Each month, we will be featuring key personalities in the making and use of IZKALI Tequila. This week, we wanted to start off by introducing IZKALI’s Maestro Tequilero, Luis Alberto Contreras. Luis Alberto is in charge of overseeing the production of IZKALI Tequila.
1. Name: Luis Alberto Contreras (also goes by Beto)
2. Job Title: Maestro Tequilero
3. What responsibilities do you have as a Maestro Tequilero? I am in charge of taking the Agave plant cores – called Piñas – and transforming them into tequila.
4. What is the most difficult part of your job? Ensuring that the piñas are of optimum size (they must be over 25 kg) so the first step in making tequila – cooking and roasting – achieves a uniform caramel color without any burning (black) or undercooking.
5. What is your favorite part of making tequila? The second step, when the roasted piñas are crushed and pressed to extract their liquid and separate it from the fibers. This is when I know I have tequila in the making. I love seeing the first liquid that will become our smooth, prized 100% tequila.
6. And, your least favorite part? Distillation, it requires patience and vigilance. We must monitor the boiling for over two hours at a time without being distracted, so we don’t miss a moment to change settings. It seems long and dull but incredibly critical to the taste and smoothness of the final product.
7. How did you learn to make tequila? It is a family tradition. I am part of the fourth generation Agave-harvesting Contreras family.
8. What is the future of your family business? I have two young daughters, but I am not sure yet if they will want to join the family tequila business!
