Mexico is so much more than just a transit area for marijuana, cocaine and american students on their way to adulthood. They also have nice hats, mustaches, tacos and mezcal.
Mezcal is best described as a category of booze, and it contains all distillate made from agave, a plant commonly thought of as a cactus, but isn’t. It is actually closer related to an asparagus than a cactus, but.. I digress.
As with all plants and forms of life, there is more than one kind, and of all the sorts there are, there are seven that are used to the production of mezcal. Only one however is allowed for Tequila; the Blue Agave.
All Tequilas must also come from the area around the city Tequila, in the state Jalisco, while Mezcal are from a broader area.
Of the agave plant, blue or not, most of it is not used for the production, only the heart is. This part of the plant grows underground, and the stuff you see on top is just fluff (or leaves) the Jimadores cut away and toss. Jimador is the name given to the expert handlers of this plant, that keep their labour manual and pass on their knowledge through the generations. It truly is one of Mexico's finest traditional products.
The primed hearts are then carried to an oven, where they bake for a while (how long?), to get them ready for fermentation which that happens after baking and crushing. This is hard work; one heart can weigh between 50 and 150 kgs, and you normally harvest quite a few of them. Farming isn’t for the lazy.
After fermentation the alcoholic juices are distilled. Some of it is immediately bottled, and sold as Silver Tequila. Some of it is aged on white oak barrels for at least 2 months, and sold as Reposado (“rested”) Tequila. Some of it is aged for at least 20 months on the same barrels, and are sold as Anejo (“old”) Tequila. There is a huge difference in aging times and processes between the at least 50 companies making the stuff, so be aware of quality differences.
Oh, the worm. Some of you might have heard of the worm.
By law, there cannot be a worm, or scorpion (which is also used) in Tequilas. Only some Mezcals use them, and they are used as a marketing ploy. Do not fall for ploys. Also, it isn’t actually a worm, but rather a larva, that lives on the agave plant leaves.
Jose Cuervo 1800
Koch Mezcal