more present, so for them I don\u2019t really need to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n That brings us back to Salles\u2019 predicament. Will education around tequila production lead customers to see solids floating in their bottles as a sign of artisanal flavor? We\u2019ll have to see.<\/p>\n Master Distiller Tony Salles explains the various methods of filtration common in the tequila industry:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tastetequila.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/tequila-school-logo-360.jpg\"){kind=logo}
He knew that this was because the fatty acids that hold aroma and flavor components, called esters (natural components in the agave plant) had solidified in the freezing temperatures. He wasn\u2019t exactly sure what to do about it. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/tastetequila.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/carbon-filtration-for-tequila.jpg\")
![\"Cellulose](\"https:\/\/tastetequila.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/cellulose-filtration.jpg\")