Porfidio Agave Spirit - Plata

Limited stock.

Colour: White crystal.

Nose: Spicy, smoky, hint of caramelised vegetables.

Palate: Rich palate with undertones of vanilla, cinnamon and gentle honey.

Finish: Gentle heat with cooked plums and oranges.

The agave takes 10 years to reach maturity and there are therefore only ten harvests per century. Each huge agave plant weighs 50 kilos (100 pounds) on average and 10 kilos (20 pounds) of agave are required to produce just one litre of agave spirit. By contrast, sugar cane, barley and grapes can be harvested at least once a year making rum, whisky and brandy rather less expensive to produce. At Destileria Porfidio, they steam-cook the agave plants for at least 24 hours.

Once the cooking cycle is complete, the softened agave fibre has to be pressed to separate the agave juices from the agave fibre. As with ultra-premium olive oil, only the first pressing of the agave fibre is used for the production of Porfidio spirits.

In addition, Porfidio does not dilute the freshly squeezed agave juice during the pressing process as some manufacturers would, as this would reduce the quality of the agave juice. The agave juice derived from mature agave plants contains natural agave sugar, which is the basis for the subsequent fermentation process. The agave juice is brownish in colour and similar to coffee in appearance.

The agave juice is fermented by introducing micro-organisms, or good bacteria, which convert the sugar into alcohol. Bad bacteria would turn the agave juices into vinegar. The fermented agave juice has an alcoholic content of only 12% abv. Destileria Porfidio is the only factory in Mexico which implements quality fermentation in a rigorously controlled and therefore ideal environment.

The fermented agave juice is distilled three times, in traditional alambic pots, separating the heads and the tails at each distillation and only keeping the heart of each distillate. Plata Triple-Distilled at 45% alcohol by volume is also the starting point for the ageing process which will over time produce Porfidio Anejo Single-Barrel.

Prior to bottling, Porfidio Plata is adjusted to exactly 38% alcohol by volume.