Are you sit down ( sooner with a Margarita in handwriting ) ? Because we have something to report that might shock you : Though it is wide consider that mezcal is a character of tequila , tequila is in reality a case of mezcal . That ’s not the only bit of agave - free-base knowledge you need . Here , the three chief differences between tequila and mezcal .
Tequila is only made in Jalisco. Mezcal is made in multiple Mexican states.
The relationship between mezcal and tequila is similar to that of whiskey and scotch : Tequila is a character of mezcal made in a specific place , just as scotch is a type of whiskey made in a specific post .
Mezcal can be manufacture in eight different Mexican states , including Oaxaca , Durango , San Luis Potosí , Tamaulipas , Guanajuato , Guerrero , Zacatecas and Michoacán . Tequila , however , can only be made in Jalisco . The categorization of “ tequila ” is actually a geographical indication owned by the regime of Mexico .
Tequila is only made from blue agave. Mezcal is made from various agaves.
Tequila can only be made from one eccentric of agave works : the agave tequilana ( spicy agave ) . Mezcal , on the other paw , can be made from 28 unlike varieties of agave , including the blue agave ( because , as we said before , tequila is mezcal ) .
Tequila is steamed. Mezcal is roasted.
Mezcal is cognize in the first place for its signature smoky flavor . Distillers achieve that deep , campfire flavor by roasting the agave piñas in an earthen stone pit before crushing them and sublimate their ambrosia . The tequila micturate process is a bit more industrial . Rather than make fun the piñas in the ground , tequila producers steam them in ovens , creating a bright , fruitier flavor .
Got it ? Good . After all that learning , you deserve a cocktail . Will it betequilaormezcal ?
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