{"id":56179,"date":"2024-07-18T13:02:56","date_gmt":"2024-07-18T12:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T19:49:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T18:49:06","slug":"the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/","title":{"rendered":"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano"},"content":{"rendered":"

The name Don Fulano refers to a Mexican gentleman of unknown or undisclosed identity. But at the centre of this Tequila brand is a well-known family. Descendants of a Portuguese immigrant, the Fonsecas have farmed in the heart of Atotonilco in the Highlands of Jalisco for generations, planting agave in the late 1800s to supply Tequila distillers. They haven\u2019t just been cultivating agave for 140 years, however. In the 1970s, the family looked into building a distillery of their own, but instead managed to acquire the La Tequile\u00f1a distillery (NOM 1146) in the heart of Tequila town; a distillery with over a hundred years of heritage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But while fifth-generation agave farmer Enrique Fonesca knew all about the raw material, he didn\u2019t know enough about the process of turning it into Tequila so he flew to Europe for a spirited education. In France, he learned the importance of wine to make a spirit, while in Scotland, he learned about distillation and how different kinds of stills create different profiles. He also fell in love with the magic of maturation; \u201cthe patience, the layering of flavours, the right casks\u201d. <\/span><\/p>\n

His efforts paid off. Since 2002, Don Fulano Tequila<\/a> has won more than 140 international medals, is sold worldwide, and is a highly respected brand.\u00a0<\/span>We recently attended a masterclass titled \u201cThe flavour and essence of Tequila\u201d with fourth-generation farmer, distiller and blender Sergio Mendoza as well as ambassadors Christina Helmer and Andr\u00e9s Moran at NOMA to learn more about the brand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Don

Say hello to Don Fulano’s Sergio Mendoza<\/p><\/div>\n

Understanding Tequila<\/b><\/h3>\n

We begin by discussing how Tequila is understood, with Mendoza saying it\u2019s at an important stage in its growth. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of excitement. All the big spirit companies have come to Mexico, they are buying the family-owned brands. Then came the celebrities, it is like a sport. But we have nothing bad or negative to say about that, it has opened many doors that haven’t been opened. But we want to rewind to see if we can get back to the essence, the flavour origins of Tequila\u2026 and the culture that underlines that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A certain image of Tequila persists. \u201cWe all had these ideas of Tequila, of when you were young, the nightclubs, the bad quality, and hangovers. That used to be the story. It still is, there are some places where Tequila is still in that timeframe,” Mendoza remarks. It\u2019s a conversation you have at any Tequila event these days, but I subscribe to the idea that the only way we overcome any stereotypes is to repeatedly bang the drum that demonstrates their fallibilities and show a new way. Mendoza thinks we are starting to get through. “The producing families, the category Mexico as a whole, battles have been won. Tequila has layers and layers which people are seeing\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The session is divided into three main topics: agriculture, craft, and maturation. Most of the emphasis is given to the first. \u201cFirst and foremost, we are agave farmers. We became Tequila producers much later. The essence and the roots of Tequila are in the soil,\u201d Mendoza explains. Together, the three speakers underline that what makes Tequila unique is its raw material; the agave. A plant with millions of years of evolution, cultivated and highly venerated in Mexico for thousands of years. They outline how it\u2019s one of the most biodiverse families of plants, with multiple species and innumerable varieties from which a great number of products have been produced; ropes, textiles, fibres, bricks, medicine, beverages and of course, the spirits of Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Agave

The agriculture of agave is a way of life for Don Fulano<\/p><\/div>\n

The agriculture of Tequila<\/b><\/h3>\n

Mendoza explains that the sustainable and holistic approach to the agriculture <\/strong>of agave is at the core of the distillery’s ethos. “<\/span>The challenges we face now are industrialisation and the treatment of the beautiful agave plant. We are treating not only the agave but the production of food in a very savage way. Depleted soils, growing crops based on petroleum-based energy, because the soil doesn\u2019t have any energy. You need a balance of elements otherwise you start losing nutrients, and flavour is just an extension of nutrients. It’s insane. We don\u2019t even know we\u2019re growing all our products in dead soils. You can grow it bigger and brighter but it has no nutrients, it has no flavour. That\u2019s why Tequila companies that produce in this way: young agaves, distil to 95% ABV, they need to put caramel, vanilla no.75, oak extracts…\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Helmer adds \u201cIt’s all about soil health. If you don\u2019t have healthy soil, you don\u2019t have a healthy plant and a nutritious plant is what translates into flavour. We over agriculture these days and that way you lose the soil. We use organic matter, not pesticides, really traditional methods with a love for the biodynamic movement. We don’t have the beautiful fields of agave and red soil you see in pictures. There’s grass\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The biodynamic elements intrigued me and later Moran emailed me an explanation of how Don Fulano implemented this practice. \u201cThe agave is a fairly complex plant that has taken thousands of years to evolve and adapt to the forms of production linked to the industry, the production of agave supplies 80% or more of the production of spirits and a small but still significant amount to the production of alternative sweeteners. Until 10 years ago, most of the plantations were concentrated mainly in the Altos de Jalisco, this area is where we grow our agaves, which is also an area with a very important demand for agricultural production for the state’s economy, lemon orchards, Corn, orange trees, pumpkin orchards, mango trees, chickpeas, beans are mostly the diversity of products that are planted here in the Highlands of Jalisco\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He continues: \u201cThe Fonseca family has planted agave for five generations until now, an essential part of maintaining a fertile and healthy land is finding the balance between planting\/agave cycle\/harvest season, depending on the nutrients the land needs we choose to plant beans, seeds of chia, chickpea before planting agave for a new cycle, in addition to among the agaves in regions where the terrain allows it, we plant lemon trees between agave lines, we moderately allow the growth of wild weed and we also avoid any type of pesticide or nutrients based on oil, all these practices are learning from generations of farmers who have walked the same path of the evolution of the agave and its transformation for the production of Tequila\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Agave

Agave at Don Fulano’s La Tequile\u00f1a distillery<\/p><\/div>\n

Agave, agave, agave<\/b><\/h3>\n

Don Fulano is one of the few producers who grows all the agave used in its Tequila production. In its case, that\u2019s exclusively Maduro and Pinto. \u201cWe need mature agave. If we don\u2019t have mature agave, there\u2019s no way to make up for that later,\u201d says Helmer \u201cMaturation can take 5-12 years. Once it’s mature, you will see the core, the body swells up a bit, the leaves will relax and come out a little bit and you start to see discolouration, really beautiful red spots and a little bit of yellow. Not enough maturity means the agave is bitter. We harvest by percentage, we’ll never harvest the whole field, which is common now. It can take up to two years for us to harvest an entire field. Once harvested, we will plant two cycles of other crops, especially legumes before planting agave again. These will restore the soil and its nutrients and the essential nitrogen. Time is money, and it’s a really long time to wait\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Helmer also explains that one thing you should really look out for is biological age, not chronological age. \u201cIf you have agave that\u2019s five or six years that doesn\u2019t mean anything in regards to maturity.\u00a0 Size doesn’t mean quality either. You could have an agave that\u2019s small, smaller than a soccer ball, and super mature, or a large agave that\u2019s not very mature at all\u201d.<\/span> It’s all about physiological ripeness, a whole series of internal developments that the plant does that releases energy for reproduction that translates into flavour.<\/span><\/p>\n

As for harvesting, Moran says Don Fulano selects agave one by one in its field. \u201cFrom these previously selected agaves we are going to cut the leaves (jima) and cut them from the roots of the ground, the jima is different depending on the amount of sugar that the agave contains, but we are always going to leave a part of the leaf (penca) because we have flavours and some sugars that we can translate into the flavour at the end of the distillation\u201d. He goes on: \u201cThis is not a usual practice among Tequila producers, as normally they will have to buy agave from different suppliers, they will not be certain of the ripeness of these. So to avoid paying extra leaf weight for immature agaves, they prefer to shave the agave completely, leaving out the interaction of these flavours at the end\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Agave

Agave bagasse processed at Don Fulano’s distillery<\/p><\/div>\n

The terroir of Tequila<\/b><\/h3>\n

With this much appreciation of the raw material and where it comes from, it will come as no surprise to learn that Don Fulano underlines the importance of terroir in Tequila production. <\/span>We taste six spirit samples that make it into the Blanco expression across, the only difference between each is where the agave is grown. Some of these fields are neighbours but the soil type is different and the result is an entirely unique spirit. It\u2019s fascinating stuff.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moran says that the lands where their agaves are grown extend throughout the highlands of Jalisco, largely in the municipality of Atotonilco el Alto, but the lands belonging to the Fonseca family reach further. \u201cWe do not have a sure count of how many hectares, but there are several members of the family who are suppliers of agave for Don Fulano, there are even agaves outside the state of Jalisco but within the appellation of origin in the state of Michoacan\u201d. He says the soil samples used to graph the difference in terroir are the type of soil that extends within the territory where they plant agaves and that the composition of the soil in the highlands of Jalisco is significantly different from that of the Valley in Tequila since there was volcanic activity in the valley more than a 1000 years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mendoza explains that it\u2019s impossible to truly understand the amazing richness of variables in the soil. \u201cIn wine, you can talk about the geography, of the year, how much rain, if it rained late, if it was a hot year\u2026 in agave, it\u2019s exactly the same with this concept of terroir. But over six years, seven years, eight years. There are some fields where I’ve only seen three harvests of agave in my lifetime. To put all of that into perspective is not easy at all\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He also says that, while they are agave farmers, it doesn\u2019t have to be like that. \u201cTequila has always been an agro-industry, there are farmers and there are distillers. It\u2019s like restaurants, no? A great chef doesn’t have to grow their own vegetables. But as we\u2019re seeing more and more it is important to know who your partner is. It\u2019s the same for Tequila. You could be solely a distillery and buy agave in the third market. But it\u2019s important how that agave grew, and what soil it comes from. But agave is treated more and more like a commodity, grown with heavy use of agrochemicals in a monocultive system\u201d. He reveals that, at one time, a certain celebrity brand was buying 16 different finished spirits to create its Tequila.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The speakers make you understand that Tequila and mezcal are from Jalisco and Oaxaca for a reason, which is that they have the greatest biodiversity of agave. The distillery is in the valleys of Tequila, where almost all distilleries are in a line following the river. \u201cTequila is one of a few spirits that doesn’t come from a grain or a fruit. It’s a plant, it has a vegetal nature,\u201d Mendoza says. \u201cCooked agave has this vegetal and green quality but also notes of sweet potato, molasses, overripe banana, and pineapple\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Agave

Agave needs to be handled correctly, from harvesting to cooking<\/p><\/div>\n

The craft of Tequila: cooking and milling<\/b><\/h3>\n

Once we\u2019d covered agave we moved onto the <\/span>craft <\/b>stage of Tequila production, referring to cooking, milling, mashing, fermentation, and distillation. The question Don Fulano poses is: how do you make great Tequila that is only mature agave, proprietary yeast, and spring volcanic water? The process begins with mature, quality agave but it\u2019s then a matter of ensuring those qualities make it through to the Tequila. The ripe Maduro and Pinto agaves are halved or quartered depending on their size and carefully loaded and layered inside the autoclaves or steam <\/span>hornos<\/span><\/i>, essentially a stainless steam oven.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe steam the agave for around 28-32 hours. It turns the agave golden, moist and sweet. The ovens could do it in six hours, but there is no point in waiting all that time for the agave to mature to then take the flavour out in processing,\u201d. Moran says. By slowly steaming the agave at low pressure and then letting it rest for another 12 hours, Don Fulano continues the process of breaking down the complex sugars into mono and Disaccharides, which the plant itself had already started in the fields. These simpler resulting sugars are now accessible and fermentable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The cooked agaves are then unloaded on the opposite side of the hornos and sent over on a conveyer belt to a self-engineered screw press where the agave juice or <\/span>aguamiel<\/span><\/i> (honey-water) is squeezed gently out of the fibres. \u201cWe have a screw mill to separate the fibres in the first squeeze, so we\u2019re going to get all the juices out, which are very thick with sugar. We also have to wash the fibres, that\u2019s why we press in four steps in the roller mill, washing the fibre with the water that we collect from the Tequila volcano\u201d, Moran explains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tequila

Fermentation creates a huge amount of flavour in Tequila<\/p><\/div>\n

The craft of Tequila: fermentation<\/b><\/h3>\n

After the milling comes fermentation and by selecting agave for optimum maturity, the necessary enzymes are present which means the fermentations are going to be completely natural without the addition of any accelerants or external nutrients.<\/span><\/p>\n

At La Tequile\u00f1a, open wooden fermentation tanks are filled with the aguamiel and, for about 30% of fermentations, with the <\/span>bagasse<\/span><\/i> (agave fibres). The former creates an elegant product with mineral richness, while the bagasse is a source of more nutrients and residual sugars which can add more flavour. Depending on the time of year, humidity and weather conditions, the fermentations are going to last between three to six days and the result is a low alcoholic wine called <\/span>mosto<\/span><\/i>, which is between 6 and 9% ABV.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moran says Don Fulano also has big tanks, 9,000-litre stainless steel ones in a different area surrounded by wild yeast. \u201cWe allow the yeast from everywhere to affect the juice, which is already active. That gives us the funkiness and flavours, caramel and milky flavours that we like in our product\u201d. It\u2019s not only wild yeast, however, but a cultivated strain that Don Fulano extracts from its agave. Remember those discoloured red spots? It propagates yeast out of those spots on the mature agave to create a concentration, which is blended proportionally with the mosto in the fermentation tanks. This agave-based starter yeast is not unlike a sourdough starter that is constantly fed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Stills

Even distillation is interesting and unique at Don Fulano<\/p><\/div>\n

The craft of Tequila: distillation<\/b><\/h3>\n

The mosto is then distilled. \u201cWe distil two times in pot stills. We have five different pot stills, three stills have outside stainless steel with copper coils and copper columns for the first distillation, then the two stills for the second distillation are pure copper alembic still. We also have a column Coffey still that works in a very inefficient way,\u201d says Moran. \u201cWe distil to lower than 60% ABV, we could go up to 70-80% but if we do that we\u2019re going to lose flavours, aromas, textures, so we prefer to go lower. Everything is a blend, two fermentations, and two still types. The Blanco, for example, is a blend of 85% copper pot and 15% column\u201d. Each still is fired by steam jackets and natural volcanic spring water is used across the entire process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The copper Coffey still is intriguing and we get a fascinating history of it from Mendoza. \u201cWe inherited this still when my family bought the distillery in the 1980s. It was the first-ever column or Coffey still in Tequila. It\u2019s not common at all, if you understand Tequila or mezcal distillation. It\u2019s a German-made column and it took us literally \u2013 I\u2019m not joking\u2013 10 years to understand how to run it. Nobody in Mexico knew how to operate it. That column was made to distil alcohol at 90% ABV. But we thought it was the most stupid thing to grow a beautiful agave and then to distil it to 90%, so we managed to re-engineer it and balance it and take some plates out to create a product at 55-65% ABV\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because Don Fulano also distils in the pot still between 46-48% ABV, it attains two very different ranges of flavour. As you can imagine, the pot still distillate is richer, deeper, and bolder, while the Coffey still distillate is more elegant, subtle and the agave note pulls towards the floral and fruit style. It\u2019s not unlike malt and grain Scotch whisky the way Don Fulano makes Tequila and Mendoza says \u201cDon Fulano is that: the balance of pot and column still\u201d. He goes on: \u201cWe play from the library or cellars of flavour, we don\u2019t use anything external. Some of our distillate is fruity, some our rounder, others are drier, more vegetal, another is spicy. You balance these like you would a cocktail\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Tequila

We don’t associate Tequila with ageing much but it’s a core part of the Don Fulano process<\/p><\/div>\n

Tequila and maturation<\/b><\/h3>\n

This brings us to the last pillar, which is <\/span>maturation.<\/b> Yes, ageing. You may know Tequila as a white spirit, but for Don Fulano, this is still an important focus. They make the point that a lot of good Blanco Tequilas rest in stainless steel for six months to marry and evolve together, something we don\u2019t always appreciate. In fact, the spirit is sometimes left in these pipons, or wooden vats where the spirits are married, to rest for long enough that it constitutes a mini maturation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But the thing that really sets Don Fulano apart is that it doesn’t use American white oak casks that previously contained bourbon. \u201cAbout 95% of all aged Tequila produced is matured in these. Bourbon producers can only use their casks once by norm, so for distillers in Mexico, and pretty much everywhere these days, these are the easiest casks to get ahold of. However, the style of bourbon calls for heavily burnt casks that can easily overshadow the subtle nuances and delicate notes of the agave and its terroir within a few years of ageing. For that reason, we were the first Tequileros to explore using other kinds of casks,\u201d Mendoza says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don Fulano is aged exclusively in ex-wine European dark oaks. Casks are filled at still strength for the pot still (48%) and most of the time with the column still (max 65% ABV). These are primarily French Limousine and Nevers casks which previously held wines from Burgundy, Bordeaux, and the Loire Valley in France, as well as other European oaks from different sources: Napa, Sonoma, Champagne, Jerez, Portugal, Burgundy, Bordeaux, Cognac, and Calvados. \u201cThey allow us to go much deeper into ageing, getting all the complexities that the process of maturation brings, without losing the essence of our spirit and its terroir. We also use multiple maturation locations at different altitudes, under different climates and cellar characteristics to gain deeper complexity, allowing us to blend in ways never before seen in Tequila production.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Mendoza says this unique cask programme wasn\u2019t always the plan, but his uncle (master distiller Enrique Fonesca) was one of the first in Tequila to source European oak casks from France and beyond. \u201cWe\u2019re known in Tequila for two things: being agave farmers and for bringing Tequila to the brown spirits section,\u201d Mendoza says. That\u2019s something that honestly was born within the walls of La Tequilana by Enrique\u2019s conception. Even his father told him he was insane, \u2018why are you putting so much Tequila in casks?\u2019\u201d.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A

Don Fulano Tequila is bottled without additives<\/p><\/div>\n

No additive Tequila<\/b><\/h3>\n

It\u2019s an interesting approach to maturation, particularly listening as someone who is most familiar with it from the rods of whisky, brandy, and rum. \u201cThe concept of ageing as it is done in other parts of the world is very different. They work with much more simple carbohydrates, like grain, so ageing is a must to bring diversity and complexity. But imagine you have an amazing Tequila that has a lot and then you do an organised, intentional ageing with subtle casks that let the spirit mature without overwhelming it with heavily matured casks. That\u2019s what we do. We\u2019re just beginning to understand the potential of Anejo and Extra Anejo,\u201d Mendoza explains.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He says he is building a library of flavour and references the issue Japanese whisky had, becoming so popular it was forced to go through the stock and so it lost years and years of ageing, which it now has to build again. \u201cThat was another good decision of Enrique, to build a library and to keep it and nurture it. Just like the soil, you nurture that library with batches of Tequila\u201d. Each expression of Don Fulano draws from a map of character which defines the region where the agave comes from, the altitude and kind of soil, the time of harvest, fermentations with or without bagasse, distillation techniques and ageing, including time spent and type of barrel used. It\u2019s an approach akin to Scotch or Cognac production, creating base spirits in batches that are reviewed by a tasting panel before being blended from selected barrels by the master of the cellar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don Fulano Tequila goes through a simple cellulose filtration, there\u2019s no chill filtration, and it\u2019s presented without additives. After all that hard work generating flavour, Don Fulano also doesn\u2019t need to use additives, a point that is made repeatedly in our masterclass. We\u2019re shocked to learn that additive-free Tequila is less than 1% of the category, which contains more than 4,000 brands. \u201cThe question of using or not using additives is not one you make in an office. You don\u2019t want to use additives, you want to build the sources of additives in your product. And for that, you have to build, you have to create, you have to preserve. That is the essence and beauty of Tequila,\u201d says Mendoza.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"The

The Don Fulano range<\/p><\/div>\n

Tasting the Don Fulano range<\/b><\/h3>\n

Well, after all that we reckon it\u2019s time to taste some Tequila. My thanks to the Don Fulano team for an extraordinary masterclass. You can buy <\/span>Don Fulano Tequila from Master of Malt<\/b> and below we have a selection of its core products. Everything you see here is distilled by Fonesca and blended by Mendoza. We hope you appreciate these spirits even more now that you know much care and craft has gone into them.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don Fulano Blanco 70cl<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

The agave is Maduro and Pinto (Jima Media) from Atotonilco (Highlands), which is cooked for 28 to 32 hours and then fermented in an open tank for 72 to 96 hours with a proprietary yeast from the agave. It\u2019s a mix of Tequila distilled in a copper pot (80%) and the brand\u2019s unique Coffey still (20%) and then left to rest in stainless steel for six months before it\u2019s bottled at 40% ABV. The profile is herbaceous and earthy with a butterscotch oiliness.<\/span><\/p>\n

Don Fulano Reposado 70cl<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

The reposado is made the same way as the Blanco but with eight to 11 months of maturation in French Limousine and Nevers oak casks which gives it rich, buttery qualities as well as dark chocolate and fruit. There are still plenty of cooked agave notes though.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Don Fulano A\u00f1ejo 70cl<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Don Fulano A\u00f1ejo also mirror the production of the Blanco and the cask profile of the Reposado, but the maturation is 30 months\u00a0which heightens spice elements like allspice and cardamom and gives it a honeyed nutty taste too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Don Fulano Imperial Extra A\u00f1ejo Tequila 70cl<\/b><\/a><\/h4>\n

Finally, the Don Fulano Imperial, which is blended from dark European oak and oloroso sherry casks aged for five years minimum so it\u2019s abundant in notes of black cherries, leather, tobacco and spices like clove and cardamom<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The name Don Fulano refers to a Mexican gentleman of unknown or undisclosed identity. But at the centre of this Tequila brand is a well-known family. Descendants of a Portuguese…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":56183,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[893,17],"tags":[1959,780],"yoast_head":"\nThe Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano | Master of Malt blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We recently attended a masterclass entitled: The flavour and essence of Tequila: Don Fulano. It was a comprehsnive education we had to share.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano | Master of Malt blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We recently attended a masterclass entitled: The flavour and essence of Tequila: Don Fulano. It was a comprehsnive education we had to share.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Master of Malt blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-07-18T12:02:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-15T18:49:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Adam O'Connell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MasterOfMalt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MasterOfMalt\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Adam O'Connell\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f37cf1f91360161891db34f3a6f346e0\"},\"headline\":\"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-18T12:02:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T18:49:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/\"},\"wordCount\":4275,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Adam O'Connell\",\"Tequila\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Features\",\"Tequila\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/\",\"name\":\"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano | Master of Malt blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-07-18T12:02:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-15T18:49:06+00:00\",\"description\":\"We recently attended a masterclass entitled: The flavour and essence of Tequila: Don Fulano. It was a comprehsnive education we had to share.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"The agriculture of agave is a way of life for Don Fulano\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Features\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/category\/features\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Master of Malt Blog\",\"description\":\"Whisky and Sprits news, reviews, features & interviews, innovations, offers and competitions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Master of Malt\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Master-of-Malt-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Master-of-Malt-logo.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":400,\"caption\":\"Master of Malt\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/MasterOfMalt\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/masterofmalt\/\",\"https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/company\/master-of-malt\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/masterofmalt\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f37cf1f91360161891db34f3a6f346e0\",\"name\":\"Adam O'Connell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6031a348a9a33ba6e9ac6f5fe3accde?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6031a348a9a33ba6e9ac6f5fe3accde?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Adam O'Connell\"},\"description\":\"Adam O'Connell has been writing for Master of Malt for over eight years now. He\u2019s visited distilleries, wineries, and breweries across the world, reviewed a variety of whiskies, gins, rums, Tequilas, mezcals, brandies, vodkas, wines, beers, and cocktails, and contributed all kinds of words in all sorts of places, including over 1,000 articles to its award-winning online blog, The Whisk(e)y Wash, and many of the handy guides you might have enjoyed. He\u2019s even jammed with Kiefer Sutherland AND dined with Ainsley Harriott. Not at the same time.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/authors\/adam-oconnell\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/a_dram_of_adam\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/adamtsoconnell\/\",\"https:\/\/thewhiskeywash.com\/author\/adam-oconnell\/\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/author\/adam\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano | Master of Malt blog","description":"We recently attended a masterclass entitled: The flavour and essence of Tequila: Don Fulano. It was a comprehsnive education we had to share.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano | Master of Malt blog","og_description":"We recently attended a masterclass entitled: The flavour and essence of Tequila: Don Fulano. It was a comprehsnive education we had to share.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/","og_site_name":"Master of Malt blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt","article_published_time":"2024-07-18T12:02:56+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-15T18:49:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Adam O'Connell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MasterOfMalt","twitter_site":"@MasterOfMalt","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/"},"author":{"name":"Adam O'Connell","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f37cf1f91360161891db34f3a6f346e0"},"headline":"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano","datePublished":"2024-07-18T12:02:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T18:49:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/"},"wordCount":4275,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg","keywords":["Adam O'Connell","Tequila"],"articleSection":["Features","Tequila"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/","name":"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano | Master of Malt blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg","datePublished":"2024-07-18T12:02:56+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-15T18:49:06+00:00","description":"We recently attended a masterclass entitled: The flavour and essence of Tequila: Don Fulano. It was a comprehsnive education we had to share.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"The agriculture of agave is a way of life for Don Fulano"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/post\/the-flavour-and-essence-of-tequila-don-fulano\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog Home","item":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Features","item":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/category\/features\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"The Flavour and Essence of Tequila: Don Fulano"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/","name":"Master of Malt Blog","description":"Whisky and Sprits news, reviews, features & interviews, innovations, offers and competitions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Master of Malt","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Master-of-Malt-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Master-of-Malt-logo.jpg","width":400,"height":400,"caption":"Master of Malt"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/masterofmalt","https:\/\/x.com\/MasterOfMalt","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/masterofmalt\/","https:\/\/uk.linkedin.com\/company\/master-of-malt","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/masterofmalt"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f37cf1f91360161891db34f3a6f346e0","name":"Adam O'Connell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6031a348a9a33ba6e9ac6f5fe3accde?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/e6031a348a9a33ba6e9ac6f5fe3accde?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Adam O'Connell"},"description":"Adam O'Connell has been writing for Master of Malt for over eight years now. He\u2019s visited distilleries, wineries, and breweries across the world, reviewed a variety of whiskies, gins, rums, Tequilas, mezcals, brandies, vodkas, wines, beers, and cocktails, and contributed all kinds of words in all sorts of places, including over 1,000 articles to its award-winning online blog, The Whisk(e)y Wash, and many of the handy guides you might have enjoyed. He\u2019s even jammed with Kiefer Sutherland AND dined with Ainsley Harriott. Not at the same time.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/authors\/adam-oconnell\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/a_dram_of_adam\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/adamtsoconnell\/","https:\/\/thewhiskeywash.com\/author\/adam-oconnell\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/author\/adam\/"}]}},"meta_description":"We recently attended a masterclass entitled: The flavour and essence of Tequila: Don Fulano. It was a comprehsnive education we had to share.","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/don-fulano-agave-jimador.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56179"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56179"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56179\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62690,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56179\/revisions\/62690"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56183"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.masterofmalt.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}