American Latino Magazine The Business of El Mariachi | Page 12
The Spirits of Mexico
If one asks someone to name the spirits produced in Mexico, invariably “tequila” will be at
or near the top of their list. Tequila is by far
the spirit that enjoys the greatest production,
consumption, exportation, and notoriety of all
the Mexican spirits. There are, however, several other spirits produced in Mexico, many of
which are beginning to gain a foothold in the
highly competitive marketplace. They vary by
type of agave, by method of production, and
by region of origin. One of the spirits, sotol,
is made from a plant that is actually not an
agave.
MEZCAL
It is theorized that the indigenous peoples of
Mexico developed distillation methods prior
to the arrival of the European conquistadors.
Large-scale distillation of spirits did, however, occur after the arrival of the Spaniards
in Central Mexico. The Spanish stores of
imported brandy were soon depleted, and
they began to look for a suitable alternative.
They discovered that the local populations
drank a beverage called “octli”, or “pulque”,
which was the fermented juice of the maguey
plant (the agave plant native to the region).
The Spaniards introduced the alembic still,
which they used to distill the fermented agave
juice into a high-proof spirit. This they called
“vino de mescal”, which was later shortened
to “mescal” or “mezcal”. As the industry
evolved, the most well-known mezcal was
produced in an area close to the town of
Tequila in the state of Jalisco. This “mezcal de
Tequila” later became known simply as “tequila”. Tequila as we know it today is produced
only from a specific type of agave: Agave
Azul Tequilana Weber, and can be grown and
produced only in the state of Jalisco and certain
municipalities in surrounding states and in the state of
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Tamaulipas. Tequila itself has seen great demand
and popularity the world over.
Production of mezcal in other regions has
continued over the years, but was seen mainly
as a cottage industry. Recently, however, mezcal has become much better known and its
demand as greatly increased. Mezcal now has
a certification process similar to tequila, and
its production is limited to certain states. The
largest production is in the state of Oaxaca,
but other states with certified agave growing
areas with production facilities are Durango,
Guanajuato, Guerrero, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas. The types of agave
used vary by region, but the most widely used
is the species known as “espadin”. Other
varieties used include “tobala”, “madrecuixe”,
“arroqueño”, and “agave verde”.
One of the biggest differences between tequila
and mezcal production is the way in which the
agave is cooked prior to fermentation. The
agave for mezcal is cooked in the traditional
AMERICAN LATINO MAGAZINE • BRINGING PEOPLE, BUSINESS AND CULTURE TOGETHER
Dr. Tequila a.k.a.
Dr. Adolfo Murillo
owner, Tequila Alquimia
stone-lined pits. After burning hardwoods
down to embers, the agave cores are placed
in the pits, then covered for 2 to 3 days. This
slow wood-fire roasting gives mezcal its
characteristic smokey flavor and aroma. The
juices are then fermented in wood or clay vats,
and then distilled in copper stills. A double
distillation yields a high-proof mezcal, whose
alcohol content can then be adjusted by
adding water.
Not all bottles of mescal will contain a worm
(the worm is actually the larva of a moth,
Hypopta agavis, which infests agave plants).
There are different stories as to why the worm
is added to b