agave nectar | The Oxford Companion to Spirits & Cocktails

or syrup is a sweetener made from the sap of the agave plant. Known in Mexico as aguamiel (honey water), it is intensely sweet and amber in color and slightly less viscous than honey. While raw aguamiel has been used for millennia, commercially manufactured agave nectar undergoes varying degrees of refining and filtering. Commonly made from blue agave, the variety used to make tequila, agave nectar is marketed as a healthy sugar alternative thanks to a low glycemic ranking, but its health benefits are hotly debated, as the nectar’s high fructose content has been linked to heart disease and obesity. Agave nectar may be used as a cocktail ingredient, such as in a Tommy’s Margarita, where it replaces orange liqueur, adding extra agave punch to the drink’s flavor. See Margarita.