Mezcal is the national drink of Mexico and it’s artisanal production is their pride and joy. It is distilled in many regions throughout Mexico. Tequila refers to mezcal produced in one particular region, and thus tequila can be considered a type of mezcal.
Some reports suggest that mezcal production began in the 15th C, although tequila production was a Spanish/Indian joint venture begun in the 17th century.
Production
Anything that’s distilled from the agave plant can be called Mezcal. Connoisseurs suggest that there are many different factors that influence the final quality, similar to wine. One important factor is the plant: there vintage only every 7 - 10 years, and the “terroir” where the agave is grown has an important influence on the quality of the final product, and will create a distinctive product if it is expressed through quality distillation technique.
Cultural factors such as how the plant is grown and harvested and factors relating to the distillation (type of still, size shape, temperature of fermentation, method of cooking the agave and maturation of the spirit) are also important.
Tequila is distilled from fermented aguamiel (honey water) from the agave plant, which is also called a Maguey. This plant is technically a succulent rather than a cactus, and is a member of the lily family. This type of plant has close to 400 species, all with the botanical name of agavacea. Most quality tequila is produced from one type called the agave tequilana Weber tip azul, or blue agave. The mezcals produced in other regions of Mexico are often made with different types of agave, including Espadin, Sotol, and the wild Tobola.
In order to get the sugars in the agave to where they can be distilled, it is necessary to harvest the heart of the agave (the piña) at the peak of ripeness and then to convert the starch to sugar through heat. This is accomplished either by baking in an oven (in the tequila highlands), by steaming (in industrial tequila production), or by baking in pits dug into the ground (in mezcal production). Once this has been accomplished, the heart is shredded with a stone wheel, and the the pulp is fermented with the addition of yeast.
The fermented agave is distilled in either copper pot stills or in continuous stills, but most of the quality tequila is produced by double distillation in pot stills. Some old-fashioned spirit is still produced in ceramic stills with bamboo components.
Every bit of the distillate is used. The heads are used for rubbing alcohol, the heart is used for the base since it is very pure, while the tails are used to flavor the spirit since the first part of the tails is where the most of the flavor is located.
Tequila
Tequila is produced in five Mexican states, but the center of tequila production is Jalisco, which is where the blue agave originates. Among these, the best tequilas are those that are estate grown, fermented, distilled & bottled. Some suggest that the superiority of this region is due to the volcanic soils of the area. The first expansion of the delimited tequila area was in Tamaulipas, and now Nayarit, Michoacan and Guanajuato can also produce tequila.
“Tequila” is an Indian word means lava hill or volcano, and there are lowland and highland regions within the delimited area of production. Gran Centenario, and Don Julio are examples of highlands tequila from the northeast of the region, while Herradura is a lowlands tequila from the southwest of the district. High saline doesn’t always indicate a highlands style, but according to Steve Olson, this style is indicated by aromas of wet cement and glue along with piercing acidity. Mexico is a mountainous country: “lowlands” start 4,000 ft; Guadalajara is at 4500 ft, and the city of Arundas is in the highlands at 7600 ft altitude.
As of this year, there are six types of tequila. The lowest category is mixto, which is a spirit distilled from a mix of sugars that must be a minimum of 51% agave sugars. Mixto tequilas can be made into any of the following styles.
Blanco is the youngest style of tequila, although some use the word plata or silver for this classication. The word “platinum” to indicate this style is a brand name. Blanco must be bottled within 60 days of distillation.
Joven abocado is a young tequila flavored with caramel. This type of tequila is almost always a mixto.
Reposado, which means that the tequila has “rested” is up to a year in age, and can be aged in any size barrel.
Añejo tequila has to be aged in small barrels of 600 lit for a minimum of one year.
Extra añejo is a newly-recognized type of tequila, aged a minimum of 3 years in oak. The same legislation has also recognized flavored tequilas as a legitimate category.
Mezcal
Mezcal is similar to tequila, with the exception of the fact that different agaves are often used. Mezcal is produced in the states of Oaxaca and Chihuahua, and must be 100% agave.
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