10 Things You Didn't Know About Mezcal
Mexico's king of spirits, mezcal, boasts artisanal craft, wild agave luxury, and surprising connections — beatnik writers, hangover-free claims, and even an agave building material! Discover its history, secrets, and why it's toasting tables worldwide.
Mezcal is living its moment. At first, it was less appreciated, but now nobody doubts it, this distillate is the king of Mexican liquors, just as tequila was in its time. More and more tables are toasted with mezcal, meals are accompanied by it and at meetings there is always at least one bottle of this drink. So that you don't get overwhelmed during these times, or on the contrary, so that you do, here are 10 curious facts about this noble liquid:
Mezcal and mescaline?
Many people think that mezcal is somehow related to mezcaline. No, they only share similarity in name but are not derived from each other. Mezcal is produced from agave (good mezcal is 100% agave) while mezcaline is obtained from peyote.
100% artisanal
When it comes to artisanal mezcal, the production process is almost all manual. That includes bottling with a decanter, labeling bottle by bottle by hand and personal packaging.
Mezcal superstitions
There are several superstitions surrounding the preparation of mezcal. The first is that it should not be boiled during a full moon because it becomes “uneven”. The second says that no pregnant woman should be in a palenque when the maguey is being cooked because it does not come out good and the third is that, they say, when you drink the first mezcal you have to pour a little splash on the earth because thanks to it, we get the drink.
The beatniks and mezcal
In the 1960s, beatnik writers Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs lived for a period in Mexico, following in the footsteps of Malcolm Lowry, writer of Bajo el Volcán, which tells a complicated story that takes place in Oaxaca and Cuernavaca and involves a lot of mezcal. It is said that in the infamous death of Burroughs' wife: in a building in Colonia Roma: who was shot by him playing William Tell, the apple was replaced by a bottle of mezcal.
Wild agaves
There are only two agaves that can be grown regularly: the agave espadín and the madrecuixe. All other agaves are wild, that is, they are born and reproduce naturally, and their production cannot be controlled. Currently, attempts have been made to “domesticate” some species, such as the Tobalá, which is in danger of extinction, but they have not yet been successful. For this reason, mezcals made from wild agave are a luxurious, scarce product that should be consumed responsibly.
Popular wisdom, registered trademark
The phrase “for all evil, mezcal” is already registered in the name of the company Del Maguey LTD, despite being a popular saying.
It does not cause hangover
Mezcal is a completely organic product. The agave is resistant to extreme climates so it does not need fertilizers, and once produced, it does not require preservatives or synthetic substances. That is why 100% agave mezcal, if not mixed or combined with other beverages, does not produce a hangover. Thus, the best chaser for mezcal is water, natural or mineral.
How much is produced?
It is currently estimated that between 8 and 9 million liters of mezcal are produced in the country each year and only half a million liters are certified by COMERCAM, the Mexican Regulatory Council for Mezcal Quality. The total figure is an estimate given that mezcal, despite its recent popularization, continues to be a traditional beverage manufactured locally by the Master Mezcalero, or “Mezcalillero”, of each village with the agaves available in the region.
The maguey builds
The maguey was baptized by the Spaniards as “the mara-villa tree” because the indigenous people used it as a drink, food, medicine, to obtain fibers and for construction. There are 200 species of agave in the world, and Mexico alone is home to more than half of them.
Vice or inspiration?
Mezcal has been part of the alcoholic repertoire of many great and vicious artists. Hunter S. Thompson, creator of “Gonzo journalism” and writer of the cult work Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas used it as a chaser for one of his most famous drinks, the Singapore Sling.
