This is the first in a series of articles from Alvin Starkman, M.A., J.D. about production of the agave distillate, mezcal. Alvin has written over 75 articles and two books about mezcal and was the first individual to offer mezcal tours in Oaxaca.
Agave is a succulent. By their nature, succulents take in moisture during the rainy season, which sustains them during the dry season.
In Oaxaca there are about 10 – 12 species which are used to make mezcal, each of which has between 10 and 20 sub-species.
And since the state has the broadest diversity of climatic zones in all Mexico, and since each microclimate impacts the growth of the plant in a different way, one encounters a plethora of flavors and nuances derived from the diversity of agaves used to make the distillate, unmatched elsewhere in the country.
Depending on the variety of agave (locally known as maguey) used, the growing region, and other factors, its maturation time before harvesting ranges anywhere from between about four to 30 years; sometimes even longer.
The leaves (locally known as pencas) are then removed, and the plant is cut from the ground, from where the earth meets the heart of the plant (known as its piña, because with some species it then appears somewhat like a pineapple).
Neither the pencas nor the root are used directly in mezcal production.
For traditionally made mezcal (as opposed to more industrial production), the piñas are cooked in an in-ground oven.
Large firewood logs are ignited in this oven, following which a mound of rocks goes atop the flaming logs.
After several hours once the rocks are as hot as they can get, usually a layer of wet discarded fiber from the distillation process (known as bagazo) is placed on top of the rocks.
Occasionally other material is used as an insulator between the hot rocks and the piñas, such as dampened acacia leaves, corn stocks/husks, etc.
But since bagazo is most readily available, it tends to be the go-to insulator.
The piñas are then placed on top of the insulating material, in a carefully thought-out manner, the objective being to try to achieve even thorough baking.
Different species of maguey are sometimes baked in the same oven.
They are baked either whole or cut into smaller pieces, all depending on the teachings the distiller (here in Oaxaca usually known as the palenquero) has typically learned from his/her father, uncle, grandfather, etc.
Most palenqueros then cover the piñas with a further layer of fiber, following which that layer is usually covered with tarps, sheets of plastic, palm leaf mats and/or grain sacks which have been sewn together.
Dirt from the circumference of the oven area is then shoveled on top of the mound, until there is no smoke escaping.
The objective is to form an airtight chamber which is then left for roughly five or so days.
Since most palenqueros are good Catholics, a cross is typically placed atop the mound, guaranteeing in the end a high yield of mezcal, and optimum flavor.
After approximately five days, by which time the carbohydrates in the piñas have hopefully been converted to sugars, the dirt is shoveled off, the other coverings are removed, and the piñas are taken out of the oven, ready for crushing, fermenting and distilling.
Prior to crushing, the piñas are cut into small pieces with a machete or hatchet, or even pulled apart by hand if they are soft and pliable enough.
Crushing is usually achieved by one of three methods.
The most common is to place the pieces in a shallow enclosure which houses a heavy wheel made either of a compound of stones, rebar and cement, or a single piece of hard limestone (termed a tahona).
A horse, mule, one or more donkeys, or a team of oxen are then employed to drag the tahona over the sweet piña pieces, to achieve the level of crushing desired by the palenquero.
The other methods are crushing by hand using a large hardwood mallet, or by employing machinery such as a woodchipper of sorts, the latter having become more common over the past two decades.
Regardless of which of the three ways the maguey has been crushed, it then is ready for fermentation.
The crushed piñas can be fermented in any type of receptacle.
In and around the central valleys of Oaxaca it is usually oak or pine vats holding roughly 1000 liters.
Alternatively, the palenquero uses 80 – 100 liter clay pots, or plastic vessels holding a few hundred liters.
A metal drum, a bovine skin hanging from the ceiling, or virtually any other type of container, even a concrete enclosure constructed for that purpose, are also used.
The fermentation vessel is filled roughly ¾ of the way to the top with the sweet, baked, crushed maguey, leaving enough room for the addition of water.
The crushing alone does not release even close to enough liquid for mezcal production, so an external water source is required, typically from a well, river or mountain stream.
Some palenqueros wait a couple of days until the mash is warm to the touch, while others add hot water immediately, followed by cold water hours later.
The contents of the receptacle are then thoroughly stirred, resulting in bubbling as a consequence of the interaction with air-borne yeasts.
No commercial yeast is added.
In due course, anywhere from a couple of days until about three weeks later depending on the ambient temperature and the level of sweetness in the agave, three things happen.
The bubbling visually subsides, a brown paste forms on top slowing becoming darker in color, and the paste tends to shrink away from the sides of the fermentation receptacle.
Those are the signs that the contents have become fully fermented, reaching roughly 3 – 5 percent alcohol.
But it’s then tested by tasting, just to ensure the level of fermentation is just what it should be based on what the palenquero has learned, this precision passed down from generation to generation.
Some distillers, however, now use a hydrometer to be more exact in determining readiness for distillation.
Here in the central valleys of Oaxaca, there are four main types of stills employed in production of mezcal:
- The copper alembic with the average copper pot size being about 300 liters
- Clay pot distillation wherein the average size is typically between 80 and 100 liters,
- Hybrid stills composed of a combination of predominantly copper and clay
- An apparatus most commonly known as a refrescadera which is akin to but much more rudimentary than a column still.
Broadly speaking, each type of still yields an agave distillate with a somewhat different character.
In the end each produces a mezcal which one might consider traditionally produced.
Due to space constraints I will outline only copper and clay means of production and tools of the trade.
The lion’s share of mezcal one encounters which is available for purchase has been distilled in copper, and to a much lesser extent, clay.
Palenques in the districts of Ejutla and Miahuatlán are known for their use of a refrescadera.
There are a couple in the district of Tlacolula which occasionally employ a hybrid apparatus.
Towns such as Santa Catarina Minas, Santa Catarina Albarradas and Sola de Vega are known for distilling in clay.
Those in and around most of the rest of the mezcal producing towns and villages distill in copper.
But there are variations based on availability of other materials.
In most cases, whether distilled in clay or copper or hybrid stills, two distillations are used.
Usually a third is employed only if something is added to the still to change the flavor of the end product, such as fruit, herbs and/or a meat protein (i.e. chicken or turkey breast in the case of a pechuga mezcal).
The main differences between copper and clay distillation aside from the still composition, are:
1) With clay the still is, as noted earlier, usually roughly 80 – 100 liters in size as compared to about 300 liters for copper
2) In clay pot distillation, rather than being a copper serpentine immersed in a tank of water as is the case with copper distillation, the condenser is small, cone-shaped and requires a continuous flow of cool water for condensation to occur. Typically it is either all copper or all stainless steel, or at times just copper on the bottom. I have even seen aluminum hard hats employed as condensers!
3) It is virtually impossible to get the interior of the clay pot totally clean after the distillation has been completed, whereas with copper any remaining water or bagazo can be flushed out.
In the case of copper and clay processes, for the first distillation typically both fermented liquid and the fermented bagazo are run through the still apparatus, producing what is locally known as shishe, or sometimes común or ordinario.
Then the second distillation takes place, with the shishe returned to the still. The palenquero adjusts the alcohol by volume (ABV) to the desired final percentage, using an external filtered water source, or some of the tail end from the distillation process.
Some aficionados state that if former method is used, the distillate has been diluted and it is not real mezcal.
For me personally, if I think the mezcal is good, I don’t care how you get to good.
Aging mezcal in oak barrels has been a frequent topic of discussion of late amongst many aficionados.
The practice dates back hundreds of years.
Doing so, to produce either a reposado (at least two months) or an añejo (at least one year), is much less commonly done today by palenqueros, the more common practice being to consume the distillate unaged (referred to as blanco or joven).
If the intent is to legally call the distillate “mezcal,” samples must by sent to a laboratory authorized by a regulatory board (i.e. AMMA or COMERCAM/CRM).
The lab confirms amongst other things the ABV, and ensures that not more than the maximum allowable amount of methanol is contained in the distillate.
If the lab determines that the represented ABV is off, and/or that the distillate has too much methanol, the palenquero must make the required adjustment(s), or sells the product as simply an agave distillate.
It is important to note that in the lion’s share of cases, too much methanol does not make the distillate bad nor cause adverse health problems.
In fact several years ago I purchased 20 liters from a palenquero who distills for a popular export brand, which could not be sold as mezcal because of a methanol issue.
It’s now long gone, because it was an excellent product both to my estimation and to those to whom I served and gifted it.
The mezcal is now ready to be sold, “as is” out of jerricans, or after bottling, labelling, and sealing each top, placed on a pallet, ready of export.
The next article in this series will explore the proposition that mezcal production is one of the most sustainable industries in Mexico.
About the Author: Alvin Starkman has been a mezcal aficionado for more than three decades. As the first individual to offer mezcal tours in Oaxaca, he operates Mezcal Educational Excursions of Oaxaca. Alvin has written over 75 articles and two books about mezcal.
Alvin also posts photos from his Mezcal excursions on the Mezcal Tours Facebook Page.
