Aging Process
Reposado may be rested in oak barrels or casks as large as 20,000 litres (5,280 gallons), allowing for richer and more complex flavors. The preferred oak comes from the US, France or Canada, and is usually white oak. Some companies char the wood to impart a smoky flavor, or use barrels that were previously used with different kinds of alcohol (e.g. whiskey or wine). Some reposados can also be aged in new wood barrels to achieve the same woody flavor and smoothness, but in less time.
Añejos are often rested in barrels that have been previously used to rest reposados. The barrels cannot be more than 600 liters (158 gallons), and most are in the 200-liter (52-gallon) range. Many of the barrels used are from whiskey distilleries in the US, or Canada, and Jack Daniels barrels are especially popular. This treatment creates many of the aspects of the dark color and more complex flavors of the añejo tequila. After aging of at least one year, the añejo can be removed from the wood barrels and placed in stainless steel tanks to reduce the amount of evaporation that can occur in the barrels.
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