Mezcal: Tequila’s Cousin That You Should Know About

When you think of Mexican liquor, you probably think of Tequila. While Tequila is a beloved beverage country-wide, it’s only manufactured in the state of Jalisco. In the state of Oaxaca, they import their tequila but make their own Mezcal.

La Reliquia brand Mezcal in Huatulco, Mexico

What Makes mezcal different?

Honestly, for a while, it seemed that no one outside of Mexico seem to know about Mezcal, but I’ve updated this article because in 2018, I see it in speciality shops and some restaurants even in the Midwest, and in states closer to Mexico, you can find it fairly easily. However, Mezcal still does not have the fame of its cousin, Tequila. It’s like this liquor, which is so closely related to tequila, has been shunned and hidden from the world. It’s just not fair!

Both tequila and mezcal begin with the maguey plant, which is a form of agave. The agave used differs in each liquor due to the different cacti native to the region. The processes behind the manufacturing of these two liquors also varies a little. First off, the bulbs cut from the maguey plant (called piñas) are baked in steam ovens for tequila, but baked in an underground oven over wood charcoal for mezcal. The wood charcoal is what gives mezcal it’s distintive smoky flavor. After being baked, the piñas are crushed so that the aguamiel, or sweet honey water, can be extracted.

Oh yeah, and that whole worm-in-the-bottle thing

Many mezcals will come “con gusano” or with a worm. The worm is a larva of a moth that is found on the agave plant. Nowadays, no one can really say with confidence how this practice began, but I have a favorite story. The idea behind the theory is that the worm will prove the quality of the liquor – if the worm is intact, the alcohol must be of high quality. You can also eat the worm, as it won’t harm you, but that is usually done by people who have had far too much mezcal and will do anything on a dare. If you’re not into the worm in a bottle thing, plenty of mezcals come worm-free.

I didn’t eat a worm, but I did chase my mezcal with a lime covered in wormsalt, which is made from ground up worms.

So many different flavors

I was lucky enough to go on a mezcal tasting with Apple Vacations, so I got to enjoy several varieties of Mezcal. A ridiculously charming 15 year old served us up some samples of Mocha, Passion Fruit, and Piña Colada flavored Mezcal.

My favorite was the Mocha, which the boy said he liked to call “Mexican Bailey’s” I agreed. In fact, when they served us some local coffee, I poured my shot right into the cup.

Mezcal is manufactured throughout Mexico, but the state of Oaxaca is known for taking pride in their high quality mezcal. You might not want to substitute mezcal for tequila in a margarita, but there are plenty of drinks would be very well complimented by some tasty mezcal.