THE LOCALS
TEQUILERA PROFILE
Sensory A
EXPERIENCE
WITH MAESTRA TEQUILERA, ANA MARÍA ROMERO
By Megan Rider As a Maestra Tequilera, Ana María Romero oversees the entire process of creating Mijenta Tequila, a sustainable artisanal tequila from the Highlands of Jalisco. Ana María’s journey to Maestra Tequilera began with wine, as she has always been passionate about the aromatics of well-crafted wine and its reflection of the terroir of the grapes coupled with the expertise of the winemakers. As she became more interested in the story of tequila, Ana María spent her time researching the aromas and tasting notes of the spirit. She traveled to several tequila houses to document the subtle variations of textures and notes, which led to the publishing of her book, The Art of Tasting Tequila, in 2007. “Ultimately, I identified 600 unique scents in tequila and mapped them onto an aroma wheel, which has since been adopted across the industry.” Tasting tequila, like tasting wine, is a sensory experience, according to Ana María. “I start visually, holding the tequila up to the light in a clear glass to really see the spirit. I’m looking at the color and viscosity to see what the body is like.
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