Once upon a time, a lightning bolt struck an agave (maguey) heart during a thunderstorm, cooking the inside and breaking it open. After the storm had passed, juice oozing from the piña attracted animals. People living nearby noticed them and set out to investigate, discovering the sweet nectar. They then began to roast the agave hearts in stone-lined, earthen pits (palenque) to produce their own juice. At some point, the aguamiel fermented and maguey “beer” was discovered. However, it isn’t until 1535 that we have the first definitive record of vino mezcal de Tequila being produced as a distilled spirit.
The term, vino mezcal de Tequila, probably raises some confusion. From my previous article, we have a good understanding of what tequila is. Mezcal is a related spirit – actually, the original tequila – but both now have their respective denominations of origin and regulatory standards that make them distinct. Mezcal can only be produced in the states of Durango, Guerrero, Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi, and Zacatecas. However, the bulk of production is located in Oaxaca, with Santiago Matatlán the self-styled capital.
Mezcal’s smokiness is one of the main aspects distinguishing it from tequila. The latter lost this characteristic when Jalisco tequileros switched to steaming the agave in ovens. Oaxaca mezcaleros, however, maintain the old ways that have changed little in centuries. Hand-harvested maguey is roasted in small batches for days over charcoal in a palenque, covered in layers of palm fibre and dirt. Next, the cooked agave is crushed in an animal-powered millstone to extract the juice which is transferred to wooden vats for spontaneous fermentation by wild yeasts. The resulting mezcal “beer” is then distilled in clay or copper stills.
Unlike tequila, mezcal can be made from up to 28 different varieties of maguey, including the Agave tequilana, Weber Blue, but all must have been grown within the denomination of origin. Type 1 mezcal must be made with 100% agave sugars, type 2 with a minimum of 80% agave (compared to 51% for tequila mixto). These can be further broken down into three categories:
- Abacado/Blanco/Joven: bottled immediately; may legally have flavourings (crema)
- Reposado/Madurado: aged 2-11 months in wood
- Añejo: aged a minimum of 12 months in wooden barrels no larger than 200 litres
Since the 2005 update to the Mexican government regulations (NORMA), all mezcal must be distilled at least twice. Production has to be certified by the El Consejo Mexicano Regulador de la Calidad del Mezcal (COMERCAM) for sale or export, and all mezcal must be bottled at the point of origin. Unlike tequila mixto, bulk exports are prohibited.
The traditional Oaxacan method of drinking mezcal is with sal de gusano, made from the fried larvae of the Hypopta agavis moth ground with chili and salt. Taking a pinch of the salt, you place it on your tongue, then slowly drink a caballito of mezcal. The gusano is the “worm” that was first added, along with a bag of sal de gusano, to mezcal (not tequila) by Jacobo Lozano Páez in 1950 as a marketing gimmick. Today, its use is controversial as a novelty that drives the sales of non-premium mezcal which has associated the spirit with a reputation for low quality. It is an image producers of premium mezcal wish to distance themselves from since they want discerning consumers to give their products equal consideration to fine tequila, even Scotch. Consequently, high quality mezcal (without the larva) currently represents good value in comparison its better-known sibling, tequila. I expect this will change as more people discover the pleasures of “Oaxaca’s cognac”, so you might want to keep this to yourself.
~ RG
