Mezcal vs. tequila, and why one is for sipping

I. What agave is

Agave is not a cactus. It is a succulent, related distantly to lilies and asparagus. It stores water and nutrients in its central core, called the piña, for between seven and thirty-five years depending on the variety before it sends up a flower stalk and dies. The piña is what is harvested. The piña is what becomes mezcal.

Blue Weber agave (used for tequila) is one of over thirty agave varieties used in mezcal production. Espadín accounts for about 90% of mezcal production, matures in 7–10 years. Tobalá is wild, takes 15–25 years, reproduces only from death-flower seeds. Tepeztate matures in 25–35 years — herbal, slightly vegetal, with a wildness that reflects the agave’s long relationship with its ground.

II. The production difference

Tequila production at scale uses autoclaves — industrial pressure cookers — to convert the agave’s starches to fermentable sugars quickly. The result is consistent, clean, and largely without site-specific character.

Traditional mezcal production uses a conical pit in the ground, lined with volcanic rock, heated with wood fire. The piñas roast for three to five days, developing the smoke flavor. The roasted agave is crushed by a stone tahona pulled by a horse. The mash ferments in open vats for one to two weeks using ambient wild yeast. The spirit is distilled twice in small clay or copper pot stills. This is what terroir means in spirits.

III. The sipping instruction

Mezcal — specifically, mezcal made by a small producer using traditional methods from a non-espadín agave — is for sipping. It is not for cocktails. A cocktail is a vehicle for delivering alcohol in a form that tastes like something other than alcohol. That function is not compatible with a spirit that took fifteen years to mature in a specific valley in Oaxaca.

Espadín mezcal in a cocktail is acceptable. Tequila in cocktails is the correct use of tequila. Tobalá, tepeztate, madrecuixe, bicuixe — these are poured in a clay copita, sipped slowly, and not mixed with anything.

IV. What to buy

Start with espadín. A producer from Oaxaca — Mezcal Vago, Koch El Mezcal, Putaparió — at $40–$70. Learn what mezcal is supposed to taste like. Then try a different agave from the same producer. Then the same agave from a different region.

Avoid anything in a bottle shaped to attract attention in a bar — the skull bottles, the elaborate packaging, the celebrity endorsements. Buy the unassuming bottle. Sip it from a clay copita. Do not put ice in it.

Recipe — How to drink mezcal

Don Felipe Méndez · Oaxaca · there is no recipe; mezcal is not made at home

• 2 oz pour
• 21°C room temp
• 0 ice cubes
• ∞ time to take

What you need

• Small-producer mezcal (start with espadín) — 2 oz
• Clay copita or jícara (small ceramic cup works)
• Orange slice (optional, traditional)
• Sal de gusano or sea salt (optional)

The method

1. Pour two ounces of mezcal into the clay copita.
2. Smell it first. Hold the cup an inch from your nose. Breathe in slowly. The smoke, the agave, the fermentation character — all present before the first sip.
3. Take a small sip. Enough to coat the palate, not enough to overwhelm it.
4. Hold it briefly. Let it warm. The flavors develop as the spirit warms in the mouth.
5. Set the copita down. There is no second instruction. Take your time.

About the contributor

Don Felipe Méndez

Don Felipe writes about mezcal, tequila, and agave spirits from Oaxaca, México. He has been visiting palenques in the Miahuatlán region for thirty years and considers the difference between a clay copita and a cocktail glass to be a moral matter.

Editor’s notes — the longer view

A note on the worm. The «worm» in some commercial mezcal bottles is a marketing gimmick from the 1950s. It does not appear in traditional mezcal. If your mezcal has a worm in it, you are drinking the wrong mezcal. The good stuff comes in plain bottles.

A note on smoke. The smoke flavour comes from the roasting pit, not from added smoke or barrel aging. Mezcal is rarely aged in wood. The smoke is integral to the production method and varies enormously between producers based on the wood used, the duration of the roast, and the quantity of agave in the pit. Smoke is not a flavor profile. It is a fingerprint of place.

A note on sustainability. The mezcal boom has created real pressure on wild agave populations, particularly tobalá and tepeztate that take decades to mature and cannot be cultivated. Look for producers who name their agave source and discuss replanting practices.

A note on the copita. The small clay cup is the traditional vessel because it does not impart flavor, does not concentrate alcohol vapors, and does not pretend to be sophisticated. It is humble. It is correct. The drink does the work. The vessel gets out of the way.

Back to American · Cook lane · HowTo: Food Edition home · American cuisine hub