What is the difference between Tequila and Mezcal ?
 

Just for my drinking education !

Mezcal is a particular (not very good imho) brand of tequila.

Tequilas can be very complex, and the best are best sipped alone (no lime, salt or guzzling aloud) or accompanied only by a small glass of chilled sangrita (a peppery tomato drink).

Good tequila is a far cry from the stuff we have probably all at one time or another done shots of and ended up in a bad situation in a restroom. :&

They are produced in different regions.
The "best" tequila is 100% Agave and is very expensive: priced and savored like a good cognac.
M (SMdA, MX)

Have a look here:

http://mezcal.drinkstraders.com/mezvsteq.html

Well for it to be "real" Tequilla it has to come from the State of Jalisco. Most Mezcal comes from Oaxaca. The process for making Mezcal is similar, but not as refined nor taken as far. As Mikemo points out there are some pretty fancy Tequillas. On the other hand there are starting to be some higher end Mezcals that are not too bad. There is also a big industry for flavored Mezcals, herbs, insects, chicken breasts (the claim is this makes it milder) in it, you name it.

& mezcal has the worm as well as the not so subtle kerosene-like flavor. For medium priced, good tequila try Patron or Cabo Wabo.

I also like Cabo Wabo. (I thought, CABO WABO?) What does Sammy Hagar know about tequila??? (I doubt he makes it in his basement.) It's pretty good.

My favorite mid-priced is Herradura.

I also like Tres Generaciones, Reserva de La Familia and the 1800.

Marko, you'll be in Oaxaca where they serve wonderful nieves. (Similar, I suppose, to ice cream, but nieve is 'snow' I think in Spanish.) We had a very pleasant lunch at La Biznaga in Oaxaca and we ordered the nieve with mezcal for dessert. It was wonderful, and I'm not a tequila or mezcal fan, so was the only way I had mezcal in Oaxaca.

Then we spent a week in Puerto Escondido where the owner of a lovely little restaurant gave us complementary shots after dinner. I had a coffee flavoured mezcal and it was quite pleasant. So maybe it is drinkable!

Another nieve (though non-alcoholic) in Oaxaca was leche quemada, which translates to burnt milk, I think. It's also wonderful.

For what its worth the majority of the Mexican folks I have talked to think Don Julio is the best Tequilla. I'm not so sure.

In comparative tastings (which are published) Hornitos is VG for mixing and Chinaco and El Tesoro de Don Filipe Anejos are top end.
I agree with the Hornitos choice, but I like the El Tesoro de DF Anejo much better than Chinaco.
M

Hi Marko.

Top of the line mezcal's can be darn good. You will see a number of mezcal tasting stores in Oaxaca City but the quality didn't compare to a place that our guide took us to outside the city. The owner is an American who spends much of his time in search of the perfect village mezcals--almost like he was in search of the holy grail. This place was certainly atypical of all the other tasting places; the mezcals are all pretty high end. (The prices were less there than they are on the website.) The place does not cater to tourists but you can certainly buy the mezcals you taste. Here is the website:
http://www.mezcal.com/about.html I'm not sure how you can arrange a stop since the owner isn't always there, but I know you're pretty resourceful. Have fun. And these don't come with worms.

I'm a wino, but you really have to search and taste lots of stuff to discover the best for the buck.
M

Comparing mezcal to tequila, and vis versa is an apples to oranges exercise.

When buying tequila look for the notation on the label: "100% de Agave." Without the notation you're getting adulterated product. And about tequila only coming from Jalisco, that's no longer true. Agave plants from four or five states are permitted to be used in tequila (long ago only agave from Jalisco was permitted).

About which brand is "best." Beauty, and taste, is in the eye (and palate) of the taster.

About mezcal and the worm: my recollection is that there's really no significance to the work except that it's used as a marketing tool - and that not all brands have the worm. I don't like the taste of mezcal, so you can eat all the worms you want - and I won't be offended!

Most tequila is sent to the USA for sale, and that's why Mexicans are having to drink adulterated product and/or mezcal - distillers are looking for the biggest buck profit.

Both Tequila and Mezcal are liquors distilled from the agave plant. For this liquor to be a Tequila, it has to be distilled from the Blue Agave variety in the state of Jalisco and some counties in the states of Nayarit, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas and Michoacan.

A true Mezcal will come from the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas. While there are some really great Mezcales, it is usually seen as a poor man's Tequila.

If you can find them, Don Julio Reposado and Reserva de la Familia are really good Tequilas.

Oh, and Mexico produces in excess of 110 million liters of Tequila per year. 60 million liters are exported.

Just looks like I will have to undertake my own research !!!! Fill the backpack with limes and salt and go from cellar door to cellar door !!

My wife wants to know what is the best cocktail to include Mezcal ?

I stole this quote from another message board:

"When life gives you lemons, ask for Tequila and salt."

20 days to go to Riviera Maya (yep, I'm going)

Marti

Hope you are not planning on flying to Mexico. All incoming flights have been cancelled until December 14.

Where did you hear that? Not what my travel agent or UA vacations is telling us!

Not much difference--they're both pretty bad.

I think that the flights into Cancun and Cozumel are affected, but I don't think that's the case with the rest of Mexico.

Our hotel is OK, but United Vacations canceled the flight. So, now we're going in Jan.

Meantime, I'm gonna work on my Tequila knowledge.

I think one puts hair on your chest and the other doesn't. Can't remember which one though.

From what I understand they can both put hair on your tongue !! (the next day !!) 8-) 8-)

Tequila is a kind of Mescal. Just about the same with Cognac and brandy. Cognac is the brandy made in the Cognac area and has an "appelation controlée". Tequila is the mescal produced in the region of Tequila in the state of Jalisco. Other "mescales" produced in different regions of Mexico just have the name mescal. The plant is the same but the cooking process is different. Mescal is made in kilns where wood and hot stones are used; parts of the plant get burned and that is why is has a smoky taste. Tequila is cooked in autoclave, with steam and does not get the smoky taste. There are very good mescales adn expensive too, but the taste varies much more than with tequila which has a better control to complain with the "appelation controllée" specifications.
Which is better? The one you like!!!

Yes, mezcal is made from the blue agave, like tequila, but a different type. We are tequila lovers and loved trying the reposada (aged) mezcals. They are wonderful - try the house mezcal at Casa Oaxaca, a wonderful restaurant. Don't drink them in a cocktail, they are to be sipped and are served with lime or orange slices and a bit of maguey (that's worms) salt. They are available to sample everywhere - enjoy them!

anyone know anything about the Mezcal factory near Oaxaca that has a small Zoo attached to it !

mezcal uses roasted agave - tequila uses steamed agave.

I like mezcal - I find it a bit sweeter than tequila when sipping straight. With tequila I like a sangrita chaser with it. I had very smooth versions of both types.