Mixto

Mixto describes any tequila that is not 100 percent blue agave. Under NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). a mixto tequila must derive at least 51 percent of its fermentable sugars from A. tequilana Weber var. azul; the remaining up to 49 percent may come from "other sugars," in practice almost always cane sugar. Mixto tequila is legally tequila; it carries the denomination of origin and the facility NOM number; it is regulated by the CRT like any other tequila.

A mixto bottle does not carry the "100% Agave" or "100% de Agave" mark on the label. The default label simply reads "Tequila" without that qualifier. NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). requires the 100-percent-agave bottlings to be filled and labeled in Mexico; mixto may be exported in bulk and bottled abroad. This is the regulatory architecture that produced the 1970s and 1980s mass-market mixto image of tequila as a harsh, sugar-forward, shot-and-salt-and-lime liquor.

The 1990s and 2000s premium revival was a 100-percent-agave story, and the contemporary connoisseur consensus is that 100-percent-agave is the floor for a tequila worth drinking on its own. Mixto retains a structural role in the volume-export market and in some classic-cocktail traditions where the additional sugar simplifies the spirit's behavior in a mixed drink. The distinction is a legal and commercial one rather than a value judgment in either direction; the labeling rules give the consumer the information needed to choose. The regulation chapter covers the full NOM-006-SCFI-2012A regulatory-standard NOM is a federal Mexican product norm. Unlike facility NOMs (4-digit identifiers of specific distilleries), a standard NOM defines the rules for an entire category of product: which raw materials are permitted, where the product may be made, how it must be processed, and how the bottle must be labeled. Standard NOMs are written as "NOM-XXX-SCFI-YYYY" where XXX is the standard number and YYYY is the year. NOM-006-SCFI-2012 (Tequila). The official Mexican standard governing every aspect of Tequila production: which agave species may be used (only Agave tequilana Weber var. azul), which states and municipalities qualify, how the spirit must be distilled, what additives are permitted (up to 1% by volume even in '100% agave' bottles), and how the bottle must be labeled. Enforced by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila (CRT). mixto provision.