If you love margaritas, then a mango mezcal margarita will warm your heart. From the moment we reached the margarita trailhead in CDMX our re-education began about all things Mexican, and one of those things was mezcal.

Mescal or Mezcal?

We may as well start here with the correct spelling. You’ll get half of one and half the other if you google it, but on cocktail menus in Mexico the answer is mezcal. As far as I’m concerned, the experts have spoken.

Mezcal vs. Tequila

Genuine tequila is made exclusively from the blue agave and produced primarily in the state of Jalisco. Baking the agave plants in ovens before extracting the juice is a key step in the process and is unique to tequila.

Mezcal is produced in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca and a few neighboring states. There are two things that distinguish it from tequila and each is equally important. First, it may be made from any combination of up to 28 different types of agave and second, the plants are roasted in below ground pits. The below ground roasting imparts a subtle sweeter, smokier taste and aroma.

You can tell the difference between mezcal and tequila with a single sniff and taste. It’s immediate and unmistakable, like the difference between scotch and bourbon.

Tequila Man or Mezcal Man?

The popularity of mezcal in Mexico surprised me, so I conducted my own poll. “Tequila man or mezcal man” was the sole question I asked of every chef and restauranteur. Without hesitation they replied unanimously, “Mezcal Man”. Print