resembles a cactus Tequila is made mainly by large distilleries around the northerly city of Jalisco from the blue agave, Agave tequilana, while the more rustic mezcal is made by small producers around central Oaxaca from the maguey, Agave angustifolia The agave stores its energy in the sugar fructose and the long fructose chains called inulin (p 805) Because humans lack an enzyme for digesting inulin, people have learned to cook inulin-rich foods for a long time at a low temperature, a treatment that breaks the chains into their component sugars, and also develops an intense and characteristic browned flavor Tequila makers steam the inulin-rich agave hearts, which may weight 20–100 lb/9–45 kg, while mezcal producers roast them in large charcoalfired pit ovens and generate smoky aromas that carry over into the spirits The cooked, sweet hearts are then mashed with water and fermented, and the resulting alcoholicliquid distilled Tequila distillation is industrial; mezcal is double-distilled, first in small clay pots, then in a larger metal pot still Most tequila and mezcal is bottled without aging Tequila and mezcal have distinctive flavors that include roasty aromas, but also flowery ones (linalool, damascenone, phenylethyl alcohol), and vanilla (vanillin) Flavored Alcohols: Bitters and Liqueurs Alcohol’s split chemical personality, its resemblance to fats as well as water, makes it an excellent solvent for other volatile, aromatic molecules It does a good job of extracting and holding flavors from solid ingredients Herbs, spices, nuts, flowers, fruits: all these and more are soaked in alcohol, or distilled along with alcohol, to make a host of flavored liquids Gin is the best known of these Most of the others fall into two families: bitters, which are just that, and liqueurs, which are sweetened to varying ... alcohol, or distilled along with alcohol, to make a host of flavored liquids Gin is the best known of these Most of the others fall into two families: bitters, which are just that, and liqueurs, which... flavors that include roasty aromas, but also flowery ones (linalool, damascenone, phenylethyl alcohol), and vanilla (vanillin) Flavored Alcohols: Bitters and Liqueurs Alcohol’s split chemical personality, its resemblance to fats as well as water, makes it... excellent solvent for other volatile, aromatic molecules It does a good job of extracting and holding flavors from solid ingredients Herbs, spices, nuts, flowers, fruits: all these and more are soaked