Food North America

Exploring Mezcal in Oaxaca, Mexico

What’s better than a week long mezcal safari? Driving through the Oaxacan countryside and walking through Oaxaca de Juárez, the state’s beautiful capital, we set out to discover mezcal’s wild origins and bright future. 


Noble spirits are like time capsules for memories. Once you have one, you never forget. Time, care, and unyielding respect go into forging them. Oaxaca, Mexico’s cherished Mezcal, is no different. Famed throughout the world by mixologists and gourmands, Mezcal continues to push the boundaries of quality and flavor. To discover this complex world of distilled agave, I spent a week driving through the Oaxacan countryside and walking through the capital city Oaxaca de Juárez, to discover its wild origins and its bright future. 

At 8am in Oaxaca city, our driver was on time and ready to begin the day. Our group comprised six friends, two Mexicans, two Californians, one Floridian, and a wildlife biologist from Wales. Coffees and pastries in hand, we set off. Our driver was a 40-something year old local who’s love for the region and jovial nature was contagious. Our destination was Hierve el Agua, a breathtaking stalactite formation caused by Calcium Carbonate buildup over a cliff. The landmark looks like a crystalized waterfall. On the way to these dry waterfall formations, we agreed to take a few side tours. “Do you like Mezcal?” he asked us in Spanish. “Today we will do a safari for maguey!”

What is Mezcal?

There are over 40 types of succulent cacti used in distilling Mezcal, all form the group of plants known as magueys. What’s more, they are rich in natural sugars. The most common variety is called Espadin. Distillers cultivate this variety because of its low fiber content and short lifecycle. Even though Espadin accounts for over 80% of mezcals produced, wild or silvestre varieties are surging in popularity. Tobalá, cuishe, madre cuishe, and Arroqueño are examples of rare varieties that are mostly grown in the wild.

Along the dirt road to the dry waterfall, the intense Oaxacan sun beat down on us. Rows of corn and Espadin stood in plots of land on either side of the car. Nearby the historic town of Mitla we passed a hieroglyph, visible from the road. This land is ancient, we thought. All of Mexico is. When we entered the switch back road leading up to the landmark, our driver made several stops to point something out to us. “Tobalá! The land owners own the rights to harvest these if they’re on their land,” he said. It seems this system works well. What’s more, if a healthy maguey is growing on your property, you can sell it to the local distillery. 

When maguey are harvested, the cores or piñas are stripped of the leaves and the piñas are hauled to the distillery. What happens from here separates the three types of mezcal. Distillation requires the conversion of starches to sugars. With mezcal, this happens with fire. For general mezcal, the piñas enter an industrial roaster. For the other categories, mezcal artisanal and the most coveted mezcal ancestral, the piñas go into a large pit to roast over coals. From here, workers pulverize the piñas and move the smokey juice into fermentation tanks. After fermentation, the larger distilleries distill their mezcals in industrial stainless steel or copper tanks. For mezcal ancestral, the most old school classification, earthenware vessels are used. 

Like all Mexican liquor, mezcal originated after the Spanish conquest. Europeans brought their distillation technology, which they inherited from the Middle East in the 12th century. Technological exchanges sometimes lead to great things. In Mexico, people already had their corn beers and pulque. From here, people soon started running their local brews through a distillation process. In Oaxaca, each town and village developed their own styles using magueys grown in their territory. This developed into the terroir driven methods of today. Mezcal production remains inimitable, complex, and small in scale. 

Within Oaxaca city, mezcalerias, bars, and restaurants pour endless varieties to customers from around the world. These businesses have taken advantage of the drinks wave of global popularity. Deciding what’s best, a distillery, agave, classification, or even the old cocktail debate, is subjective. Mezcal is competitive. This, in an industry that competes with Jalisco’s mighty tequila, is a good thing. The push towards excellence is helping to ensure that the drink’s traditions and boundaries are being preserved and small-scale terroir-driven production remains what consumers want. Industrialization of mezcal is happening. Yet, within the colorful facades of Oaxaca de Juárez, you can easily find the best traditional hand-crafted mezcals around. 

The Best Meal in Oaxaca

mamela

On the drive back from Hierve el Agua, we stopped at a small family home. Inside was a small table and a large griddle or camal where a woman was cooking thick tortillas. On the side, she had beans, roasted squash flowers, Oaxacan cheese, and the richest salsas imaginable. We filled our bellies with these homemade mamelas. What’s more, the village’s own mezcal, distilled by the neighbor, was poured in abundance, free of charge. This was the best tasting mezcal I ever had and one of the most satisfying meals. There was a ton of love put into every ingredient.

Oaxacan landscape magueys

Full and tired, we smiled and waved goodbye to our hosts and set off up the swerving roadside back to the highway. While the carbohydrate and sun soaked stupors drove a few of us to sleep, our driver took every opportunity to point out new maguey growing on the side of the cliffs. After our lecture and safari, we were hooked. After our driver made it down the last cutback, he turned around and said, “now we can visit the mezcalerias!”


Best Places to Sample Mezcal in Oaxaca

Mezcaleria In Situ

Cozy little mezcaleria in the heart of Oaxaca de Juarez. They serve incredible artisanal mezcals made from a tremendous variety of magueys.

Expendio Cuish

This small place serves their incredible artisanal mezcals that are steeped in tradition and attention to quality.

Mezcal El Rey de Matatlán

Great place just outside of the city to learn about mezcal production and distillation techniques.

If you enjoy this post check out my article for Matador Network about Pox, the prized spirit from the highlands of Chiapas.