Few spirits are as misunderstood as mezcal. In fact, despite having written about it before, I realised how little I really knew at a recent tasting at the Mezcaleria at Kol, a Mexican restaurant in London run by a chef who used to work at Noma. (In a nutshell, not all mezcal tastes smoky, and almost no bottles contain a worm these days.) Tequila must run it a close second, though, and is still more associated with slamming than with sipping.
Both are made from agave, of which there are many different varieties, but tequila can be made only from blue agave in the state of Jalisco, while mezcal is made in nine other states, most commonly in and around Oaxaca from other types of agave, predominantly espadin. Some agave spirits are not even classified as either, mostly because of where they’re produced, but can also make great drinking.
