Mezcal is made from agave, a spiny succulent plant native to Mexico. While tequila can only use one species (blue agave), mezcal can be produced from dozens of different agave varieties, each contributing distinct flavors. The most common is Espadín, which accounts for roughly 90% of all mezcal production.
The Agave Plant
Agave plants look like oversized aloe vera, with thick, fleshy leaves radiating from a central core. The part used for mezcal is the heart of the plant, called the piña (Spanish for “pineapple”) because of its resemblance to a giant pineapple once the leaves are stripped away. These piñas can weigh anywhere from 40 to over 200 pounds depending on the species.
What makes agave special for spirit production is the way it stores energy. Over years of growth, agave packs its core with complex sugars called fructans. These sugars are what eventually get converted into alcohol. The plant reaches peak sugar concentration just before it flowers, which is why producers harvest right before that stage. After flowering, sugar levels drop and the plant dies.
Agave Species Used in Mezcal
Tequila is restricted to a single species: Agave tequilana Weber, commonly called blue agave. Mezcal faces no such limitation, and producers work with a wide range of species that each bring different flavor profiles to the finished spirit.
Espadín (Agave angustifolia) dominates the market. It’s relatively fast-growing, easy to cultivate, and produces a balanced, approachable mezcal. If you’ve tried mezcal, it was almost certainly made from Espadín.
Tobalá (Agave potatorum) is a smaller, wild-growing agave prized for producing complex, fruit-forward mezcals. It takes longer to mature and yields less sugar per plant, making Tobalá mezcals more expensive.
Tepeztate (Agave marmorata) is one of the most dramatic examples. This wild agave can take 25 years or more to reach maturity, and it grows in rocky, hard-to-reach terrain. The resulting mezcal tends to be intensely herbaceous and mineral.
Some mezcals blend multiple agave species together, called “ensambles,” while single-species bottles let you taste the character of one particular plant.
How Long Agave Takes to Grow
Most agave species need years, sometimes decades, before they’re ready to harvest. The growth cycle follows a predictable pattern: during the first one to three years, the plant builds its basic structure. Over the next three years, it grows substantially and begins storing sugars. Around year seven or eight, depending on the species, it enters its reproductive phase and prepares to flower.
Cultivated species like Espadín typically mature in seven to eight years. Wild species like Tepeztate can take 15 to 30 years. This slow maturation is part of why mezcal made from wild agave costs more, and why sustainability is a growing concern in the industry. Overharvesting wild agave threatens both the plants themselves and the ecosystems they support, and conservation efforts in states like Oaxaca now include reforestation programs and replanting of endemic species.
Pit Roasting: The Source of Smokiness
The ingredient that separates mezcal from tequila isn’t just the agave species. It’s fire. Traditional mezcal production cooks the piñas in an underground pit oven, and this step is responsible for the smoky flavor mezcal is known for.
Producers dig a large conical pit in the ground, build a fire at the bottom, and heat volcanic stones until they’re extremely hot. The piñas are stacked on top of the stones, then the whole pit is covered with earth to trap the heat. The agave roasts slowly underground for three to seven days, during which the intense heat breaks down the plant’s complex sugars into simpler, fermentable ones. Wood and charcoal (often mesquite) provide the heat, and their smoke permeates the agave during the long roast.
Tequila, by contrast, typically cooks agave in above-ground steam ovens or autoclaves, which is why it lacks that characteristic smokiness.
Fermentation and Distillation
After roasting, the cooked piñas are crushed to extract their sugary juice. In artisanal production, this is done with a tahona, a large stone wheel pulled in a circle by a horse or donkey. The crushed agave, including the fibrous pulp, goes into fermentation vats.
These vats are usually made of wood, though stone, concrete, and even animal hides are used in some regions. Unlike commercial spirits that rely on commercial yeast, traditional mezcal undergoes spontaneous fermentation. Wild yeasts and bacteria from the environment colonize the sugary liquid naturally, a process that can take several days and contributes to the complex, variable flavors that distinguish one producer’s mezcal from another’s.
Once fermentation is complete, the liquid is distilled, typically twice. The type of still matters and varies by production category. Most artisanal mezcal is distilled in copper pot stills called alembics. Some producers, particularly in Oaxaca, use clay pot stills sometimes called “Filipino” stills, a name that reflects the possibility that the technology arrived in Mexico via Filipino sailors in the 1500s. In these simple stills, evaporation and condensation happen in a single chamber, producing a spirit with a distinctly earthy, textured quality.
Three Official Categories
Mexican law (NOM-070-SCFI-2016) divides mezcal into three categories based on how it’s produced, and these categories directly affect what equipment and ingredients are permitted.
- Ancestral mezcal is the most restrictive category. Everything is done by hand without industrial machinery or draft animals. Agave must be cooked in pit ovens, crushed manually, fermented in stone or wood vessels, and distilled in clay pots. Stainless steel is prohibited. This category relies almost exclusively on wild-harvested agave.
- Artisanal mezcal follows a similar process but allows some flexibility. Copper stills are permitted, and a tahona (stone wheel pulled by an animal) can be used for crushing. Piñas are still cooked in pit ovens, and fermentation must be spontaneous in wooden vats.
- Mezcal (sometimes informally called “industrial”) permits modern equipment, including mechanical shredders, stainless steel tanks, and column stills. This is the most commercially scalable category.
All three categories must fall between 35% and 55% alcohol by volume, though most bottles sold internationally land between 40% and 50%.
Where Mezcal Comes From
Mezcal carries a Denomination of Origin, meaning it can only legally be produced in designated regions of Mexico. The designation currently covers zones across 10 Mexican states. Oaxaca is by far the largest and most famous producing region, responsible for the vast majority of mezcal on the market. Other states with mezcal-producing zones include Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosí, and Puebla, among others. Some states like Michoacán and Jalisco have municipalities that overlap with other agave spirit denominations, creating a complex regulatory map.
The combination of agave species, local soil, altitude, climate, wild yeasts, and the specific wood used for roasting means that mezcal from different regions can taste dramatically different, even when made from the same type of agave. Producers often describe this as the “terroir” of mezcal, borrowing the wine term to capture how geography shapes flavor.