«We own the name Mezcal but not the plant.»
— Hipócrates Nolasco Cancino
Countries such as India, South Africa, Ecuador, and Australia have been producing agave distillates for years. However, due to their geographical distance, they have found competing in the U.S. market with Mexican agave distillates challenging. In my experience, the organoleptic profiles of these distillates are very different from ours.
I want to emphasize a fundamental point: the word mezcal comes from Chichimec, and the Alto Chichimeca covered territories that, at different points in history, were part of a vast cultural mosaic. These regions include areas that today belong both to Mexico and the United States. In this historical context, we reflect on the imminent arrival to the market of agave distillates produced in California, which are claimed to be of high quality.
The commercial advantages of Californian distillates
The first advantage of Californian distillates is the reduction in costs associated with importation and transportation.
The second is the harvesting time of agaves cultivated in those lands. Thanks to genetic advancements and modern techniques, these agaves will proliferate, be well cared for, and be ready for harvest, which will likely be more straightforward and mechanized.
Unlike protected distillates like Bourbon, Tequila, or Mezcal, the rest of the process will not be subject to any regulation. This means they can use diffusers, control yeast, perform mechanical milling, bottle in a chain, add additives, and adapt the process flexibly according to business needs. Will anyone supervise this emerging industry? The Tequila Matchmaker folks may take a look… or maybe not.
Californian producers will also have a crucial advantage: over 100 years of effort from the Mexican Tequila and Mezcal industries, which have invested millions of dollars and hours in educating the public about the virtues of agave distillates. Californian producers must only strategically mention these registered brands to boost their marketing campaigns. Bingo!
And what about quality?
Regarding the organoleptic virtues of Californian distillates, I approach them with curiosity. I recognize that they have the technical knowledge, financial resources, and support from Mexican labor, giving them a hint of legitimacy and savoir-faire. However, there is something they will never be able to replicate: the unique characteristics of the traditions, cultures, histories, idiosyncrasies, and modus vivendi of Mexican-producing communities imprint on their distillates. Let me explain:
In the mezcal-producing villages of Mexico, each stage of the process is filled with uniqueness:
- The terroir and the ecosystem: The altitude, fauna, flora, arthropods, soil, and climatic conditions are irreplaceable factors.
- The ancestral methods: From mule collection, machete cutting, and the time the agave is left before being cooked to hand-shaving, everything is always imperfect or perfect according to the master’s recipe.
- The milling: Done outdoors, amid chickens, cows, geese, turkeys, pigs, and the horse that pulls the tahona. These animals, intentionally, sometimes eat the sweet agave, leaving their mark — and their saliva — in the process.
- The fermentation occurs outdoors, where yeast and bacteria fight for the agave sugars. Environmental conditions—temperature, wind, or even a curious raccoon that almost drowns—influence the result.
- The distillation: With traditional stone or copper ovens, old and used, cleaned by hand, sealed with mud, and traces of a previous distillation.
- The bottling is done through community work; each bottle carries the product and the hopes and dreams of the families who produce it.
This process, laden with history and humanity, is unique to Mexican-producing communities and cannot be replicated elsewhere, not in California, China, or yendo a bailar a Chalma.
Landing
They will never match the organoleptic qualities of products made in Mexico. However, the arrival of Californian distillates raises essential questions: Will these producers be able to launch their products without mentioning the words «Tequila» or «Mezcal» in their campaigns? Will they win over consumers without relying on the Mexican legacy? And, above all, what will we do to protect and honor our heritage?
MEZCALEANDO 
No les des ideas!
Me gustaMe gusta
Import and transportation costs are insignificant compared to the costs incurred to consumers by the three-tiered system of supply, distribution, and retail that’s employed in the US. This system is in place for all spirits whether domestic or imported.
It’s true that the unique characteristics of Mexican terroir, practice, and heritage are irreplaceable. BUT it’s also a realistic possibility that agave spirits produced in other places will make a case for their own unique characteristics if we allow our understanding of what leads to the beauty of mezcal to become divested from the factors that terroir and ancestral production often fail to mention: The very people whose lifestyle happens to have maintained the space necessary for agave to proliferate in such bountiful and various ways for hundreds if not thousands of years.
I am much more curious of what we as outside consumers can do, or at least what can we prioritize with our educational narratives, that will lead to these historical producer’s continued success regardless of foreign investment or competition. I don’t think that it will be done by relying on systems of categorization that were made by and for colonizing nations (such as terroir), or relying on historically (and easily) corrupted governmental bodies to regulate the producer’s practices and conditions for their work.
To that end, the phrase “agave distillate” and its derivatives is so far most recognizable to enthusiast communities. I think it can be easily rebranded for general consumers (who aren’t already entrenched enthusiasts) alongside somewhat meaningless claims of superiority such as ‘cleaner’, ‘locally sourced’, ‘innovative’, or ‘sustainable’.
Me gustaMe gusta
Thank you for your input and for highlighting that perspective.
The U.S., as a colonizing nation, has undeniably contributed to creating systems that perpetuate inequities globally. However, corruption and systemic exploitation are not unique to Mexico—they exist everywhere, including north of the Rio Bravo. Frankly, the “policing” or Captain America attitude sometimes present in these narratives can be frustrating. Mexico is a mature, sovereign country fully capable of addressing its internal challenges on its own terms.
That said, I’m not claiming that the Mezcal regulatory body doesn’t have «400» problems or that the Tequila industry isn’t grappling with its own additive issues.
What I do believe is that, ultimately, we all drink the mezcal we deserve.;-)
On that note, I’m curious—what would you call these agave distillates? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Me gustaMe gusta
I don’t mind distillers calling their product ‘Agave Spirit’ et. al. Though I’m native here, I’ve not yet visited California’s agave growers. I understand the main selling points of growing agave here though: Heat tolerance, drought resistance, and high stress thresholds make agave a prime candidate for replacing the crops on what would otherwise be arid farmlands without the heavily engineered water systems that we currently rely on for our agriculture here in CA.
But there would need to be much more for me to take this burgeoning region seriously: Product transparency in every way possible, a local distiller’s focus on agave as a primary fermentable rather than a secondary one, and continued evidence of any agave grower’s efforts to cultivate indigenous species rather than the A.tequilana that is currently filling the fields in Cali. I would ask the same of any Agave Spirit from anywhere else in the world.
Fortunately for these producers (and unfortunately for my hot take), many people are happy to consume whatever thing meets their own subjective cost:quality ratio, regardless of how it was made.
Me gustaMe gusta