Mezcal: Learning About a Mexican Tradition

lily-da-vine (73)in #mexico • 6 years ago

We don't often splurge on alcohol partially cause I don't really like it. But for things like mezcal, you can get me to come around....

Mezcal is one of those spirits with a reputation bigger than even tequila, it's closely related counterpart. The name loosely translates to oven cooked agave and for that it's known to have a slightly smokey flavor. It's made from the agave plant which even a surprise to me isn't actually a cactus. I always figured it was just a different process of the same plant but I've found it actually uses the heart of the agave plant, referred to as the piña.

This drink was actually concocted by the Spanish after coming to Mexico but has been produced here since, especially in states like Oaxaca and Guerrero. They cook the heart of the plant and then ferment the juice, producing mezcal. There's a bit of a myth involving lightning and an agave plant probably partially rooted in the fact that this is technically Mexican moonshine in terms of potency and things like that.

Now like with any other plants there are preferred strains and there's a type of agave called mezcal agave. Apparently it can take up to 15 years for plants to mature! What's interesting is tequila is only made from blue agave and mezcal is made from over 30 different species depending on local availability.

Unaged mexcal like the one in this post is referred to as joven, or young. It can be aged to make flavor more complex and smooth. This was one of the better tasting ones I've had, smoky tasting with a bit of a hot aftertaste that's actually pleasing even if you don't like alcohol, like me.

All the photos in this post were edited by me to improve color quality and they look a lot better. I made the image with the Oaxacan Proverb in gimp.