What are the different kinds of mezcal?
There are three legally defined mezcal categories, as set out by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM): Mezcal, Mezcal Artesanal, and Mezcal Ancestral. Each category dictates the methods and equipment producers can use to make the spirit.
What is the most popular mezcal?
Espadín agave is by far the most popular and most versatile, making up about 90% of mezcals (from affordable to high-end). Tobalá — sometimes called the “king of mezcals” — is difficult to grow, rare in the wild, and produces a complex bottle of mezcal.
What does Espadin mezcal mean?
Mezcal Espadin is the type of Mezcal made with the agave espadin plant. That’s it! Now you know more about Mezcal that 99% percent of the people. Espadin is to Mezcal what Blue Agave is to tequila, 90% of all mezcals produced in Mexico are made with this type of agave.
What type of mezcal is smoky?
Mezcal Amarás Espadín Joven Made from eight-year-old agaves harvested in the Oaxacan highlands, Mezcal Amarás has a distinctly smoky character that is mellowed by high citrus notes, salt, and a finish of cinnamon.
What is reposado mezcal?
Reposado: tequila or mezcal that’s been “rested” in oak for a minimum of two months but less than a year in oak barrels. Añejo: tequila or mezcal that’s been “aged” for between one and three years in oak barrels.
How do I choose a mezcal?
Unaged beats aged. Aging robs the spirit of its vegetal bite and other savory complexities that make it so fascinating to drink. Fortunately, this is an easy one to spot-check. If a mezcal is clear, it hasn’t been aged. If there’s a tint of tan or brown, you have a reposado or añejo on your hands.
How do you pick a mezcal?
Aging robs the spirit of its vegetal bite and other savory complexities that make it so fascinating to drink. Fortunately, this is an easy one to spot-check. If a mezcal is clear, it hasn’t been aged. If there’s a tint of tan or brown, you have a reposado or añejo on your hands.
What’s better tequila or mezcal?
Mezcal is stronger than tequila. Both of these drinks are pretty strong, with at least 40% ABV, but mezcal has a stronger concentration of alcohol. It measures at 55% ABV, 15% stronger than regular tequila. There are different strengths of tequila and mezcal, but the standards for each drink are 40% and 55% ABV.
What is Ensamble mezcal?
Ensamble mezcals are a combination of two or more agave species distilled together in a single batch. Typically, the agave piñas are also roasted and fermented together as opposed to mezcal “blends” which are separate distillations are mixed together to create a final product.
What is a Palenquero mezcal?
Palenque. A palenque is a mezcal distillery. Within a palenque, the agave is roasted, crushed, fermented, distilled and bottled.
Whats better reposado or Anejo?
Añejo tequilas are aged from one to three years, and are considered the best type of tequila for sipping because of their smoother flavor. Añejo means “vintage”, and they are darker than reposado tequilas.
Should you refrigerate mezcal?
Like most American whiskeys (especially bourbon), mezcal contains a lot of natural congeners. These compounds are essentially what give the spirit its flavor, and chilling dulls these compounds. So never keep your mezcal in the freezer or fridge, and leave the ice behind unless you’re using mezcal in a cocktail.
Who owns Banhez mezcal?
Francisco Javier Perez Cruz
FARMER AND FAMILY OWNED Francisco Javier Perez Cruz is transforming the tradition of making mezcal. The life of a mezcalero once meant inconsistent work, low wages and an uncertain future.
Does Casamigos mezcal have a worm?
According to Bodini, people often assume mezcal has to come with an agave worm in the bottle, but he says this is a myth. “They used to put a worm in the spirit to show the difference between mezcal from tequila,” he explained.