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Mezcal vs tequila, at first glance may seem very similar, since they both come from the fermentation and distillation of agave, but in reality they have many distinctions that we will detail below. Join us in this world of mezcal and don’t get caught in a curve when you are asked in what is the difference between mezcal and tequila!
First of all, the type of maguey used to make mezcal and tequila are very different. Tequila can only be made from blue agave.
And for mezcal, it can be made from 20 types of maguey, and “Ensambles” (Espadin-Tobalá, Espadin-Cuishe, among others) can be produced from more than one type of agave.
Mezcal and tequila, for its production, can only be produced in exclusive states. For tequila, it can only be produced in Jalisco, Nayarit, Michoacan, Tamaulipas, Guanajuato.
On the other hand, mezcal can be produced in Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, Tamaulipas, Durango, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas, Puebla, Estado de Mexico, Morelos and Aguas Calientes (these last three were recently added).
For tequila, the agaves are placed in steam ovens. And for mezcal, it is cooked in wooden ovens or subway ovens, hence its distinctive smoky flavor.
The production of mezcal is mostly artisanal, although officially it can be produced industrially.
As for tequila, its production is generally industrially automated. It uses large steam ovens, crushers, fermentation with chemical yeast, among other automations for its large-scale production.
The flavor differences between mezcal and tequila center mainly on a distinctive characteristic of mezcal: its smoky flavor. This smoky flavor is due to the process of cooking the agave piñas in holes in the ground, which gives it a distinctive taste profile appreciated by many consumers. Meanwhile, tequila, although also derived from agave, does not usually have this smoky flavor due to differences in its production method.
Officially, it is recorded that mezcal has an alcohol percentage of between 35% to 55%, and tequila between 35% to 45%. Depending on the product.
As an example, Mezcal Espadín 400 conejos has an alcohol percentage of 38%. While Don Julio 70 añejo tequila has 35%.
The main difference between mezcal and tequila lies in their regions of origin, agave varieties used, and production methods. Mezcal is produced mainly in Oaxaca and other states, and can use several agave species, not only blue agave like tequila. In addition, its process includes cooking the agave piñas in subway ovens, which gives it a characteristic smoky flavor.
Tequila, on the other hand, has a more specific appellation of origin in states such as Jalisco and is generally produced using only blue agave. In addition, tequila has a classification based on its maturation while mezcal is recommended to be consumed without aging to better appreciate its unique flavors. Thus, although both are distilled from agave, their differences in origin, agave used, and production method give them distinct characteristics.