Agave is better known in Mexico as maguey —a name imposed by the Spaniards who encountered the plant on the island of Puerto Rico and which comes from the Taíno language—. However, in Mesoamerica, the plant was called Metl in Nahuatl and Metzcali in Chichimec, as demonstrated by studies conducted by researcher Eduardo Sánchez Jiménez.
Just like cognac, champagne, or tequila, mezcal has its own Denomination of Origin (DO). The objective of this legal figure is to provide a framework of protection for producers and designated regions, shielding their traditional processes from imitations or products made outside the protected territory.
What does regulation mean? It means there is a regulatory body that ensures what is written on the label is true. In other words, it guarantees full compliance with the manner in which the distillate is made, the origin and age of the maguey used, and that the product respects the physicochemical parameters framed in the NOM-070, approved by the Mexican Congress first in 2006 and subsequently modified in 2016.
I know this scenario very well. For the last 12 years, I witnessed how many producers formed an important niche of fans for un-regulated beverages, bringing large quantities to the US. In fact, I was the first to import alcoholic beverages into that country that, although made from agave, were not mezcal and are now called «Agave Distillates»; my main intention back then was to break ground and educate palates in a market that was unfamiliar with these categories. However, when the latest version of NOM-070 was approved in 2016, I decided to stop bringing those distillates to focus solely on negotiating certified mezcal.
It is important to clarify something: being an agave distillate does not, in any way, mean that it lacks exceptional quality or that it is not a product made with the tradition, knowledge, and talent of a community. It simply means that the product is not regulated under the established norms.
Nor can we ignore that one of the reasons not to be regulated is that the work of the mezcal regulator is far from perfect. The geographical reason weighs heavily in that rationale: historically, mezcal was produced in at least 22 of the 31 states of Mexico, but today only 9 or 10 (due to ongoing litigation) have the DOM. This explains the existence and legitimacy of some of the distillates coming from those areas marginalized by current regulations. Even with these imperfections, the DO remains the only tool of international law we have to defend ourselves.
For many years, Mexico has been the almost sole provider of agave distillates, with and without Denomination of Origin. So much so, that the names tequila or mezcal are inseparable from Mexico.
Today, that exclusive association is being challenged by the incursion of other countries into the manufacturing of agave distillates. Productions in South Africa, India, Australia, or China have not been very visible so far because they have not penetrated the most important market for these products: the North American market. However, there is a new threat to Mexican producers, and it comes from within this main market: California.
Californian producers surely have the tradition —since a century and a half ago that territory was Mexican— and the experienced workforce, as it is the Mexicans themselves who have taken charge of working and providing the savoir-faire. Furthermore, they have the terroir, since agaves have existed there forever and, even the agaves they have brought from Mexico grow very well. (There is an article on this topic on my blog, and I’ll leave the link in the first comment).
But the great threat lies in their access advantage: even if their production costs are high, they play on their home turf. They do not have to face the customs bureaucracy, complex import procedures, tariffs, and cross-border logistics that Mexican producers face to place a bottle in that market.
This is where the defensive function granted to us by the Mezcal Denomination of Origin becomes much more important than before. These distillates made outside of Mexico cannot carry the names Mezcal, Tequila, Raicilla, or Bacanora, and that is where we must focus our defense.
Cognac is not Brandy, Champagne is not Cava, and an agave distillate is not Mezcal. Period. Questioning their right to make distillates or cultivate agaves is nonsense: we possess the registration of the name, but we do not own the plant. What we do possess is an unparalleled cultural heritage. We must highlight our DO not only as a norm but as the seal of legitimacy, history, and culture that California cannot replicate.
What do you all think? Do you believe that the «name» and our culture will be a sufficient trench to protect our liquid heritage against the commercial advantage of California? I’ll read you in the comments.
MEZCALEANDO 