Mescal is a regulated distilled spirit made from specific types of agave plants in certain Mexican states. Tequila is a type of mescal made from blue agave in Jalisco. Mescal has a long history in Mexico and takes years to produce through a traditional process of roasting, fermenting, and distilling.
Mescal, or mezcal, is a type of distilled spirit produced in specific regions of Mexico, where production is heavily regulated by the Mexican government. The liqueur can only be made in a number of Mexican states, using only certain types of agave varieties, and cannot be mixed with any other spirits. The state of Oaxaca usually produces the most mescal for the country. This drink is available outside of Mexico and may grow in popularity as more people discover it.
Generally, mescal comes from a type of agave plant known as maguey. Different varieties of agave are used to create different types of liqueur. Tequila is a specific type of mescal made from the blue agave plant in the state of Jalisco. All tequilas are mescal but not all mescal are tequila.
The drink has a long history in Mexico, as the maguey plant was traditionally a sacred plant to the Aztecs. When the Spanish invaded the country in the early 1500s, they brought the art of distillation with them. Before the Spanish invasion, people fermented the sap of the maguey plant to make a drink known as pulque. Pulque was used to soothe sacrificial victims, given to priests to help them prepare for rituals, and used as medicine. Once they learned to distill, the native Aztecs began creating mescal from the sap of the agave.
It usually takes several years to produce mescal, as the maguey plant takes up to 15 years to mature. When the agave plant has matured, the heart, also known as the pina, is removed from the plant. Pina is crushed and minced and usually placed on hot rocks in a deep pit. The hearts are usually covered with banana or palm leaves and then earth. They are left in the fire pit to roast for a number of days. In some cases, hearts can roast for up to a month.
Once roasted, the hearts are ground up and left to ferment for a week or more. Before the maquey is put into the dough, water is added to the dough. The maquey blend is then distilled for one day, at which point it becomes mescal. In general, the production process for this spirit has remained the same since the region was introduced to distillation in the 1500s.
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