The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails Definition of mezcal

mezcal , from the Nahuatl words for agave (metl) and oven-roasted (ixcalli), was the term formerly used to describe the entire category of spirits, or distillates, created from the roasted heart (piña) of the agave plant (maguey) made anywhere in Mexico. Tequila was originally a specific type of mezcal that was produced only in the state of Jalisco in the region centered on the town of Tequila. Tequila today is legally produced in Jalisco and four other Mexican states: Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Nayarit, and Michoacán. See tequila. Bacanora from Sonora; raicilla, from an area around Puerto Vallarta, in both Jalisco and Nayarit; tuxca, from Tuxcacuesco, Jalisco; comiteco, from the area of Comitán, Chiapas; and even sotol from Chihuahua were previously considered types of mezcal. See bacanora; raicilla; and sotol. However, as a result of the creation of the denominacion de origen (DO) for mezcal, established in 1995, the word “mezcal” today is used specifically, and solely, to describe the agave spirits of nine Mexican states: Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Tamaulipas, and the recently approved Puebla (2016), with the state of Oaxaca producing upwards of 90 percent of the regulated mezcal in Mexico. This in spite of the fact that there are over twenty states producing some sort of agave spirit in Mexico today. The new norma oficial mexicana (NOM) 070 SCFI 2015, passed in July of 2016, further categorizes mezcal into classifications and styles, and will attempt to dictate and regulate production methods and process, as well as key issues for the plant, such as which types of maguey can be used, how they should be named, the maturity of the plants, harvesting and cultivation, and the overall agricultural sustainability of the agave.

History

Mezcal has a very long history and a rich culture that surrounds its ancient, artisanal methods of production. It is a matter of dispute today whether there were spirits such as mezcal in Mexico prior to the arrival of Cristobal Colon and the Spanish. It is often taught that it was the Spanish who introduced distillation to the indigenous peoples of Mexico when they arrived with their alembic stills, but there is an increasing amount of evidence that distillation existed prior to the arrival of the Spanish, and some archaeologists and anthropologists believe that distillation, for the purpose of producing ritual beverage, may have begun as early as 600 bce. Whether or not the indigenous people of Mexico were actually distilling, it is certain that over two thousand years ago, long before the Spanish conquest, the indigenous people of Mexico consumed pulque, a beer from the heart of the maguey (octli, in Nahuatl) and often referred to by the Spanish as vino de mezcal. This “lightning nectar,” so named because of the myth of its origins, was to these Native Americans surely a gift from the gods, and it was consumed for religious ceremonies and usually reserved for the spiritual leaders, except for special occasions. It was consumed only in small quantities, as public drunkenness was frowned upon. These cultures worshipped the goddess Mayahuel, who purportedly originated from the maguey.

Evidence of maguey roasted in stone-lined earthen ovens found in Puebla and also in Chihuahua dates back to long before the Christian era, but the earliest documented evidence of pulque consumption is found on a mural in the pyramid of Cholula and dates to around 200 ce. As far as evidence of distillation, the now famous bean pots of Colima date to several hundred years earlier, which were made “to produce a prestige product for ceremonial purposes, with high social and cultural relevance,” and another archaeological excavation in the state of Tlaxcala dates ritual consumption of a distilled spirit back to as early as 400 bce. See distillation, history.

Mezcal has been deemed a bebida bendita, or ritual beverage, by Mexico’s indigenous people and remains so for palenqueros and mezcaleros (Mezcal producers), and as such, consumption of Mezcal is traditionally reserved for major holidays such as Semana Santa (Easter), Navidad (Christmas), and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) or important family fiestas and celebrations, such as baptisms, weddings, and even funerals.

The Maguey

The maguey has always been prized and deeply appreciated by Mexico’s Native peoples and they have for centuries used maguey for food and drink, sugar, shoes, soap, construction materials, rope, and medicine.

Agave is not a cactus, despite its appearance as such, but is actually one of a family of succulents with more than two hundred species, with the botanical name Agavaceae (Greek for royal or noble). According to agave expert and PhD Ivan Saldaña, there could be as many as 280 species of Agavaceae growing in the landscape from southern Utah to northern Venezuela. As plants go, agaves are survivors that want and expect very little from the environment, and as such thrive in the worst soils in otherwise impossible growing conditions. The maguey has an ancient and symbiotic relationship with corn, beans, and squash, and they are often planted side by side in Oaxaca and other mezcal-producing states.

Mezcals from the demarcated DOs can be produced from many different magueys; estimates range from twenty to forty different species currently harvested for the production of mezcal. These include espadin (Agave angustifolia), the most widely cultivated and utilized for Mezcal production; arroqueno (A. americanus oaxacencis), an often cultivated maguey formerly used frequently throughout Oaxaca, which because of its uneven ripening and its recent ascension to cult status among bartenders and aficionados has nearly disappeared; and a number of silvestres (wild magueys) such as tepextate (A. marmorata), tobaziche, barril, madrecuixe, and cuixe (the A. karwinskii species) papolome (A. cupreata), and the very rare tobala (A. potatorum).

Process

There are many ways to produce mezcal. As mezcal has emerged as a successful category, big business has joined in, bringing diffusers and huge stills to the region and finding industrial methods to produce larger quantities of mezcal. But what separates traditional mezcal is its ancient and artisanal methods of production; handcrafted mezcal is unique in the world and should be recognized and protected. See diffuser.

The first step in the process, after growing and maturing magueys for as few as seven or eight years and up to thirty years for some wild magueys, is harvesting the corazones (the heart of the plant) and transporting them to the palenque (production area) which is no small task in itself, and is still often carried out with the use of burros, mules, or horses. The corazones, sometimes called piñas, because of their resemblance to pineapples after the pencas (broad leaves) have been removed, must be first be baked or roasted to convert the fibrous, wood-like plant to a sugar that can be fermented. Traditionally, mezcal piñas are roasted in a conical earthen or stone-lined pit underground for several days, after which the sugars they contain are caramelized, rendering them fermentable.

Then the roasted hearts need to be shredded or pulverized to release the sugars. This process has traditionally been done by hand or by horse, often employing a molino, a large, stone wheel driven by horse or mule around a stone-lined, flat, circular grinding area (the name palenque signifies a round place). Other producers use heavy wooden bats or mallets and beat each piece of the maguey heart against a stone or in a hollowed out tree trunk. This ancient process is being replaced in much of the production today by modern desgarradoras, or gas-powered shredding machines.

Traditionally the shredded fibers, meat, and juices of the maguey are fermented in open tanks with the addition of local water, allowing ambient yeasts and airborne microbes to react with the sugars to create alcohol. This process might last a week or ten days, and for some producers in certain villages it can take up to a month.

Finally, after brewing the roasted and shredded maguey fibers in these open-top fermenters—which range from oak or pine tanks to clay pots, from animal hides to cow bellies (yes, seriously)—the resulting beer is distilled in small stills, usually between 100 and 350 liters. Many traditional producers will put all of the fermented tepache (beer of the maguey) into the vessel to be distilled, including all of the fibers of the fermented maguey.

The stills are often copper, and the locals call them alambiques, leading us to believe that they are Spanish in origin, or even Moorish, but indeed the old stills bear little resemblance to those of Spain or France. They are usually quite small and are often more cylindrical than round, like a drum, versus a pot. The closest stills in shape to the alembic pot stills of Europe are not actually similar at all, as they are indeed pots, but are constructed from clay, and utilize local still, pot). These clay stills are often completely encased in adobe or are even underground, and most of the traditional producers using copper or steel stills surround their “pots” with adobe bricks and maguey paste, following the ancient tradition.

The first distillation of the tepache is called ordinario. The palenqueros then run the ordinario back through the still, this time usually without fibers, for what they call refinacion, or refinement, in a second distillation, reaching peak alcohol levels of 60–70 ABV, although it is usually brought off the still at between 45 and 55 ABV.

One of the foundational tenets of traditional mezcal producers is to distill their elixir “to proof”; water is never added to dilute their pure mezcal to a lower alcoholic strength; instead, distillers add the tails of the distillation run. There is a dicho, or saying, among the indigenous producers that goes something like this: “Mezcal con agua no es mezcal!” (“Mezcal with water is not mezcal!”).

Mezcal Today

Artisanal mezcal may have existed for hundreds or even thousands of years in Mexico, but it is a recent phenomenon in the rest of the world and even for modern Mexicans. Visionary artist Ron Cooper, while creating art in Oaxaca, discovered palenqueros in the mountains of Oaxaca crafting mezcal in the ancient, traditional process. In 1995 Cooper began selling Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, in order to share what he considered “liquid art.” Del Maguey slowly developed near cult status among bartenders, chefs, sommeliers, and spirits connoisseurs. Meanwhile mezcal has become popular in Mexico, which long had scorned it as moonshine and rotgut alcohol, guaranteed to make you go blind and best left for the poor. See Cooper, Ron; and Del Maguey mezcal. In the past several years, mezcal has arisen as a category in and of itself and is one of the fastest growing spirit categories in the world. But, while there are numerous quality, artisanal brands, the potential for the industrialization of mezcal is a real and present danger that requires strict regulation.

Legislation

COMERCAM is the Consejo Regulador, or Mexican Regulatory Council, for the quality of mezcal and as such governs and regulates mezcal production and the cultivation of the source material agave in the nine states recognized by the denominacion de origen (DO). The first NORMAs (rules) governing the producing states of mezcal were passed in 1995. These regulations, along with producer certification, began in 2005. The new NORMA, NOM 070 SCFI 2015, passed in July of 2016, further categorizes mezcal into classifications and styles that did not exist previously, such as artesanal and ancestral.

This is a historic achievement, as these are the first new NORMA rules for mezcal in over twenty years, and they are meant to help to control and regulate the rapid expansion of this exciting, new, but in actuality very ancient category.

Some of the newly established regulations include:

• All bottles labeled mezcal must be 100 percent agave.

• Producers will now be allowed the use of the words maguey or agave on the label.

• A law governing the maximum amount of acidity allowed in mezcal production has been eliminated.

• There is no exporting of bulk mezcal allowed.

There are now three categories of mezcal:

Mezcal:

100 percent agave, but “mezcal” can be steamed in large ovens, can be fermented in stainless steel using cultured yeasts, and can be made with diffusers; all types of stills are allowed, and water can be added.

Mezcal artesanal:

100 percent agave, this mezcal can be roasted underground but can also be steamed in large ovens; it can be fermented naturally and traditionally or in stainless steel using cultured yeasts; it can be shredded by hand or by horse, and desgarradoras are also allowed. But it cannot be made with diffusers; only pot stills are allowed; and water can be added.

Mezcal ancestral:

100 percent agave, this mezcal must be made by ancient traditional methods: it must be roasted underground; shredded by hand only; fermented naturally in wood, clay, or animal hides; and distilled in traditional clay pots or wood, and water can be added.

There are also now six classes of mezcal:

Joven or blanco (white, unaged, the most traditional and most common)
Reposado (aged for a minimum of two months and maximum of one year in wood)
Añejo (aged minimum one year in barricas)
Madurado en vidrio (aged in glass)
Abocado con (“flavored with,” as in flavored mezcals where the flavors are added after distillation)
Destilado con (“distilled with,” as in pechugas, where additional ingredients (such as fruits and nuts) are distilled into the mezcal)

Pending legislation could mandate the scientific name of the agave species on the label and may dictate, for the purpose of sustainability, which types of maguey can be used. A new system of rankings has recently been suggested that, if ratified, could require that all registered producers are rated on a scale of sustainability and conformity. There is another proposition requiring producers selling their mezcal outside their village but not registered in a designated DO to call their mezcal komil, an ancient, obscure Nahuatl word loosely translated as “inebriating liquid.”

Finally

There is a dicho, or saying, in Oaxaca: “Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, también!”: “For everything bad, mezcal, and for everything good, also mezcal!”

mezcal

History

The Maguey

Process

Mezcal Today

Legislation

Finally

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