Mexican tequilas complex, diverse

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The margarita is the best-selling cocktail in the United States, so it should be no surprise that tequila is one of the fastest growing distilled spirits in the country. Since it comes from Mexico, tequila is the perfect drink for celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

For a decidedly au courant drink, tequila's origins are surprisingly humble. The native Indians of Mexico were probably cooking up an alcoholic drink from the indigenous agave plant long before the Spanish arrived in the 1520s.

It was New World technology -- distilling -- that kick-started tequila production during the 16th century in the town of Tequila, 7,500 feet above sea level in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. Oddly enough, tequila didn't find legs as a superpopular drink, even in Mexico, until the 1990s.

In the United States, tequila experienced a brief heyday during Prohibition and then again during World War II. It wasn't until the 1970s, however, that tequila makers Herradura and Sauza started a tequila craze north of the border. That craze is now in full bloom.

All tequila is Mexican by international agreement; if it's not made in Mexico, it's not tequila.

Authentic tequila is a liquor distilled from fermented juices extracted from the hearts of blue agave plants grown in Mexico's tequila region, in western Mexico around Guadalajara.

There are about 500 varieties of agave, 260 of which are grown in Mexico, but only Agave tequilana, or blue agave, is cultivated to make tequila. The plant matures at eight to 10 years and has long, bluish green spiny leaves with sharp points and a large heart called a pina. The juices are extracted from the sugary heart to be fermented and distilled.

Tequila production is tightly controlled by the Mexican government and through the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT). This body, a private nonprofit organization based in Guadalajara, oversees every aspect of tequila production and certifies quality. So the initials CRT on a label ensure good quality.

There are two main classifications of tequila and five categories. If it's labeled simply "tequila," it can be a mix of 51 percent agave sugars and 49 percent sugars from other sources. This classification of tequila can be exported in bulk and bottled in other countries.

The classification labeled "100 percent blue agave tequila" means just that, and it must be bottled at the distillery.'