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Need info on the how many people like Mezcal vs Tequila and difference


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Need more info why people may like Mezcal.

Would like more information on difference between 

Mezcal and Tequila.

The bingo is doing a Cremas de Mezcal tasting this Tuesday,  SEE CHARITY EVENTS PAGE. I would like more infomation, to educate bingo players on what Mezcal is.

Also who is the Mezcal expert lakeside.

some SAY Mezcal more natural and more healthy than TEQUILA. IS THIS TRUE

 

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About 10-12 years ago I stopped drinking tequila altogether and since then, only drink mezcal.  

Many people who may have tried mezcal once or twice believe that mezcal is quite smoky, the way that scotch whiskey is smoky.  In fact, there are many ways to make mezcal, one of which is to make it smoky--and the story goes that smoky mezcal was an accident: a producer accidentally burned his batch and said, "What the heck, I'll sell it anyway."  The majority of fine mezcales are not smoky at all, but are smooth and have flavor hints of the terrain where the mezcal was grown.

Both tequila and mezcal are mezcales made from maquey cactus.  Tequila, as most of you undoubtedly know, is made ONLY from the Weber blue agave, a type of maguey cactus that is farmed specifically for making tequila.  Mezcal, on the other hand, can be made of any of several different types of maguey, some of which are farmed and many of which grow wild in the countryside.  Tequila can only be called tequila if it is made within a very small 5-region area.  Mezcal is mezcal, made anywhere maguey cactus grows.  Oaxaca is arguably the most well-known mezcal-producing state, but mezcal is widely produced in the states of Guerrero, Hidalgo, Estado de México, and my personal favorite, Michoacán.  Fine mezcal, like fine tequila, is meant to be drunk straight, and sipped.  Lately, bartenders have begun creating mezcal cocktails, some of which are really wonderful.

Most tequila today is commercially fermented, distilled and bottled.  Much mezcal is still small-batch, artisan made.  Rather than re-invent the wheel, here are a couple of Mexico Cooks! articles about mezcal.  Read the first one first; it's more or less a primer about the drink.
http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/2014/07/a-mezcal-primer.html
http://mexicocooks.typepad.com/mexico_cooks/2014/07/michoacán-mezcal-uasïsï-brought-to-you-by-mayahuel-the-goddess-of-maguey-.html

Law requires that traditionally-made mezcal be labelled with its provenance: maker, type of maguey cactus used to make it, grade of alcohol in what's in the bottle, etc.  Mezcal is normally a higher grade of alcohol than tequila.  Regardless, mezcal doesn't produce a hangover.

Crema de mezcal is comparable to Bailey's Irish Cream or any other creamy, sweet liqueur.  The cremas are usually flavored with fruit--peach, for example--or nuts--almond is popular.  A crema is meant to be consumed after a meal--again, the cremas are very sweet and really don't taste anything like straight mezcal.
 

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27 minutes ago, gringohombre said:

Where can you buy a good Mezcal here Lakeside? What is a good starter brand and style? 

Paz Licores beside Superlake has some near checkout. The good quality is not cheap and is clear. The crap with the worm in it is garbage for tourists. I would not buy anything less than 41% alcohol. Right now I am into Pelton de la Muerte at 41%. I was told once that 45% is the ideal. You sip it gently out of a shot glass to enjoy it.

 

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Loz Danzantes is one of several good Oaxacan mezcals you might start with. 

Here is a good slide show by pioneering single-village mezcal importer Ron Cooper about the process of making the stuff:

http://delmaguey.com/process/

I'm going to respectfully disagree with just one item in More Liana's great post above: all mezcal is indeed smoky, though some are much smokier than others. The piñas are invariably buried in the ground right next to a fire, unlike tequila where they are cooked in ovens removed from the fuel source. She is of course absolutely correct that the wide variety of species of mezcals - my favorite being the rare and expensive wild one called tobalá - have so much inherent character that there is a whole lot going on in the glass in a good one besides the smoke - much as a smoky scotch will also have many other aromas and flavors 

"Higher grade" in her post means "higher % of alcohol" - these are artisanal products that aren't watered down to a standard 80 proof. 

As for the cremas of mezcal (or Tequila) they're low-alcohol and exceedingly sugary concoctions that are all about disguising the taste of the spirit that's in them. A crema de mezcal tasting will teach you exactly as much about mezcal as a sampling of Irish creams will teach you about whiskey. 

In Oaxaca I've often observed locals sipping a shot of mezcal (ofter served with a slice of orange, which is magical in its ability to bring out the fruit while blunting the smoke a bit) as an aperitif. It is strong stuff - meant for sipping in small quantities. I don't think it's any less likely to give you a hangover than Tequila, and I still prefer to drink a great blanco Tequila (wood does nothing to improve and much to mask the flavor of any agave distillate!) such as Los Abuelos, Tapatio or Centinela because there's no smoke to interfere with the fruit. 

Here's a post on Tequila from my local food. blog in case of interest:

http://eatinglocalatlakeside.blogspot.mx/2012/06/tequila-beyond-frozen-margaritas-shots.html

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I used to be n the wine and liquor business. a forum is not the place to ask.. ask a retailer or a restaurant they have a much better handle on what is selling than the small samples of responses you will get on he forum. Tell the manager at Paz Liquors who your crowd will be Mexican versus foreigners and if he is any good he will give you a way better answer than those you have been getting.

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5 hours ago, Kevin K said:

Loz Danzantes is one of several good Oaxacan mezcals you might start with. 

Here is a good slide show by pioneering single-village mezcal importer Ron Cooper about the process of making the stuff:

http://delmaguey.com/process/

I'm going to respectfully disagree with just one item in More Liana's great post above: all mezcal is indeed smoky, though some are much smokier than others. The piñas are invariably buried in the ground right next to a fire, unlike tequila where they are cooked in ovens removed from the fuel source. She is of course absolutely correct that the wide variety of species of mezcals - my favorite being the rare and expensive wild one called tobalá - have so much inherent character that there is a whole lot going on in the glass in a good one besides the smoke - much as a smoky scotch will also have many other aromas and flavors 

"Higher grade" in her post means "higher % of alcohol" - these are artisanal products that aren't watered down to a standard 80 proof. 

As for the cremas of mezcal (or Tequila) they're low-alcohol and exceedingly sugary concoctions that are all about disguising the taste of the spirit that's in them. A crema de mezcal tasting will teach you exactly as much about mezcal as a sampling of Irish creams will teach you about whiskey. 

In Oaxaca I've often observed locals sipping a shot of mezcal (ofter served with a slice of orange, which is magical in its ability to bring out the fruit while blunting the smoke a bit) as an aperitif. It is strong stuff - meant for sipping in small quantities. I don't think it's any less likely to give you a hangover than Tequila, and I still prefer to drink a great blanco Tequila (wood does nothing to improve and much to mask the flavor of any agave distillate!) such as Los Abuelos, Tapatio or Centinela because there's no smoke to interfere with the fruit. 

Here's a post on Tequila from my local food. blog in case of interest:

http://eatinglocalatlakeside.blogspot.mx/2012/06/tequila-beyond-frozen-margaritas-shots.html

Kevin, until you have tasted the mezcales I have tasted and enjoyed, please reserve judgment about the smokiness factor.  I've drunk mezcal poured from its producer's garafón and I've drunk mezcal from the biggest commercial producers.  IN GENERAL, my experience has been that the more commercial the mezcal, the smokier it tastes.  I despise scotch whiskey and at one time I believed that I despised mezcal--because, like you, I thought that all mezcales were smoky to one degree or another.  Not the case at all.

Every person who regularly drinks mezcal, from the campesino to the most fresa fresa in Mexico City, agrees that mezcal does not produce a hangover.  

Mezcal is sipped "a besos"--by kissing it.  Mezcal is usually followed by either chunks or slices of fresh oranges, sprinkled with red sal de gusano.

If you have time to look at the Mexico Cooks! article about the making of Uasïsï mezcal, you will see that the piñas are not buried whole in the ground, nor are they buried "next to a fire".  Take a look at the photos for the procedure.  The logs are placed in the brick-lined pit, stones are piled on top of the logs, the fire is lit, the chunks of piña are placed on top of the stones, and the whole thing is covered with soil.  Uasïsï (it means murcielego in Purépecha or bat [the kind that flies] in English) is the mezcal that I drink and serve to guests; the alcohol grade (percentage) is 53% in the batch I have now--sometimes it's a bit less.  Regardless of the grade of alcohol--that's what the percent is called in Mexico--this mezcal is a bit rough on the tongue the first sip, and subsequently becomes smoother and smoother on your palate.  Because Uasïsï mezcal is made from wild cupreata maguey and double-distilled in a pine still (photos in the article, Kevin!), it has subtle floral and pine flavors.  No smoke. 

Many other mezcales are not smoky: I also like (and usually choose if I am out for a drink somewhere) Amores Joven from Oaxaca, or Aromas de Guerrero from Guerrero, or a couple of others the names of which I can't remember at the moment, precisely because they do NOT have that component of smoke.  Any mezcal I've tasted that's made with pechuga (chicken breast) is also not smoky.

Next time you're in Mexico City, Kevin, come over and I'll treat you to a smoke-free mezcal.  



 

Oaxaca La Teca Mezcal con Sal de Gusano.jpg

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11 hours ago, AngusMactavish said:

Do you mean higher proof? Both produce the exact same kind of alcohol, ethanol.

Tequila is a mezcal.

Yes, higher proof.  In Mexico, the term is "grade" of alcohol.  Re tequila being a mezcal, that's what I said in my post up there.  

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10 hours ago, ned small said:

I consume both and a "normal" alcohol percentage for tequila is 35-38%. Properly produced mezcal from Oaxaca is 41-46% and i can't see mixing that with anything. Would be like a single malt mixed with coke.

Properly produced mezcal can come from Oaxaca or any other state where the maguey cactus grows.  In Jalisco, mezcal is known as raicilla.  In Sonora, it's called bacanora.  In Chihuahua, it's known as sotol.  And so forth.

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16 minutes ago, More Liana said:

In Chihuahua, it's known as sotol.

Sotol is made from a plant that is not an agave. An avid taster who hates most mezcal like me would never confuse them.

Sotol: ni tequila ni mezcal   https://www.vix.com/es/imj/gourmet/3202/sotol-ni-tequila-ni-mezcal

 

 

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I have been to more Zapotec fiestas  that I care to count and there Mezcal is passed around in one shot glass and people gulp it down, they do not sip it at all .

I just got back from a quinceñera party in Teotitlan del Valle. The party started at breakfast at 7.30 am where people were offered shots of Mescal as we came in.. after a few shots and long reception lines for present givings and salutations.. we finally sat down for breakfast where we were offered hot chocolate and tons of breads like conchas then on to a mole.. then a little rest off to Mass and after mass more Mezcal and food until 7 the next morning... I never want to have another shot of Mezcal in my life. There people had a choice of Mezcal or Tequila and most people drank Mezcal but then it was Oaxaca.

 

For the weakling large clay mugs with the rim dipped in salt and chile were filled with a 7 up type drink mixed with Mezcal and lime..

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12 hours ago, More Liana said:

Kevin, until you have tasted the mezcales I have tasted and enjoyed, please reserve judgment about the smokiness factor.  I've drunk mezcal poured from its producer's garafón and I've drunk mezcal from the biggest commercial producers.  IN GENERAL, my experience has been that the more commercial the mezcal, the smokier it tastes.  I despise scotch whiskey and at one time I believed that I despised mezcal--because, like you, I thought that all mezcales were smoky to one degree or another.  Not the case at all.

Every person who regularly drinks mezcal, from the campesino to the most fresa fresa in Mexico City, agrees that mezcal does not produce a hangover.  

Mezcal is sipped "a besos"--by kissing it.  Mezcal is usually followed by either chunks or slices of fresh oranges, sprinkled with red sal de gusano.

If you have time to look at the Mexico Cooks! article about the making of Uasïsï mezcal, you will see that the piñas are not buried whole in the ground, nor are they buried "next to a fire".  Take a look at the photos for the procedure.  The logs are placed in the brick-lined pit, stones are piled on top of the logs, the fire is lit, the chunks of piña are placed on top of the stones, and the whole thing is covered with soil.  Uasïsï (it means murcielego in Purépecha or bat [the kind that flies] in English) is the mezcal that I drink and serve to guests; the alcohol grade (percentage) is 53% in the batch I have now--sometimes it's a bit less.  Regardless of the grade of alcohol--that's what the percent is called in Mexico--this mezcal is a bit rough on the tongue the first sip, and subsequently becomes smoother and smoother on your palate.  Because Uasïsï mezcal is made from wild cupreata maguey and double-distilled in a pine still (photos in the article, Kevin!), it has subtle floral and pine flavors.  No smoke. 

Many other mezcales are not smoky: I also like (and usually choose if I am out for a drink somewhere) Amores Joven from Oaxaca, or Aromas de Guerrero from Guerrero, or a couple of others the names of which I can't remember at the moment, precisely because they do NOT have that component of smoke.  Any mezcal I've tasted that's made with pechuga (chicken breast) is also not smoky.

Next time you're in Mexico City, Kevin, come over and I'll treat you to a smoke-free mezcal.  



 

Oaxaca La Teca Mezcal con Sal de Gusano.jpg

Thank you as always for the education More Liana! I am going to keep the names of the mezcals you mentioned on hand and look for them.  As for a trip to Mexico City it is long overdue. 

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5 hours ago, Kevin K said:

F.Y.I. none of the non-smoky mezcals recommended by More Liana are available at Paz. Guess it's time for a trip to Pátzcuaro!

You can definitely get Uasïsï in Pátzcuaro, Kevin!  When you're ready to make the trip, I'll ask the producer where it's retailed.

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Thank for your feedback. I have what I need know to educate bingo players about MEZCAL

 Maybe next year the bingo will have some brand name samples of clear mezcal to taste.

 

This Tuesday 1 pm   old Posada  see events page.  We will be tasting capuccino, pastachio, and Irish cream flavored mezcal.

Also will small plate with piece of Mexican chocolate, cheese and crackers will be served with tasting for each person.

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