4 Things We’ve Learned About Mezcal

The expansive plaza outside of Oaxaca’s main cathedral contains hundreds of agave plants. In addition to being a hardy long-lived drought-resistant plant, it is also the ingredient mezcal is distilled from. This is the heart of mezcal country, and we are getting schooled. Below are 4 things we’ve learned the easy way, by visiting bars and distilleries.

1. Agave – The core of every distilled liquor is always going to be what it’s made from. In the case of mezcal, it’s the fruit of the agave plant that can take anywhere from 5 to 30+ years to grow and ripen, depending on the climate and variety. There are over 200 species of agave and there are about 45 different agaves that mezcal is made from. Only the Espadin varietal has been firmly cultivated, a few have been semi-cultivated and all of them grow abundantly in wild among the valleys and the hillsides throughout Mexico and especially in Oaxaca. The easiest comparison to explain how truly complex and unique the agaves flavors are would be grapes and the resulting wine. We have an entire post thought up about this though, so we’ll leave it at that for now.
2. Rusticity – The fruit of the agave plant is cooked in a hole in the ground over wood coals and covered with dirt and rocks for a few days. Then a beast of burden grinds the cooked fruit by dragging a large stone around in a circle. Next, this ground-up mush is fermented in large open Cyprus wooden tubs. Finally, the agave beer is run through a copper pot still which drips out pure mezcal. This is the most common method used by mezcal distillers in Mexico. Of course, each maestro adjusts the process to his preference – whether it be hand-grinding the agave, fermenting in leather sacks, or in more commercial facilities steaming the fruit to cook it.
3. Purity – What comes out of the still goes into the bottle. Maestros will blend the final product from different parts of a single distillation to achieve their desired alcohol percentage and flavor but the self-respecting ones will never add water. This results in a very strong product (45%+). Historically, we suspect a lack of access to safe drinking water contributed to the pure product we get today. Sip slowly.
4. Barrel-Aging, Don’t Do It – Whiskey and rum are some of the many liquors that improve with barrel-aging; retaining their core taste while gaining flavors from the wood. Current aging processes of mezcal simply overwhelm the fruit’s many flavors and leave the end-product tasting like their barrel. Traditionally mezcal is not aged.

Mezcal is the sum of its parts and process. It’s distilled from a plant with an incredible variety of flavors that grows throughout Mexico’s many micro-climates. Over many years it soaks up the sun and the earth. This agave is processed and distilled with generations of expertise and practice giving each finished batch its own rich character.

The alternative to the above is that you can buy bottles made from horrible mezcal that a worm is then added to; this won’t improve the flavor. Your choice.