Agave alcohol is any alcoholic drink made from the agave plant, a spiky succulent native to Mexico. The category includes well-known spirits like tequila and mezcal, lesser-known regional varieties like raicilla and bacanora, and even a low-alcohol fermented drink called pulque that predates them all. What ties them together is the agave plant itself, whose starchy core is cooked, crushed, fermented, and (in most cases) distilled into a spirit bottled at 40% alcohol or higher.
The Main Types of Agave Alcohol
Tequila is the most recognized agave spirit worldwide, but it’s actually just one branch of a larger family. The word “mezcal” comes from Nahuatl words meaning “cooked agave,” and technically any spirit made from cooked agave is a mezcal of sorts. Tequila itself was originally called “Vino de Mezcal de Tequila” before earning its own identity. Today, Mexican law and international trade regulations treat each type as a distinct product with its own rules about where and how it can be made.
Tequila must be made from blue Weber agave, and about 99% of production happens in the state of Jalisco. When a bottle simply reads “tequila” without saying “100% agave,” it only needs to contain 51% blue agave spirit. The rest can come from other sources, typically sugar cane. By law, tequila can also contain up to 1% additives like caramel coloring, glycerin for smoother texture, oak extract, and sugar-based syrups.
Mezcal has a much broader definition. It can be made from more than 40 approved agave species across nine Mexican states, with Oaxaca as the heartland. Unlike tequila, mezcal must be 100% agave with no added sugars permitted. The most common species used is espadín, but producers also work with varieties like tobalá, cuishe, and tepeztate, each contributing a different flavor.
Raicilla comes from the western side of Jalisco and is essentially the same thing as mezcal, but because it’s produced outside the mezcal denomination of origin, it carries its own name. It’s often distilled only once and is known for green, herbal notes.
Bacanora is produced only in the mountains of Sonora in northern Mexico, generally from a single agave variety. It’s sometimes called Mexico’s version of moonshine.
Pulque stands apart from the rest because it’s fermented, not distilled. Made from the fresh sap of agave plants rather than from roasted hearts, pulque contains only 2 to 6% alcohol. It can’t be bottled or canned because it doesn’t keep. You have to drink it fresh, ideally the same day it was made, which is why it’s found at specialized bars in Mexico rather than on store shelves.
How Agave Spirits Are Made
The process starts in the fields, where agave plants grow for 7 to 10 years before they’re ready to harvest. Skilled farmers called jimadores trim away the sharp, spiky leaves with a specialized blade, leaving behind the plant’s dense core, called a piña because it looks like a giant pineapple. A single piña can weigh well over 100 pounds.
Those piñas are split and cooked to convert their raw starches into fermentable sugars. This is where tequila and mezcal start to diverge. Tequila producers typically use brick ovens called hornos, slow-cooking the agave over several days, or industrial autoclaves that use high-pressure steam for a faster cook. Mezcal producers often roast piñas in underground pits lined with hot rocks, which gives the spirit its characteristic smoky quality.
After cooking, the softened agave is crushed to release its sweet juice. Traditional producers use a large stone wheel called a tahona, while modern operations use mechanical shredders. The juice goes into fermentation tanks, where yeast converts the sugars into alcohol over a period of a few days to a week. Some distilleries rely on wild yeast from the surrounding environment, which creates more complex and unpredictable flavors. Others use cultivated yeast for consistency.
The fermented liquid is then distilled at least twice. The first pass produces a cloudy, low-alcohol liquid. The second distillation refines it into a clear spirit. U.S. federal regulations require agave spirits to be bottled at no less than 40% ABV (80 proof).
What Makes Each Spirit Taste Different
The agave species is the single biggest factor in flavor. Tequila’s exclusive use of blue Weber agave gives it a relatively consistent flavor profile, while mezcal draws from dozens of species, each with a distinct personality. Tobalá, a small wild agave, tends to produce delicate, fruity mezcals. Tepeztate, which can take 25 years or more to mature, often yields intensely floral and complex spirits.
Cooking method matters just as much. Mezcal’s underground pit roasting introduces smoky compounds that define the spirit for most people who try it. Tequila’s oven cooking creates a softer, sweeter base. Agave spirits in general contain high levels of congeners, the chemical compounds produced during fermentation and distillation that give any spirit its distinctive taste and aroma. These congeners are also part of why darker or more complex spirits can produce stronger hangovers.
Aging adds another layer. Tequila labeled “blanco” or “silver” is unaged, “reposado” rests in oak barrels for two months to a year, and “añejo” ages for one to three years. Mezcal uses a similar system, though many mezcal enthusiasts prefer the unaged “joven” expression, which lets the agave’s natural flavors come through without the influence of oak.
Calories and Carbs
A standard 1.5-ounce shot of tequila contains about 97 calories, zero carbohydrates, zero sugar, and zero fat. All of the calories come from the alcohol itself, which weighs in at about 14 grams per shot. Each gram of alcohol provides 7 calories. Mezcal and other agave spirits at similar proof have a comparable nutritional profile.
The numbers change dramatically once you start mixing. A frozen margarita runs around 274 calories with 36 grams of carbs. A tequila sunrise hits roughly 252 calories with 30 grams of carbs. If you’re tracking intake, the spirit itself isn’t the issue. The mixers are.
Agavins and Health Claims
You may have seen claims that agave spirits are healthier than other alcohols because of compounds called agavins. These are a type of fructan, a chain of fructose molecules that makes up more than 60% of the agave plant’s soluble carbohydrates. Agavins act as a prebiotic fiber: they pass through the stomach and small intestine without being broken down, then reach the large intestine where gut bacteria ferment them. This process promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.
Here’s the catch. Agavins exist in the raw agave plant. During production, those fructans are hydrolyzed (broken down into simple sugars) so that yeast can ferment them into alcohol. The distillation process then separates the alcohol from everything else. By the time agave spirit reaches your glass, the agavins are gone. Any prebiotic benefit belongs to agave syrup or raw agave, not to tequila or mezcal.
Regional Protections and Labels
Mexico protects its agave spirits through a system called Denomination of Origin, similar to how Champagne can only come from the Champagne region of France. The mezcal DO covers zones in 10 states. Tequila’s DO spans five states. Sotol, another agave-adjacent spirit, is protected in three. Raicilla holds a DO across two states, and bacanora is limited to one.
For consumers, these protections mean something specific on the label. If a bottle says “tequila,” it was produced in Mexico under Mexican regulations. If it says “100% agave,” every drop of alcohol came from agave. If it just says “tequila” with no percentage claim, up to 49% of the spirit could come from non-agave sources. With mezcal, the 100% agave requirement is built into the rules, so there’s no equivalent of a “mixto” mezcal.