When you’ve visited a buzzy bar in any main metropolis within the final 15 years, you’ve most likely encountered craft cocktails made with tequila or mezcal. On the very least, you’ve probably sipped a Margarita or two on a patio or stoop when temperatures soared, otherwise you had surplus limes. 

“Tequila and mezcal are the most popular spirits in the marketplace proper now,” says Ketsuda Nan Chaison, the bartender-turned-restaurateur behind Mestizo and Libre eating places in Portland, Oregon. 

But, confusion about tequila and mezcal abounds, significantly for these new to the agave occasion. Is tequila a sort of mezcal, or the opposite manner round? Are you able to swap them in a cocktail? And what’s agave, precisely?

Able to dive into the richly nuanced world of tequila and mezcal? Right here’s what you should know.

The historical past of agave spirits

The recognition of tequila and mezcal has surged stateside, nevertheless it’s simply the most recent improvement of their lengthy, intertwined heritage. The spirits have deep roots in indigenous and agricultural communities all through Mexico. Some historians hint their origins to Aztec ceremonies round 250 AD. They typically notice that the phrase mezcal is derived from a Nahuatl time period meaning cooked or baked agave. 

For a lot of, tequila and mezcal are greater than components, but additionally cultural touchstones and international emissaries. They are often “vital for Mexican tradition as a result of I feel quite a lot of the producers can specific themselves by way of their craft, household bond, and the love of the land,” says Diego Livera, head bartender of The Cupboard Mezcal Bar in New York Metropolis. 

What’s tequila?

Tequila is a distilled spirit made out of blue Weber agave, a succulent that hails from arid areas within the Americas. 

There are 5 sorts of tequila: blanco, or unaged; reposado, which sits in oak or metal barrels from two months to at least one yr earlier than it’s bottled; añejo, a golden model that ages in oak barrels for one to a few years; further añejo, aged for no less than three years, and joven, a mix of principally blanco, plus some aged tequilas. 

Like Champagne, tequila is a geographically particular product with a designated appellation of origin (DO). A Mexican governing physique, Consejo Common del Tequila (CRT), regulates the place and the way it’s made. 

Most tequila comes from Jalisco, a Pacific-facing Mexican state that’s dwelling to a metropolis named Tequila. The spirit will also be produced in particular municipalities inside 4 different Mexican states: Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas.

How tequila is made

To make tequila, the agave piñas, or hearts, are roasted or steamed in ovens to transform the starches into fermentable sugars. It’s sometimes double-distilled in stainless-steel and copper-pot stills, and it’s bottled anyplace from 35% to 55% ABV. 

High quality tequilas are made out of 100% blue agave, however the CRT additionally permits distillers to make a sort of tequila known as mixto. It’s required to include at the least 51% blue agave, however mixto can embody non-agave sugars like cane sugar previous to fermentation. Some drinks professionals consider that mixto tequilas are subpar representations of the spirit.  

“For probably the most half, a mixto tequila may have quite a lot of artificial-tasting flavors,” says William Brooks, international model ambassador for Tequila Herradura and El Jimador. He says that mixto tequilas might be sweeter and lack the layered flavors and minerality of these made out of 100% agave. “Even malolactic notes are widespread in 100% agave tequila, and [they] are misplaced in mixto tequilas,” he says.

What’s mezcal?

Mezcal is a broad class of spirits made out of roasted agave hearts generally known as piñas. 

As soon as, mezcal could possibly be made anyplace in Mexico and from any sort of maguey, or agave plant. In 1995, mezcal acquired DO standing, and its manufacturing grew to become extra regulated. 

Trendy mezcal should include 100% agave. There are greater than 40 authorized species, like espadín, tobalá, and tepeztate. Manufacturing is permitted in 9 Mexican states: Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Michoacan, Tamaulipas, and Pueblo. 

Mezcal’s classes embody a variety of age statements and components, categorized primarily by the kind of agave from which it’s distilled. Although not generally barrel-aged, joven or blanco is unaged mezcal; reposado rests from two months to at least one yr in wooden; whereas añejo ages for at the least one yr in barrels. 

Mezcal labeled “madurado en vidrio” is aged in glass. Flavored mezcal, or a spirit that incorporates flavorings added after distillation, will say “abocado con,” which interprets to “flavored with.” If further fruits or flavorings are included throughout distillation, it’s described as “destilado con.”

How mezcal is made

To make mezcal, the piñas are roasted for a number of days underground in earthen or stone-lined pits. The roasted piñas are then pulverized to extract juices, fibers, and caramelized sugars. Historically, that is executed with a big stone wheel known as a tahona that’s pulled by a donkey or horse that circles the manufacturing space. Some fashionable distillers use a mechanized curler mill as a substitute.

The extracted supplies are fermented in open-air tanks after which distilled in small stills. Mezcal is bottled between 35-55% ABV. 

The important thing variations between tequila and mezcal

The first variations between tequila and mezcal should do with specificity. Tequila should be made out of blue Weber agave, and in certainly one of 5 designated areas of Mexico. Mezcal might be made out of an array of maguey, and in 9 Mexican states. 

Manufacturing processes fluctuate, too. Mezcal manufacturing begins in an underground pit and entails many conventional practices, maybe a donkey or two. Nonetheless, tequila is commonly made with extra fashionable processes and distilled twice in stainless-steel or copper-pot stills.  

Relying on their origin, manufacturing, and age, tequilas and mezcals can embody a variety of traits. Mezcal tends to have all kinds of advanced taste profiles that vary from fruity and natural to vegetal and mineral-like. Tequila usually shows flavors and aromas of cooked agave, tropical fruit, and citrus. As a result of manufacturing restrictions, tequila has a narrower vary of flavors than mezcal.

The right way to use tequila vs. mezcal 

In lots of bars, eating places, and houses throughout Mexico, individuals sip tequila or mezcal neat. Tequila is typically paired with sangrita, a tangy, savory accompaniment. Mezcal is likely to be served unadorned, or alongside salt or a slice of citrus. 

Each spirits work properly in cocktails. “You need to use tequila or mezcal interchangeably in most cocktails,” says Jesse Vida, working associate of Cat Chunk Membership in Singapore. Swapping in mezcal for the tequila used historically to make a Margarita or Paloma “is de facto only a private choice.”

Chaison recommends to drift an oz of mezcal atop a Margarita made with tequila. “You’ll discover it’s one of the best Margarita you have ever had,” she says.

It’s also possible to mix the 2 spirits to make fantastically nuanced drinks, like within the Oaxaca Previous Common or Eclipse. Vida is a fan of this strategy. “At Cat Chunk Membership, we use a mix of tequila and mezcal in a number of cocktails — one of the best of each worlds,” he says.