Maturation

The first product out of Bowen to reach shelves was unblended and unaged. The First Harvest Blanco is clear as water, straight from the still into the bottle. No barrel, no waiting period, no aging classification, just the agave itself.

Mexican regulations spell out exactly how a Reposado, an Añejo, or an Extra Añejo may be made: a minimum of two months, one year, or three years in oak, plus a cap on barrel size. None of that applies to an Australian Agave Spirit.

If Top Shelf International were ever to release a barrel-aged version, the company could call it Reposado or Añejo after any waiting period it chose. It wouldn't have to meet Mexico's minimum aging requirements, because Australian law doesn't protect those terms. That freedom is also a limitation: those who don't play by Mexico's rules can't trade on Mexico's prestige either.

For now, it remains an unadulterated Blanco, sold with the note that it's the first of its kind made from Australian agave. Above all, the label must read Agave Spirit, not Tequila, no matter how closely the methods and raw material resemble the original.

Terms like Joven or Madurado en Vidrio, aged in glass, are also precisely regulated in Mexico. In Australia, a producer could use them just as freely, or invent entirely new names. Whether Top Shelf International will go down that path remains to be seen. For now, only the clear, unaged Blanco sits on the shelf.