Mezcal comes from Mexico, where it has been produced for thousands of years across several states. Today, over 90% of all mezcal is made in the southern state of Oaxaca, though the spirit’s legal designation covers 10 Mexican states. Its roots stretch back far deeper than most people realize, with archaeological evidence placing agave distillation at least 2,500 years into the past.
Ancient Origins in Mesoamerica
For a long time, historians assumed distillation arrived in the Americas with Spanish colonizers, who had learned it from the Arabs. Under that theory, the only pre-Hispanic agave drink was pulque, a mildly alcoholic fermented beverage. But archaeological discoveries have rewritten that story. At the ceremonial center of Xochitécatl-Cacaxtla in the state of Tlaxcala, researchers found conical cooking ovens containing roasted agave remains dating to roughly 600 to 400 BCE. Archaeomagnetic analysis of burned artifacts in those ovens pushed the possible timeline even earlier, to between 878 and 693 BCE.
Separately, vessels discovered in the western state of Colima may have been used for distilling agave beverages as far back as 1500 to 1000 BCE. Agave itself has been a food source in the region since approximately 8000 BCE, and its use for fiber and fermented drinks was well established in western Mesoamerica, particularly in what are now Colima and Jalisco. The picture that emerges is of a spirit with genuinely pre-Hispanic roots, not a colonial-era invention.
Oaxaca: The Heart of Mezcal
While mezcal production spans multiple states, Oaxaca dominates. Of the roughly 11 million liters produced in 2024, more than 90% came from Oaxaca. The state’s landscape, a rugged mix of mountains, valleys, and microclimates, creates ideal growing conditions for dozens of agave varieties. Fields of espadín, the most commonly cultivated agave species for mezcal, are a familiar sight across Oaxacan valleys. Other varieties like coyote (found in the Tlacolula and Ocotlán valleys) and cuishe thrive in specific subregions, each producing spirits with distinct character.
Oaxaca’s dominance isn’t just about volume. The state has the deepest concentration of small-scale family producers, many of whom have been making mezcal for generations using methods that haven’t fundamentally changed in centuries.
The 10 States With Legal Protection
Mexico protects mezcal with a Denomination of Origin (DO), similar to the system that restricts Champagne to a specific region of France. Currently, the DO for mezcal covers zones in 10 states: Oaxaca, Durango, Guerrero, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Puebla, Michoacán, and Aguascalientes. Only mezcal produced within these designated areas can legally carry the name on its label.
Some of these states also overlap with other agave spirit designations. Jalisco is the home of tequila, which has its own separate DO covering five states. Guanajuato, Michoacán, and Jalisco contain municipalities that fall across multiple designations, meaning the same state might produce tequila in one district and mezcal in another. Tequila is technically a type of mezcal in the broadest sense (it’s distilled from agave), but legally and culturally they are treated as distinct products. Tequila can only be made from Blue Weber agave, while mezcal draws on a wide range of agave species.
How Place Shapes the Flavor
Mezcal’s official standard explicitly recognizes that the spirit’s character comes from the interplay of agave species, soil type, topography, climate, water source, and the individual producer’s methods. This concept of terroir means that a mezcal made from espadín in a high-altitude Oaxacan valley will taste noticeably different from one made with the same species at lower elevation in Durango, even if the production techniques are identical.
The traditional production process amplifies these regional differences. Agave hearts (called piñas) are roasted in underground pit ovens, where they cook for several days buried under earth and agave fibers. The burning wood and surrounding soil contribute smoky, caramelized flavors, with hints that producers and drinkers describe as barbecue, leather, or chocolate. Fermentation relies on wild yeasts from the local environment rather than commercial strains, introducing another layer of place-specific character. Whether a mezcal leans sweeter, more herbal, or intensely smoky depends on both the region and the choices of the mezcalero (the person who makes it).
Three Official Production Categories
Not all mezcal is made the same way. Mexico’s Mezcal Regulatory Council (known as COMERCAM) recognizes three categories based on production methods, and each one reflects a different level of industrial versus traditional technique.
- Mezcal: The broadest category. Producers can use autoclaves (industrial pressure cookers) for roasting, mechanical shredders for grinding, stainless steel tanks for fermentation, and column stills for distillation. This is the most efficient, highest-volume approach.
- Artisanal Mezcal: No autoclaves or stainless steel fermentation. Agave must be cooked in pit ovens or elevated stone ovens, fermented in wood, clay, or masonry vessels, and distilled in small batches using copper stills or clay pots over direct fire.
- Ancestral Mezcal: The most restrictive category. Pit ovens only. No mechanical shredders. Fermentation and distillation must include agave fibers, and distillation can only happen in clay pots. This method is closest to what has been practiced for centuries.
The practical difference between Artisanal and Ancestral comes down mainly to the still: Ancestral mezcal requires clay pot distillation, while Artisanal allows copper. Both categories demand hands-on, small-batch production that ties the spirit closely to its maker and region.
A Growing Global Market
Mezcal’s international profile has surged in recent years, and the numbers reflect it. Around 80% of production is now destined for export, with the United States as the primary market, followed by Germany, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Canada, Colombia, Italy, Australia, and Japan. International sales volume is 2.6 times higher than domestic sales in Mexico.
That export-heavy balance comes with growing pains. In 2024, overall mezcal production fell by about 7%, dropping to 11.3 million liters. Bottling for the domestic Mexican market declined even more sharply, down nearly 17% to just 3.1 million liters. The industry faces pressure from taxation policies and the challenge of scaling up production without losing the artisanal character that makes mezcal distinctive in the first place. For a spirit rooted in small family operations and wild-harvested agave that can take 8 to 30 years to mature, the tension between tradition and commercial demand is real and ongoing.