tequila
Enable an agent to recognise tequila, assess its documented identity and material condition, and determine suitable handling and use.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
recalled by Codex without web access - no source was read
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an agent to recognise tequila, assess its documented identity and material condition, and determine suitable handling and use.
Tequila is a Mexican distilled alcoholic beverage made by fermenting and distilling sugars from blue agave (Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), with its name reserved under a protected designation of origin and production specification.
It can be Compare tequila and category claims with lot-specific production evidence and applicable designation requirements.; Select appropriate identity, strength or contaminant testing when documentation or condition is uncertain.; Assess whether maturation and treatment records support an intended sensory or culinary use.; Calculate dilution from measured strength and target strength while recording that the resulting liquid may need reassessment of its designation.; Choose storage and handling actions from closure condition, exposure history and measured composition.; Hold a suspect lot for investigation when traceability, analytical results or condition fail the relevant acceptance criteria..
Distinguishing features
A tequila identity assessment tests documented Mexican origin and designation eligibility; agave flavour or a tequila-style label alone does not establish identity.
Blue-agave input and production records distinguish a tequila claim from an unspecified agave spirit; broader agave-spirit terminology does not establish equivalence.
A '100% agave' claim requires evidence about fermentable sugar sources and applicable designation rules, rather than an inference from taste or price.
Tequila is a beverage mixture with lot-dependent composition, not pure ethanol or a single chemical substance with one molecular identity.
Colour alone cannot establish barrel ageing, and clarity alone cannot establish the absence of maturation.
Scope
+ Tequila identity claims and supporting origin and production evidence
+ Agave inputs, fermentable sugar sources and declared additions
+ Alcohol strength and analytical composition of the finished liquid
+ Distillation, maturation, blending and finishing history
+ Lot traceability, authenticity concerns and condition after bottling or opening
- Agave cultivation and living plant condition
- Distillery equipment design and operating procedures
- Brand ownership, marketing and commercial valuation
- Bottle and closure engineering beyond their effects on the liquid
- Cocktail recipes and mixed drinks containing tequila
- Individual health assessment and alcohol consumption advice
Characteristics
- Claimed designation and verification state
- Claim text; unassessed, supported, disputed or unresolved; governing standard and date Separates the name on the product from evidence that the liquid qualifies for that name.
- Agave identity and sugar-source category
- Recorded agave taxon or cultivar; declared category; agave and other fermentable sugar sources; unknown permitted Supports assessment of tequila identity and any 100% agave claim.
- Production and bottling provenance
- Liquid lot linked to producer, production location, bottler, bottling location and supporting records Allows origin and custody claims to be checked without treating brand ownership as production evidence.
- Alcohol strength
- % alcohol by volume with reference temperature, method, measurement date and uncertainty Supports strength verification, dilution decisions and handling assessments.
- Maturation and finishing history
- Declared class linked to dated vessel residence, wood and previous-fill records, blending and subsequent treatments Explains maturation claims and helps distinguish aged, blended and filtered presentations.
- Added constituents
- Constituent identity, purpose, quantity or concentration, addition stage and disclosure evidence Separates intrinsic fermentation and maturation products from deliberately added materials.
- Analytical profile
- Analyte-specific results, including methanol and selected congeners, with units, reporting basis, method and detection limits Supports authenticity and quality assessment while preventing comparisons across incompatible reporting bases.
- Sensory and visual condition
- Observed colour, clarity, sediment, aroma and deviations from a documented reference Records changes needing investigation without treating sensory observations as proof of safety or authenticity.
- Storage and opening exposure
- Opening date, closure integrity, light exposure, temperature history and headspace where known Helps explain evaporation, strength changes, contamination concerns and sensory deterioration.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 5 bundles · 9 layers · 17 findings · 28 questions.
Tequila identity and origin Establishes what supports the tequila name and its narrower category claims for the actual liquid.
Agave content, branding and sensory resemblance cannot independently establish tequila identity.
Designation evidence
Connects identity claims to applicable requirements and evidence.
Basis of the tequila claim
Record the claimed designation, jurisdiction, governing standard version and verification evidence separately.
- Which designation requirements govern this lot's tequila claim in its production and intended market jurisdictions? definition
- Which inspected records or verification results connect this particular lot to those requirements? provenance
Lot origin and custody
Traces the liquid across production, bulk transfer, blending and bottling.
Producer-to-bottle lineage
Keep producer, brand owner and bottler distinct while preserving links between their lot identifiers.
- Where and by whom was the liquid produced and bottled, and which records establish those locations? provenance
- Can the bottled lot be traced through bulk transfers or blending to its contributing production lots? provenance
Agave and liquid composition Describes the feedstock basis and measurable composition of tequila as a beverage mixture.
Sugar sources, strength and added constituents affect category claims, material behaviour and permissible uses.
Fermentable inputs
Captures agave identity and the origin of sugars used in fermentation.
Agave and other sugar basis
Treat a 100% agave statement as a specific input claim requiring records and a defined calculation basis.
- Which agave identity and fermentable sugar sources are documented for the contributing production lots? provenance
- What evidence and calculation basis support the declared sugar-source category or 100% agave claim? measurement
Finished liquid analysis
Records ethanol concentration, additions and relevant analytical constituents.
Strength and composition evidence
Use lot-specific measurements with explicit units and distinguish declared additions from detected constituents.
- What are the measured alcohol strength and relevant analyte concentrations, with methods, uncertainty and reporting bases? measurement
- Which materials were added after fermentation or distillation, in what amounts, and what records support their identity and acceptability? provenance
- Which identity or condition concerns remain unresolved because the available analytical panel did not test for them? boundary
Production and maturation signature Connects tequila's current characteristics to transformation, wood contact, blending and finishing.
Appearance and class labels can conceal materially different histories that affect interpretation and use.
Agave-to-distillate history
Retains production facts needed to interpret the finished liquid without modelling the entire distillery.
Transformation record
Record documented agave conversion, extraction, fermentation and distillation choices relevant to the lot.
- Which conversion, extraction, fermentation and distillation methods are documented for this tequila? provenance
- Which claimed links between those methods and the liquid's sensory or analytical profile have supporting evidence? boundary
Wood, blending and finishing
Separates declared maturation class from actual vessel residence and subsequent treatment.
Maturation claim and treatment
Preserve component histories and post-maturation treatments rather than inferring age from colour.
- What dated wood-contact records, vessel properties and component histories support the declared maturation class? provenance
- Was the liquid blended, filtered, decolourised or otherwise treated after maturation, and how does that affect interpretation of its appearance? boundary
- How was any stated age assigned when the bottled liquid contains components with different maturation histories? definition
Condition and use decisions Assesses the present tequila lot and turns evidence into handling, testing or use decisions.
A valid identity claim does not by itself establish the condition of a particular opened bottle or stored lot.
Bottled and opened condition
Tracks exposure and observed changes that may affect the liquid.
Exposure and deviation
Assess closure failures, storage exposure and departures from the expected lot profile together.
- What is known about opening, resealing, temperature, light exposure and possible contact with foreign materials? provenance
- Have strength, clarity, sediment or aroma changed relative to a suitable reference, and under what observation conditions? measurement
Acceptance and handling
Connects the lot's evidence and uncertainties to its proposed use.
Lot disposition
Make release, storage, dilution or investigation decisions against explicit criteria for the intended use.
- What identity, composition and condition criteria must this tequila meet for the proposed use, and which remain unverified? action
- Do the available results support use, further testing or holding the lot for investigation? action
- What storage, handling or designation reassessment is needed if the tequila is opened, diluted or combined with other ingredients? action
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Check these first
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- This is recalled knowledge, not a source-verified account; check the current NOM-006 text and designation documents first.
- Verify exact aging thresholds, permitted treatments and labeling requirements; color alone does not establish aging class.
- Composition and physical properties vary by product, so pure ethanol's identifiers, boiling point and hazard classification should not be assigned directly to tequila.
- Which of these check these first hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Kinds and varieties
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Blanco or plata: white tequila
- Joven or oro: young or gold tequila
- Reposado: rested in wood
- Añejo: aged in wood
- Extra añejo: extended aging in wood
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- NOM producer identification on tequila labels - NOM followed by a producer number - Identifies an authorized producer rather than a unique brand, bottle or chemical substance.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Mexico's NOM-006 tequila specification, issued by the Secretaría de Economía, governs production, categories, classes and labeling.
- Mexico's Declaration of Protection of the Appellation of Origin Tequila defines the protected geographical origin; the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property administers appellation protection.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Consumed neat as a spirit.
- Used in cocktails such as the Margarita and Paloma.
- Used as a flavoring ingredient in cooking.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Alcohol by volume in bottled tequila - Commonly 38-40 - % vol
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Ethanol causes intoxication and impairs coordination and judgment.
- Excessive consumption can cause acute alcohol poisoning.
- Repeated consumption can cause dependence and chronic health harm.
- Adulterated or illicitly produced spirits may contain dangerous contaminants, including methanol.
- Counterfeit labeling can misrepresent origin, producer, agave content or aging class.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- The protected production territory includes Jalisco and specified municipalities in Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas.
- Highland and lowland production areas are commonly distinguished, although geographical origin alone does not determine flavor.
- Recognition and enforcement of the tequila designation outside Mexico depend on the importing jurisdiction and applicable agreements.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Recalled without web access and unsourced; every item is a lead to verify.
- Mezcal - Commercial mezcal has a separate protected designation and production specification and can use multiple permitted agave species; tequila requires blue agave.
- Blue agave - The plant supplying fermentable carbohydrates is a biological raw material; tequila is the resulting distilled beverage.
- Ethanol - Ethanol is a defined chemical compound; tequila is a variable mixture of water, ethanol and minor constituents and has no single molecular formula or substance CAS number.
- 100% agave tequila - All fermentation sugars come from blue agave; the broader tequila category also permits a regulated proportion of other sugars.
- Agave spirit - An agave-derived spirit does not qualify as tequila unless it satisfies tequila's origin and production requirements.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of tequila this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
What the second pass must settle
- Which authoritative designation documents and current revisions establish the permitted production territories, agave identity, categories and maturation classes?
- What current rules govern non-agave fermentable sugars, post-distillation additions, bottling location and their disclosure for each tequila category?
- Which analytical limits, methods and reporting bases apply to tequila in the intended jurisdictions, particularly for methanol and other regulated constituents?
- How should filtered or decolourised aged tequila and terms such as 'cristalino' be represented relative to formally recognised classes?
- What evidence supports practical acceptance criteria for tequila after opening or adverse storage, and which changes require laboratory investigation?