Effect of Age of Agave tequilana Weber Blue Variety on Quality and Authenticity Parameters for the Tequila 100% Agave Silver Class: Evaluation at the Industrial Scale Level

Due to the oversupply and scarcity cycles of the Agave tequilana Weber blue variety, the effect of agave age (harvested in 4, 5, and 6 years) as raw material for the tequila 100% agave silver class was studied for each stage in a full-scale (industrial) process. Harvested plants showed differences in their morphological characteristics that affected the amount of juice; this had an impact in the fermentation stage since must composition was modified in the nitrogen content and juice/exudate ratio. This was noticed due to an increase in the production of higher alcohols attributed to the odd-chain fatty of the exudate, which affects n-propanol production. The characterization of the final product showed the feasibility to use agaves (less than 7 years) to produce the Tequila 100% agave silver class and to comply with the quality criteria. Furthermore, the final product was analyzed with the gas chromatography-isotope ratio mass-spectrometry technique to determine its authenticity. The δ¹³C_VPDB isotopic parameter (−13.40‰ in average) values show the type of plant used as a raw material for ethanol production, while the δ¹⁸O_VSMOW (20.52‰ in average) isotopic parameter can be helpful in corroborating and ensuring the traceability of the product and the geographical location of the beverage production.