What’s the Word: Añejo

By Lucasryden @saborkitchen

Because your knife isn’t the only thing that needs sharpening.

We live in an era infatuated with the novelty of things – new iPhones, new albums, younger women.  But in the world of tequila, as with that of vino, we like to appreciate those that have aged gracefully into their golden years.

Añejo means “aged” in Spanish.  In the context of Latin gastronomy, the word is typically used to describe stinky cheese (queso añejo) and top-shelf tequila (tequila añejo).  Añejo is just one of the five broad categories of tequila, which as we all know is a cash cow whose production is tightly controlled by the Mexican state.  According to tradition tequila añejo must be aged for a period of one to three years, making it the second most aged of the tequila family (extra-añejo refers to bottles aged longer than 3 years).  So it’s slightly old, yet still delicious.  Kind of like the platinum cougar lurking at your local dive bar.