All Aboard the Jose Cuervo Express Train
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Those who love tequila have also heard of its close cousin mezcal, but there are specific differences between the two liquors that should be noted for anyone that wants to be a little more educated than the casual drinker. Both drinks go back to the agave plant, but it's the nuanced details of the production process that make tequila and mezcal such different drinking experiences.
Technically, tequila falls under the umbrella term"mezcal" because mezcal is simply the name for any liquor made from agave. To be classified as tequila, the liquor has to be made from blue agave, while mezcal can be made from other types of agave like tobalá, tobaziche, tepeztate, arroqueño, and espadín, according to Food & Wine.
A breakdown by liquor delivery service Drizly also explains that the two drinks are different because of the regions they come from. Tequila is made in the Jalisco, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas regions in Mexico while mezcal can be made in Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas, and Zacatecas.
Besides the material used to make each respective liquor, the production process is also where the two drinks split off. First, both mezcal and tequila use the core of the agave (the piña) that is harvested from the plant at the start of the process. For tequila, the piña is cooked in industrial ovens and is then shredded, fermented, and distilled in copper pots. This process is what results in a liquor that tastes semi-earthy, and even a little bit sweet upon first taste.
Mezcal, on the other hand, rather than being cooked inside an oven, is cooked in an underground pit that is lined with items like volcanic rock, charcoal, and wood. The agave piñas are put into the pit with fire and covered in dirt to cook and are then fermented and distilled in clay pots. This process is what gives mezcal its characteristically smoky flavor.
When you spot both liquors on the store shelf, they're also labeled differently from one another. Tequila comes in blanco, reposado, and añejo varities and mezcal comes in joven, reposado, and añejo varitieis based on its aging duration.