Mezcal and Tequila – to the Margarita and Beyond – Part 1: The Liquor
Part I: The Liquor
A father was trying to teach his young son the evils of drinking. He put one worm in a glass of water and another worm in a glass of tequila. The worm in the water lived, while the one in the tequila curled up and died. “All right, son.” asked the father, “what does that show you?” “Well, Dad, it shows that if you drink tequila, you won’t get worms.”
The Boom
The American public must really be interested in worm prevention. Because, over the past two decades, tequila volumes have grown by an average of over 6% per year. The US has shown itself to be the world’s leading tequila consumption market by quite some margin. Similarly, Mezcal, tequila’s smokier brother, has shown a sharp rise in US sales over recent years.
One reason for the growth of these agave liquors has been the distillers’ abilities to offer a product for every budget and occasion. By offering both well-aged High-End products, and affordable value brands, tequilas and mezcals are accessible to all Americans.
The increasing sales momentum of these two distillates has held throughout the pandemic, especially in the US. Purchasing behavior abruptly changed to a greater focus on online buying and home consumption. The pandemic provided an unexpected boost in the market as consumers stockpiled liquor at their homes for a longer run. Tequila has been a steady staple among consumers seeking easy replication of those delicious restaurant Margaritas. In addition, the current cocktail culture boom and its attendant focus on new artisanal spirits has fueled interest in Mezcals and the tasty exotic drinks they can produce.
Quetzacoatl’s Tears
To initiate a discussion of the historical beginnings of mezcal and tequila, one must begin with the maguey or agave plant. As a maguey plant nears maturity, the plant gathers stored sugar and sends out a single flower stalk up to 20 feet in height. If one removes this flower stalk, it leaves a depressed surface in which the maguey sap collects. As we stare hypnotically into the pool of maguey sap, the clouded pages of cocktail lore blend with ancient Aztec mythology:
Once upon a time, the great god Quetzalcoatl was watching humanity and noticed that at the end of the working day the people did not dance and sing. Instead, they seemed quite unhappy. Quetzalcoatl decided to give his Aztec people something to lift their spirits and brighten their lives. However, while planning this, he fell in love with the fertility goddess, Mayahuel. Mayahuel’s grandmother was not pleased with this relationship, so to avoid her and remain together, Mayahuel and Quetzacoatl embodied themselves into two great branches of one tree. The grandmother discovered this and enlisted the help of terrible demons to rip the tree apart. Quetzacoatl escaped this attack. But, the demons destruction of the tree killed Mayahuel. A heartbroken Quetzalcoatl collected the bits and pieces left of his lover and tenderly buried them. From these remains, the first maguey (agave) plant grew and weeps Quetzalcoatl’s tears (sap).
And so, for thousands of years, the Aztec people used those tears of the agave (called aguamiel or honey water) to make a fermented alcoholic milky white beverage called pulque. Pulque became a sacred beverage consumed during religious ceremonies. In the end, Quetzalcoatl’s wish that he might bring happiness to humanity came to pass through his pulque drink of sorrow.
The Mexican people have continued to drink this fermented agave even today. However, when the Spanish came to Mexico they brought distillation techniques with them and began experimenting with agave and pulque distillation to create something with higher alcohol content. The results became mezcal. Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave. Thus, tequila is actually a kind of mezcal, not the other way around; similar to how bourbon is a type of whiskey.
The word “mezcal” simply means “cooked agave.” Mezcal can be made anywhere in Mexico from 50 different agaves that can be used to produce the spirit. However, because 11 major mezcal agaves are native to the Oaxaca region, that area is considered the home of mezcal and cooks up 60% of Mexico’s production. The great majority (80%) of mezcal is made from the fastest-growing varietal, Espadin. Espadin only takes seven years to reach maturity compared to the three decades some other agaves can take.
Mezcals (other than tequila)
Here is the quick version of the recipe for mezcal. Carbohydrate-rich agave hearts, called piñas, are first baked to release sugar. Traditionally, producers build a large fire in an underground pit generally using native mesquite and encino woods. This fire heats large volcanic rocks that line the pit and act as an oven, roasting the piñas for up to six days. This roasting imparts mezcal’s signature smoky flavor. Next, large stone wheels crush the roasted agave. The crushed pulp is fermented in vats or pots to transform the sugars into alcohol. Finally, the heating and condensation of distillation separates the desired alcohol from the mash.
Small operations continue using artisanal techniques handed down through generations to produce mezcals. However, modern demand for greater volumes is forcing industrialization of the process in many cases. The flavor of each operation’s final product can vary significantly depending on the type, growing-climate and maturity of the agave, the wood used in the cooking process, or the type of fermentation vessel used.
Tequila – King of the Mezcals
In 1530, the Franciscan Friar, Juan Calera, founded the community of Santiago de Tequila in the region of Jalisco, Mexico. Tequila comes from the native name for the nearby volcano, “tequillan” or “tecuila.” The name means “a place where they cut,” referring to cutting the local obsidian volcanic rock for tools and weapons.
The early beginnings of tequila history are defined by the contributions of three men of note who came to this region. In the late 1600s, Don Pedro Sánchez de Tagle began distilling significant quantities of “mezcal de tequila” in his large Jalisco hacienda. He thus became known as “the Father of Tequila,” and Tequila, Jalisco forever became tequila’s home.
In 1758, King Ferdinand IV of Spain granted Jalisco lands to Don José Antonio de Cuervo to cultivate and harvest agave. And later in 1795, King Carlos IV granted the Cuervo family a license to produce the local mezcal. The Cuervo distillery was established in 1812, making it the oldest distillery of alcoholic beverages in Latin America.
In 1858, Don Cenobio Sauza traveled to Tequila to visit his cousin, fell in love with the area, and took a job with the Cuervo business. He learned the business so well, that he broke away and started his own tequila distillery. He was the first to export his mezcal de Tequila to the United States in 1873 when he shipped 3 barrels of it to El Paso, Texas. For a couple of centuries, mezcal de Tequila had remained essentially indistinguishable from other mezcals. It was Sauza who is credited with using just the blue agave to make the best tasting product. Other distillers of his region followed suit, and modern tequila was born.
Today, only five states in Mexico (Jalisco, Tamaulipas, Nayarit, Guanajuanto, and Michoacan) are allowed to use the designation of tequila for the spirits they produce. What sets tequila apart from the other mezcals is its singular use of the Weber blue agave and its cooking process. The tequila piña cooking process is not the smoky-pit roasting of other mezcals, but rather a baking in ovens of brick or stainless steel.
What’s in All Those Bottles
Tequila and mezcal purchasing can be a little confusing as you wander that aisle of your favorite liquor store. But, before beginning an aging discussion, there is a content-of-the-bottle decision that must be addressed. Some tequila bottles say 100% agave and some don’t. Regulations allow a product may be labeledto be a tequila even if it has up to 49% other non-agave liquids. There is a reason why I used lime and salt when doing shots of tequila in my younger days. That stuff we drank with other additives was cheap, tasted bad, so we disguised it with citrus and salt. So, stick with only 100% agave labels.
Mezcals, on the other hand, have new regulations (since 2014) that require them all to be 100% agave. Let’s hear it for the mezcals! However, there are three different categories you might see on those mezcal labels. Mezcal, Artisanal Mezcal, or Ancestral Mezcal refer to the production methods from modern industrial to totally traditional.
Having found the pure tequila, there are four aging options to consider, as follows:
| Designation | Aging | Notes |
| Blanco (white) or Plato (silver) | Less than 60 day “resting” period | Purest form of tequila |
| Reposado (rested) | 2 to 11 months | Soft, distinct flavor with the harsher agave notes more palatable. |
| Añejo (mature) | 1 to 4 years | Dark, rich, and amber in color and rich, smooth, and complex in flavor |
| Extra Añejo | + 4 years | A peatiness and caramel flavor similar to Scotch |
There is also a confusing category with the terms “Gold,” “Oro (gold),” and “Joven (young)” used somewhat interchangeably. Although an amber color can indicate a good aged tequila, don’t go for the gold tequila. Gold is usually a mixto (mixture), with caramel coloring and artificial flavoring added to the tequila. These young and adulterated tequilas are less expensive and used in many bars and restaurants for their mixed drinks. There are exceptions. A Joven tequila can also be a blend of a Silver Tequila with a Reposado and/or Añejo Tequila, while keeping the 100% Agave classification.
The distiller must also choose the type of aging barrels. Many use American oak barrels, often coming from the bourbon industry, to age their tequila. A Tennessee whiskey lover might want to try a Partida tequila. They use only Jack Daniels barrels in their aging process. Some distillers use barrels from the wine industry. A red wine drinker might want to purchase a Compoveda Extra Añejo after learning that it spends over 5 years drawing flavor notes from the inside of California red wine barrels. Patrón offers a sherry cask aged añejo; Storywood has blended two cultures with an añejo aged in single malt Scotch barrels; El Mayor produces a reposado aged nine months in French oak ex-Chardonnay casks. The possibilities are endless.
Unlike tequila, aging is not an important aspect of mezcal production, particularly for the artisanal and ancestral versions. And even now, with production more commercially focused, most mezcal enthusiasts argue that barrel aging only detracts from the spirit’s ability to showcase local natural character. Even so, reposado, and añejo classifications found in tequila production also exist within the mezcal category. However, they remain the exception rather than the rule.
A Final Word About that Worm
Returning to the opening story of the worm teaching lesson…any tequila discussion would not be complete without addressing the famous worm in the bottle. Contrary to common belief, those worms are not found in tequilas, but in some mezcals. Also, the worm is not even a worm, but rather the larva of a moth that lives on the agave plant. The larva in the bottle was just a marketing gimmick in the 1950’s. In actuality that gimmick damaged the reputation of mezcals, de-elevating it to the ranks of inferior spirits. In the mid-20th century, tequila and mezcal sales spiked somewhat after California residents thought drinking it and consuming the “worm” would produce a psychedelic experience. Wrong! They were just confusing mezcal with mescaline (the psychoactive alkaloid of peyote). But today, mezcals have certainly made a comeback, and shaken off that rotgut wormy image.
An Agave Culture
One way to observe and understand a particular culture is through its traditional food and drink. This could not be truer for Mexico. The regional and local populations have developed deep connections to their home grown mezcals and tequilas through long ritualistic use.
Mezcal is used to bless the planting of crops, welcome new arrivals to the family at baptisms, celebrate the joy of a wedding with a toast, or commemorate the sorrow of a funeral with even a few drops sprinkled on the grave to send the soul on its way. Mezcal can be a toast to good health or a sip to cure one’s ills. There are many local sayings attributed to mezcal’s universal uses: Mezcal – for everything wrong and everything right; A mezcal to begin and another to continue; I only drink mezcal when I’m in love and when I’m not; I drink mezcal when I win, to celebrate, and when I lose, to console myself. That about covers most of life’s situations.
The story of mezcal and tequila is intricately woven throughout Mexican history and has never been more at the forefront of their culture. As sales of tequila and mezcal continue to surge, so has interest in cocktails made with these agave-based spirits. And there are even songs about tequila, as evidenced by this contestant’s audition for America’s Got Talent.
Look for Part II of this post which will take us to the world of the classic tasty Margarita, and Part III to beyond the Margarita to the modern mezcal mania aspect of the craft cocktail boom.
