1. What is mezcal?
Certified for export from only 8 states of Mexico and nowhere else
Traditionally produced all across Mexico
1994
Appellation of Origin designated by the Government of Mexico
2005
Mezcal NOM-070 (AOC) – Updated the Norm for the Mezcal name and production methods under a Denomination of Origin, agreed to by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

2. What is mezcal? Selected agave species used
Espadín (Agave angustifolia)
90% of Oaxacan mezcal
Tobala

3. What is mezcal? Agave sp./var. Barril Madrecuixe Blue agave
Mexicano/Dobadaan
Blanco/Americana
Tepeztate
Many others…

4. Where is mezcal produced?
Mezcal’s Denomination of Origin
Oaxaca – 80+%
Zacatecas
San Luis Potosí
Guerrero
Durango
Guanajuato
Tamaulipas
Michoacan*

5. Where is mezcal produced?
Mezcal’s Denomination of Origin
Oaxaca

6. Where is mezcal produced?
Oaxaca
Santiago Matatlán, Tlacolula, San Agustín de las Juntas, Sola de Vega, Miahuatlán, Yautepec, Ocotlán, Ejutla, Zimatlán, etc.

7. Where is mezcal produced?
SAN JUAN DEL RIO, TLACOLULA

8. Where is mezcal produced?
SAN AGUSTÍN DE LAS JUNTAS

9. How are the agaves grown & harvested?
Harvested at maturity
Between 8-15 years old
Depends upon terroir factors – climate, altitude, soil, water

10. How are the agaves grown & harvested?
Jima
Palenquero uses a coa to remove pencas from the agave
What remains is the piña or cabeza
Pencas used for compost, fertilizer or fiber production
For artisanal mezcal, these remain in the mosto during fermentation & first distillation

11. When was mezcal first produced?
“Mezcal” – what’s in a name?
From Mezcalmetl or Mexcalli – Nahua terms meaning “agave/maguey that has been cooked”
Not “mescal”, no relation to mescaline
Mesoamerican mythology indicates that a lightning strike on a large maguey first alerted ancient peoples to the benefits of roasting agaves

12. What are the categories and classes of mezcal?
Mezcal 100% agave
Mezcal (80% agave)
Joven (unaged)
Reposado (2-12 months)
Añejo (> 1 year)

13. How is mezcal made? Cooking the agaves to convert starch to sugar
Agave piñas are traditionally roasted in stone-lined pits over hot coals, and covered in bagazo or bagasse
A few are now roasted in hornos as with tequila

14. How is mezcal made?
Milling or crushing – Traditional
Molino or tahona

15. How is mezcal made?
Milling or crushing – Traditional
Molino or tahona

16. How is mezcal made? Fermenting the juice or mosto Open air Wild yeasts
Con bagazo or sin bagazo

17. How is mezcal made?
Distillation Methods

18. How is mezcal made? Distillation Methods Traditional
Batch – Pot still / Alembic still
Mezcal de olla
Uses a clay pot instead of copper

19. How is mezcal made? Distillation Methods Modern
Batch – Pot still / Alembic still
Copper or stainless steel

20. How is mezcal made? Distillation Methods First Second Shi-shi (22-30%)

21. What about the worm?
Gimmick leading to ritual of consumption for machismo purposes
Gusano is an agave moth larvae & a pest
Many myths
Symbiotic to plant
Hallucinogenic to eat
Aphrodesiac to eat
If there’s any authenticity at all…
Oaxaceños have long consumed dried and seasoned insects and their larvae for protein
Today grasshoppers and dried worms with chile, spices and salt are popular snacks
Sal de gusano also an accompaniment to mezcal

22. Concluding remarks
Salud y gracias!

23. Resources Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Flickr, YouTube
@agavespirits
@tequilaexpo