What is Mezcal? Tasting Notes from Mexico
Mezcal. Beyond the worm… Ever have an inclination to try mezcal? For some the first thing that comes to mind when mentioning Mezcal is a worm-laden fire water that is more apropos to machismo than appreciation. At least that is what I used to think. Fortunately, we’ve had the chance to challenge those preconceptions and expose our palates to the wonders of Mezcal. For us a spirit that has gone from a “Why bother” is now “How did we ever live without?” . This article about our Mexico tasting was first published in 2011. It’s an oldie but goodie!
In the past we’d been exposed to amazing tequilas and even incredible raicillas (a wild agave Mexican moonshine), but hadn’t meandered through a mezcal tasting expedition. Until 2011 when we had the opportunity to photograph and explore the Food and Wine Festival in Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo Mexico. Through our experiences there we found a love of Mezcal. Sans the worm. Although when dried, ground, chilli-ed and salted, the mezcal worms do make an excellent pairing with a nice mezcal! But don’t worry, if even than makes you a little squirmish, know that most quality mezcals won’t have the worms anywhere in sight. It tends to be a marketing ploy of fairly modern creation to attract the hormonal and stupid… of which there is no short supply. Especially during spring break.
What is Mezcal?
In short, mezcal is a spirit distilled from the heart of the agave plant. “But isn’t that what tequila is?” Yes. All tequila are a type of mezcal. But not all mezcal are tequila. Mezcal is the broad category with tequila being one of the types of mezcal. BTW – The pronunciation is “meh-skal”. The pronunciation of “z” in Spanish is closer to the English “s”. You’ll sometimes see traditional spellings of it as mescal, with an “s” instead of the “z”. Same delicious spirit though!
Is Mezcal different from Tequila?
For a beginner breakdown, mezcal and tequila share a relationship like whiskey/bourbon and brandy/cognac. The later being the sub genuses of the former. For ease of separation, we’ll refer to spirits that are sold as mezcal as such, and tequila as such, even though we all understand tequila is a type of mezcal.
Both mezcal and tequila are made from agave, but tequila is specifically from the blue agave (at least 51% but the better tequilas are 100% blue agave) and must come from specific regions (the state of Jalisco and a few additional limited regions in 4 other Mexican states.) And tequila is banned from bottled with a worm of other curious additions.
Mezcal on the other hand is less limited, can come from any number of the agave varieties (maguey plant species) (over 150 types grow in Mexico and at least 40 different varieties are used in the production of mezcal), is most commonly from Oaxaca, although many other Mexican states are producing fine mezcals as well, and they don’t have the same restrictions placed on tequila. The tequila’s strict production rules keep the flavors fairly consistent from distiller to distiller, while mezcal’s looser guideline allow for more individualistic flair.
Why is Mezcal smoky?
Mezcal also tends to be much smokier than tequilas. They are often from small village distilleries, handcrafted and made using old school methods. The agave cores are mostly cooked in earthen mounds over pits of hot rocks rather than in ovens – giving the mezcals their distinctive smokiness. While for tequila, the distillers steam the agave cores. As a comparison, it isn’t far off to think of it’s agave core as being cooked by BBQ while tequila’s agave is cooked in a steam oven. The BBQ method brings additional character while the steam method expresses the clean beauty of the blue agave. Both can be very delicious.
Aging Tequila and Mezcal
Both tequila and mezcal can be found in their clear un-aged spirit form or in different levels of aging in barrels. The aging in barrels will impart additional flavors from the different woods to the spirit, as well as smoothing or mellowing out the initial spirit. As the spirits barrel age, they will also develop more of a caramel color. For tequila, is starts as blanco (unaged or up to 2 months), then reposado (aged 2 months – 1 year), next is anejo (aged over 1 year), and finally extra anejo (aged over 3 years) (there is also a lesser distributed “joven tequila” which is a blend of unaged and aged tequila and there are few other micro classifications and variances in marketing terms, but we’re keeping it to the most commonly found to keep it from getting confusing). For mezcal, the same aging classifications can be found, however it is much more rare to see reposado or anejo mezcal. Some say that it actually detracts from the mezcal’s character. You will sometimes find Madurado or Madurado en Vidrio (matured or matured in glass) which is a mezcal which has been aged or matured in glass containers for more than a year.
What are the Flavors of Mezcal?
Each village has different nuances in distillation, water, and plants. All of which give this drink a great variety in complexity and taste. Of the ones we tasted, they ranged from slightly smokey, smooth and sweet, to George Burns smokey combined with Mexicana sexy and oh so smooth. Some even had barely a hint of smokiness. They all will distantly remind you of their tequila brethren, but still remain distinctly their own spirit.
It was a fascinating introduction which had us curious and hooked. Cocktail mixing can be a little more challenging with mezcal, due to its smokey nature and variance between bottles, but with a little experimentation great cocktail can be made. A good start is with a blood orange mezcal margarita (try adapting this recipe). The blood orange goes nicely with the smokiness.
But mostly mezcal is meant to be enjoyed straight up. Grab a glass and explore the characters and individuality of this great spirit. Especially before or after a nice serving of pozole on Thursdays! Fortunately it is becoming easier to explore the wonders of this spirit in the U.S. with many bars offering a home to the adventurous agave elixir. Here’s a few in NY and LA for starters.
-Todd
More Cocktail Recipes
- Meyer Lemon Margarita
- Grapefruit cocktail
- Check out our Cocktail Recipes Here and our Complete Whiskey Guide.
- Here’s more mezcal readings for you.
- black garlic noodles
- air fryer chicken wings
Great article!
This kind of writing contributes to introduce a mezcal culture in America.
I am bringing Mezcales de Lyenda (bottle in picture #1) to the U.S. We will start sales in the NYCF region! Hopefully, by early summer it will be available.
Initially, Leyenda will be for sale in the big wine & spirits stores such as Astor Wines & Spirits, Drink Up NY, as well as in Mexican restaurants that use mezcal for their cocktails.
Hope to share it with you guys soon!
I first tried mezcal at the New York Food and Wine Festival last year… and I so enjoyed it! The flavor reminds me of a combination of scotch and tequila, both of which I adore. I can only imagine how wonderful this tasting was.
Sigh. It’s so wonderful to see that beautiful place once again! Your pictures and descriptions of mescal brought me back to that wonderful spot on the Mexican seaside! Thanks for sharing!
I’d never tried mezcal before my trip to New York City in March. A good friend of mine is in the craft cocktail business there and she and her boyfriend/business partner took us to Mayahuel for drinks. It was really an incredible experience. I’m sending anyone I know who’s headed to NYC to Mayahuel for cocktails. It’s so worth it, and I’m itching to get back there.
I did some engineering work in Mexico City and Veracruz 10 years ago. Pepe one of the people who worked for me on project had relatives from Oaxaca. One of the uncles worked in a Mezcal refinery. I had the chance to taste some of the better aged Mezcal he gave to Pepe’s father. VERY, very good. At the end of the project the father gave me an unlabeled bottle of Mezcal with the comment “If you were to purchase this you would pay over $200USD a bottle.” Double distilled, casked, and aged. It was fantastic. Sufficiently so that I rarely shared it. It lasted almost 4 years before it ran out.
Ahhh, a drink after my own heart…thank you for sharing. I too love tequila and some mezcals. Looking forward to hunting down a good one. Las Perlas in LA is certainly worth a trip…May sounds like a good time to visit.
What a breathtaking scenery for us to enjoy. I wish I can take a vacation there someday.
Oh, I love mezcal! On the rocks, with orange slices to dip in sal de gusano (worm salt). Incredible mix of smokey, sweet, and umami. I first tried it at a bar in Oaxaca, La Farola (I’m pretty sure that’s the name), that has an expansive mezcal list. I like the stuff much more than tequila, even with the similarities. A little more refined and a little less reminiscent of collegiate misadventures. 😉 Beautiful shots, as always… the resort looks like an incredible place!
Thanks for the mezcal 411 and tutorial.
And thanks for making me want to go to Zihuatanajo on vacation. Like tomorrow 🙂
WOW! I had no no idea about Mezcal. It kind of sounds like going from a PC to a MAC. Oh, and that first photo is my favorite! Did you get to keep the bottle?
Stunning views. Ixtapa and Zihuatenejo is breathtaking. Thank you for sharing these loving photos and your experience with Mezcal!
Our spring-like weather is being overtaken by clouds as we speak, so thank you for the temporary escape to a sun-kissed spot. Sounds like it could be time to stage my own mezcal tasting expedition soon. Many thanks for the inspiration, once again.
Incredible landscapes and views! Wow! Simply beautiful 🙂
What an incredible venue and opportunity! I first met Mezcal when visiting Puerta Vallarta years ago having taken a boat out to a tiny ‘Island of the Spirits’ (translated). They made it there, total home brew. Loved the smokey flavor and the organic aestethic with the particles of who knows what floating in the bottle! We actually brought a bottle home. It was given to us in a recycled liquor bottle, about as indigenous as it gets! Thank you for introducing it to all and sharing the scenes from your trip!
My husband and I have spent a considerable amount of time in Mexico. Some of my fondest memories was learning the craft of making mezcal and tequila. Well that and the food – oh and the beaches…. I like mezcal straight up while in tucked in some sweet little spot in Mexico.
I’d love to try quality mezcal. My wife and I have become quite fond of tequila, but have had bad experiences with the mezcal we can find here at home. In fact, I threw 90% of a $30 bottle into the fire after none of my guests could stomach it.
Do you have any recommendations for mezcals that are readily available in the States?
That’s a tough one since most mezcal operations are small scale productions. It’s hard to find the same labels in different areas. The brands we tried in Mexico were Zacbe, Jaral, and Leyenda and they were all nice. Each had a different appeal and they varied quite a bit. I’ve seen a few mentions, including in the NY Times article, about Ilegal Mezcal. It’s one we want to try and hunt down.
Del Magauy Mezcal is arguably leading the American trend. It is all of excellent quality and comes in several varieties based on regions within Oaxaca. They ship anywhere in the US. Their stuff is AMAZING.
http://www.mezcal.com/