Agave-Based Spirits Flashcards
Production requirements for ‘Mezcal Ancestral’
- Must be produced using traditional methods (i.e. cooking in pits and milling with stone)
- Fermentation must be completed in a vessel made of
wood, stone, cement, clay, earthenware, or animal skin - bagazo must be included in fermentation
- Distillation must include agave fibers and occur in cement vessels fueled by direct fire
Production requirements for ‘Mezcal Artesenal’
- Agave must be cooked in pits or cement ovens,
- fermentation must be completed in a vessel made of wood, stone, cement, clay, earthenware, or animal skin
- distillation must be fueled using direct fire
Name 5 states (besides Oaxaca) that allow for the production of Mezcal
Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Puebla, Zacatecas, portions of Tamaulipas, portions of Michoacan, the town of San Luis de la Paz
What species of agave is used in 90% of mezcal production?
Agave Espadin
Minimum agave percentage for non-100% mezcal
80%
What species of agave is used to make Bacanora?
Agave Yoquiana
City and state of origin for Bacanora
Bacanora, Sonora
How does the method of hydrolysis differ for Bacanora than other agave-based spirits?
The pinas are roasted in underground pits made of volcanic rock, and heated with mesquite charcoal. This lends a pleasant smoky and earthy flavor to the distillate
Explain: Raicilla
An agave-based spirit that is essentially a type of moonshine bottled at over 100 proof.
Why is Raicilla not considred tequila?
It is produced from the angustifolia subspecies of agave, rather than blue weber
Explain: Sotol
A spirit produced using the desert spoon plant (aka Sotol plant). Production methods are mostly the same as mezcal, though the resulting spirit is less smoky and earthy
Where is Sotol produced?
Chihuahua, Durango, Coahuila
