Still Spirits Tequila Essence, how to use it
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Worth being straight about this one from the start. Tequila is made from blue agave and it's protected, so it can only be called tequila if it comes from a defined part of Mexico, which means nothing you mix in a shed in Strathalbyn is tequila. What you're making is a tequila style spirit, and that's not a technicality anybody should be embarrassed about, it's just what the thing is.
What the essence does
Still Spirits Tequila Essence puts the earthy, faintly peppery character of a blanco into a neutral base. Agave is the hard note to get right because it's savoury rather than sweet, and a lot of cheap flavourings miss it entirely and land on sugar instead. This one is aimed at the blanco end rather than an aged reposado, so expect it to taste bright and a bit sharp rather than oaky.
It's worth saying, because somebody always asks. Flavouring a bought neutral base isn't distilling and there's no ATO excise licence in it at all. If you're distilling the base yourself that's a federal manufacturer licence through the ATO, and it's a separate question to this one.
Mixing it
Follow the ratio on the bottle into a clean neutral base and give it a day before you judge it. Because it's a blanco style there's nothing to age and no reason to oak it, so what you taste at the end of that first day is broadly what you have got. If you want something closer to a reposado you would want to add a small amount of oak, and I'd do that in a glass rather than the whole batch until you know you like it.
A margarita, without the fuss
The classic ratio is two parts spirit, one part lime juice and one part orange liqueur, shaken hard with plenty of ice and strained into a cold glass with salt on the rim if that's your thing. Fresh lime matters more than anything else in that list, and bottled juice is the single fastest way to make a bad margarita.
Shop related products
- Still Spirits Tequila Essence. The essence this post is about.
- Still Spirits Citrus Vodka. A clean citrus flavouring, and a useful thing to have alongside it.
- Still Spirits Turbo Yeast. Yeast for the wash if you're making your own base.
- Still Spirits Universal Z Carbon. Carbon for cleaning the base up, which matters in a light spirit.
Did you know we also keep a silver tequila flavouring and the 1125ml spirit bottles in the shop. They are not on the website, so give us a ring on (08) 8536 4333 to check what is on the shelf.
- How to flavour a spirit at home with essences
- How to use spirit essences at home
- How spirit essences work, and how to pick the right one
Not sure which one suits what you actually drink? Brewhilder will narrow it down, or have a look through the homebrew collection.
I'm still the person who salts the whole rim and then drinks from the other side of the glass.
Candeece
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