Tequila 100% Agave Silver Class—Pink Hue: Innovative fusion of traditional and current techniques in the Tequila Industry

The Tequila 100% Agave Silver Class—Pink Hue, commonly called Tequila Rosado, represents an innovative fusion of traditional and current techniques in the production of Tequila since color has been a characteristic aspect to attract a sector of consumers in recent years. Commercially, this beverage is the Tequila 100% Agave Silver Class (T100%-SC) infused with Hibiscus Flowers (T100%-SC-HF) or aged in Wine Barrels (T100%-SC-WB). Due to this, it is of special interest to study its physicochemical properties, demonstrating that these processes provide a distinct physicochemical profile that enriches the beverage with different types of organic compounds. In this study, the physicochemical characterization of T100%-SC, T100%-SC-HF, and T100%-SC-WB was evaluated using isotope ratio mass spectrometry, gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, UV–visible spectroscopy, and color study through digital image processing. The results show that Tequila Rosado corresponds to the Silver Class since it does not present statistically significant differences in methanol content (240.82 mg/100 mL A.A.; while the content is relatively high, it remains within the legally acceptable range, ensuring that the product is safe for consumption according to the current standards), while containing higher levels of alcohols (323.64 mg/100 mL A.A.), esters (24.36 mg/100 mL A.A.), aldehydes (3.64 mg/100 mL A.A.), furfural (0.68 mg/100 mL A.A.), δ¹³C_VPDB (-12.62 ‰)_, and δ¹⁸O_VSMOW (+21.88 ‰). However, due to its processes, there are obvious changes in its color. According to the image analysis carried out using the RGB model, the Tequila Rosado samples present more intense values ​​in the red tone, resulting in rosé and beige colorations. This information is corroborated by UV-Vis spectroscopy studies, for which in T100%-SC-HF, a band at 530 nm is attributable to the extraction of the natural color of the flowers, while T100%-SC-HF presents a band at 365 nm characteristic of Tequila 100% Agave that has undergone a maturation process.