Mezcal has seen a meteoric rise in popularity over the past decade. Anyone who has been to a high-end cocktail bar recently has probably seen a mezcal cocktail on the menu or a few bottles on the back bar. Despite this rise to prominence, many Americans still don’t know much about mezcal or how to enjoy it.

Put simply, mezcal is a spirit distilled from a variety of different species of agave plants in Mexico. If you ask the people who truly love mezcal, they offer a much more poetic definition.

“Mezcal is the expression of the territory, culture, and the history of the people who are making it,” says Michelin-star chef Enrique Olvera, cofounder of Manojo Mezcal. Olvera has long been a proponent of mezcal, featuring the spirit prominently at his award-winning restaurants Pujol in Mexico City and Criollo in Oaxaca City.

Most mezcal is distilled in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, one of the most ethnically, linguistically, and biologically diverse regions in the country. In many ways, mezcal reflects the region’s diversity, offering an exhilarating variety of aromas and flavors.

“A lot of people like myself fall in love with [mezcal] because it's almost impossible to codify,” Olvera says. “It would be useless to try to describe mezcal. There are so many individual expressions that simply don't conform to the rules that we're used to.”

How Is Mezcal Made?

Although both tequila and mezcal are Mexican spirits distilled from agave plants, mezcal production is quite different.

Tequila can only be produced from one specific type of agave known as the blue Weber. Mezcal, on the other hand, can be made from a wide variety of agave species. Espadín is the easiest species to cultivate, so it's the most commonly used in mezcal production. Other varietals like Tobalá, Madre Cuishe, and Tobaziche are also used as the base ingredient for mezcal. Each species of agave contributes slightly different flavors.

Much like wine, there's terroir in mezcal. The soil, climate, and elevation hugely impacts the final tasting, creating distinctions from smoky and earthy to floral and sweet.

Mezcal is often made at small, family-operated distilleries called palenques. Many of these palenques still employ traditional methods of production as opposed to industrialized processes often seen in the tequila industry.

To prepare the harvested agaves for fermentation and distillation, they're cooked in large, partially underground ovens. The agaves are piled over a fire, covered with tarps and dirt and then left to slowly cook.

To make mezcal, agaves are first piled over a fire, covered with tarps and dirt and then left to slowly cook. Alexander Ferzan

Once the agaves are cooked, they need to be broken down to extract the sugary agave juice. This is often done with a large stone wheel known as a tahona. At many mezcal palenques, the tahona is usually pulled by a horse.

The extracted liquid and fibers are then fermented in large tanks using wild yeast from the environment. The fermentation process turns the sweet agave juice into a low ABV substance referred to as tepache. This process creates many of the unique flavor compounds that make their way into the final mezcal.

Finally, the alcoholic tepache is taken to the stills. Most palenques use small copper pot stills that are heated by wood fire. The alcohol vapor is then collected and condensed into a higher ABV liquid. This liquid is then distilled again to reach desired strength. After that, it's often diluted with purified water, bringing the mezcal down to an ideal proof that fully expresses the range of aromas and flavors the distiller wants to showcase.

Mezcal Misconceptions

Outside of Mexico, mezcal has come a long way from the earliest exports of questionable distillate with an agave worm at the bottom of the bottle. Unfortunately, there are still a few misconceptions about the beverage that need to be dispelled.

First is the idea of mezcal as being simply a smoky tequila. Much like bourbon is a type of whiskey defined by specific ingredients, production processes, and geographical restrictions, tequila is actually a type of mezcal. A more accurate, though still simplified heuristic is to think of tequila as a type of mezcal made from blue Weber agave in the state of Jalisco.

Not all mezcals are smoky. The amount of smoke present in the final product is a specific production choice that mezcal producers have control over. Many mezcals have a very mild smokiness to them. Just as many have no notes of smoke at all, instead showcasing vegetal, fruity, or mineral-like qualities.

There's a general misconception that mezcal is inherently harsh or difficult to drink, too.

“[There is] this idea that people feel like it's really strong because of the high alcohol levels, which I think is something that is not necessarily true,” Olvera says. “I've had really high proof mezcals that are very subtle.”

Mezcal is as complex, deep, and nuanced as any other fine spirit. It offers a uniquely diverse array of flavor profiles that range from sea stones and lime zest to blueberry yogurt and even celery and lemongrass. To pigeonhole mezcal as being just a harsh, smoky cousin of tequila is to miss out on the incredible spectrum of flavor that the spirit offers.

How To Drink Mezcal

While drinking mezcal might seem straight forward, there are a few steps that one can take to increase their appreciation and enjoyment of the beverage.

Sip it Slowly and Take Your Time

In Mexico, mezcal is almost always served neat and at room temperature. Most Americans’ first impulse in that context would be to drink the mezcal as a shot, but that’s precisely what you don’t want to do.

The key to enjoying a mezcal is to sip it slowly and savor the experience. Mezcal is a complex spirit with a wide variety of potential aromatic and flavor notes. In Mexico, it’s often recommended to “besar,” or kiss, the mezcal, meaning to take small sips instead of shooting or mixing it. By enjoying besos, or kisses, of mezcal instead of shooting it, more complexity is revealed over time.

As you sip the mezcal, don’t be afraid to reflect on the liquid and how it alters your mood.

“For me, the beauty about it is also how it makes you feel. It's not necessarily what it smells like, but the feeling of being grounded,” Olvera says. “What mezcal gives you, I haven't had from any other spirit.”

Drinking Vessels

Just like whiskey is commonly served in a rocks glass or Glencairn, mezcal has its own specific drinking vessels as well.

If you order a mezcal at a bar or restaurant in Oaxaca City, it will most likely be served in a small glass called a veladora.

These small glasses with ridges were originally used for holding prayer candles in Catholic Churches in Mexico. Once the candle burned out, the glass was often repurposed for drinking mezcal. Over time, it's become the traditional vessel for enjoying mezcal.

A much more traditional option is the jícara, which is a cup made from a dried gourd that has been cut in half and cleaned out.

Many mezcal producers also use a jícara when checking the proof of their mezcal by observing the perlas, or the bubbles formed when the mezcal is poured into the jícara.

Mezcal and Food

When tasting mezcal in Mexico, a common pairing is orange slices with sal de gusano, an earthy salt made with roasted agave worms, dried chilis, and salt. After taking a sip of mezcal, sprinkle some of the worm salt on the orange and take a small bite of the orange to cleanse your palate, then sip again and repeat. The sweet citric quality of the orange paired with the earthy, spicy salt is perfectly suited to elevate certain flavor notes in the mezcal.

Chef Olvera also strongly recommends sipping mezcal with a meal in place of wine. Unsurprisingly, mezcal pairs beautifully with the depth and tradition of Oaxacan cuisine, but Olvera recommends exploring pairing mezcal with other types of cuisine as well.

“Eating with mezcal is one of the most beautiful things,” Olvera says. “You need to have a cuisine that has a certain amount of harmony or potency that they can sort of be speaking to each other—anything that is vibrant and feels alive.”

Mezcal Cocktails

In Mexico, mezcal is traditionally sipped neat, but there is an increasing demand for mezcal-based cocktails, both in Mexico’s vibrant cocktail scene and in bars around the United States.

Mezcal’s presence in bars outside of Mexico is relatively recent, so there aren’t many classic cocktails that call for the spirit. There are however a few modern classics that have made their way onto cocktail menus across the country.

One of the most famous of these is the naked and famous. Credited to New York bartender Joaquín Simó, this cocktail uses the classic last word cocktail formula but swaps out a few of the ingredients to create an equal-parts cocktail with a fresh and snappy flavor profile.

Naked and Famous Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients

¾ oz. mezcal
¾ oz. Aperol
¾ oz. Yellow Chartreuese
¾ oz. lime juice

Instructions

To make a Naked and Famous, combine equal parts mezcal, aperol, yellow chartreuse, and lime juice in a shaking tin. Add ice and shake vigorously until the cocktail is thoroughly mixed, chilled and diluted. Then double strain into a stemmed cocktail glass like a coupe or a nick and nora and serve.