Mezcal is popping up everywhere; On TV shows, movies, and even podcasts.  It seems that mezcal is about to have its own commercial in the Super Bowl real soon but, what is it specifically? Is it a new kind of tequila? Will Kim Kardashian release hers?

To answer all this, and before Kim beats us to the punch, let us tell you a little bit about this mezcal world that is causing a stir all over the USA.

Mezcal as fashion

Although it may be the first time you see it or you tasted it not long ago, mezcal has its origins in the 17th century and has been maintained and perfected until today. Nowadays is a drink that can become premium because of its elaboration process but in its beginnings, it was just the liquor of the workers in the countryside, in the remote mountains or in the agave fields, that after learned about distillation, they were able to start making this beverage. Y de ahí para el real.

Ceremonial past

In the beginning and not so long ago, it was considered a drink with spiritual overtones, which connects you with the earth and your ancestors, that allows you to know yourself in different aspects and makes you one with the universe. Something like yoga but without wearing Lululemon. And while all that past was what forged the history and legend of mezcal, today it has a more evolved concept, which is advancing with the times, leaving that mystical charge aside but without forgetting the way it makes you feel when you drink it. That “no sé qué” that only mezcal could give you.

Different ways of taking it

This advance also goes hand in hand with the way it is drunk and consumed. What is traditional and what used to be almost imposed on you, is to consume it alone or straight, with a slice of orange on the side and with a little bit of sal de gusano, and while that experience is very tasty and we truly recommend it, it is also true that more and more people are discovering how well it can be mixed with other ingredients, making incredible signature drinks, or just delicious tragos at home with friends. With tonic water in a mezcal-tonic style, with coffee as if it were an espresso-mezcalini, with citrus fruits such as lemon, orange and grapefruit or improving the traditional Moscow mule and making it mezcal mule or even mexican mule.

Today mezcal is in a boom, in an evolution and discovery and invites us to the same. To discover it, to discover what we like, to discover what we like mezcal with, without rules, without atavisms, without thinking about what people will say. Just enjoying it.

So, it’s not a tequila?

No, and to finish let us tell you what they are and what they are not alike.

Both are made with agave, that is true, however tequila can only be produced with one species called agave azul while mezcal can be produced with different types of agave and even mixed. Have you seen those curious names “cuish”, “espadín”, “tobalá” among many others? Well, those are just some types of it and don’t worry, in another post we will tell you about their characteristics and flavors.

Geography also change because, while tequila can only be made in the region that bears the same name, mezcal has up to 8 zones in Mexico where it can be made. Guerrero, Oaxaca and Michoacán are some of the best known and probably where most of the mezcals you’ve had were come from.

And finally, the nuances of flavor and the characteristic smoky tone of mezcal that tequila does not have. Although both are produced with agave hearts, for tequila they are steamed or baked while for mezcal they are roasted at high temperatures, in addition to the fact that tequila is cooked  in outdoor masonry ovens, while mezcal is cooked in ovens underground, which gives it its smoky, earthy notes.

This is a light introduction to the world of mezcal but the truth is that, even if this post has another 1000 paragraphs and we tell you a thousand more stories, until you dare to try it and know firsthand or rather firstmouth everything it offers, you will not be able to distinguish these differences and especially to know everything that mezcal has to offer. Give yourself a chance to experience new sensations. Give yourself a chance to drink mezcal.