I read somewhere that mezcal is a complicated drink. What could be so complicated? You pour it, and you drink it. That’s it!
During our second big Mexico trip, we had the opportunity to enjoy two of the country’s most significant alcohol-producing regions: the Oaxaca Mezcal region
and the famous Tequila city with its fields and tequila factories.
What is the difference between mezcal and tequila? The question sounds to me almost like, “What is the difference between whiskey and rum?’ You can make cocktails with rum, but you cannot make good cocktails with whiskey.
Both mezcal and tequila are drinks made from agave plants. Still, tequila must be made only in a designated area, primarily in Jalisco, and made only from the famous blue agave (azul tequilana weber).
Mezcal is mainly distilled in the Oaxaca Valley and is made from at least 20 wild and domestic agave varieties found across the landscapes of Oaxaca. The different agave plants have different levels of sugar and maturation cycles, which can give the mezcal made from them different taste.
Regarding production, mezcal and tequila (at least artisanal tequila) are similar: The agave’s leaves are cut away, leaving the heart of the plant, often called a piña.
The heart is cooked in large underground pits on an open fire for mezcal production, giving it a unique smoky flavour. The pina for tequila is usually baked in an oven. After cooking, the pina is smashed and fermented in barrels. The materials often differ. Tequila producers use more modern and automated tools and equipment, such as electric machines, for crushing and grinding the agaves. Maestros mezcaleros, or master mezcal makers, on the other hand, tend to use more authentic tools where no power is needed, like clay for distillation, wooden mallets for the smashing or animals for the same purpose (depending on the producer’s preference and infrastructure), as well as wooden barrels for fermentation.
I don’t drink hard spirits, and the few times I tried tequila in different cocktails, I didn’t like it. Its strong taste could not be masked with sugar or juice. But even with my distaste for the products made from the agave plant, we were in Mexico, and we could not skip the famous regions.
We first visited Santiago Matatlan, known as the “Mezcal Capital of the World.”
This is where most of the mezcal is produced. Even before reaching it, we noticed the change in the crops along the road. The hills were covered with agave plants in different stages of maturity.
In Matatlan, literally, every second house is a Fabrica de mezcal.
In this region of Oaxaca Valley, there are probably more distilleries that produce liquor than rakia in Bulgaria. But who am I to compare rakia to mezcal.
Ivan: Exactly, leave this to the experts.
Marinela:
We stopped at one Fabrica de Mezcal, where we learned about the production process, sampled several different mezcal brands, and bought some for the road.
Two months later, travelling to the hills of Jalisco, we noticed some similarities to the Oaxaca Valley. Guess what? Agave plantations.
I must admit that the agave plantations in this region are much more extensive. The 35,000 hectares of the fields around Tequila are on the UNESCO World Heritage list, as blue agave and tequila production played a huge role in shaping the local culture.
At this point of our trip, our son was visiting us. He wanted to see the solar eclipse in April, an excellent opportunity to spend time together.
We picked him up from the airport in Guadalajara, and the first stop was Tequila. Very convenient, right? In Tequila, there is one major thing you must do – drink tequila.
In Tequila, even at the gas station, they sell tequila.
You can try tequila testing in every store on every corner before you decide to buy. As a matter of fact, you can only go for testing and not buy anything at all.
For people like me who don’t drink hard liquor, there are many, many boots on the main square and everywhere in the city where you can purchase a cocktail made with this famous spirit.
Of course, we couldn’t skip the distillery tour. It is one of the main attractions in the town. After a bit of research, we decided to go on the tour offered by Casa Suaza. It is the third-oldest distillery in the world and the second-largest tequila producer. During the tour, we had the opportunity to taste their top-quality product, and I must tell you that it is better than the tequila I tasted everywhere else.
One reason to visit the city is that you can buy very good tequila at the best possible price. High-quality products bought directly from the factory cost only a fraction of what you can buy everywhere else.
Of course, you can buy a gallon of “vino de agave” on the streets for only $10, but I would not risk it.
Tequila is a beautiful city. It is on the list of pueblos magico, and even if you are not into the famous drink, you can still enjoy the clean and beautiful streets and the local culture.
Ivan :
Well, well, well… This is an example of how a non-drinker writes about state-of-the-art drinks. No understanding, no passion, just the facts. It’s like a blind man writing about a visit to the Uffizi gallery.
It’s time for the experts to chime in.
As a longtime producer of “rakia” (Bulgarian grape brandy), exploring the technology of converting agave into mezcal or tequila was quite interesting. It’s fascinating what people are capable of doing in order to pull out some sugar from a desert plant and make it into a drink. There are no limits to the human imagination here.
Making of mezcal is an art, at least from what we saw in the small Oaxaca villages.
The production of tequila is much more industrialized; it is more like printing copies of masterpieces for tourists.
Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with tequila. It’s an amazing drink, I tasted some very interesting flavors. I really don’t understand why people put this beautiful stuff in cocktails. If you put a shot of any kind of hard liquor in these tequila cocktails, I bet 99% of the “tequila cocktail lovers” will not notice the difference. If you want to feel the real stuff, you must drink it pure.
When you drink it pure, there is a huge difference. The mezcal is much richer in flavors. I especially loved the smoky taste coming from the baking of the “pinas” on an open fire with different types of wood. Tequila is sometimes triple distilled to make it more “pure” for the mass consumer taste. In my personal opinion, it only loses from this.
So here is the expert’s verdict. If you are a real man and like your drinks pure – go for mezcal. If you are a cocktail lover – tequila is your spirit.
hit the road... 