Oaxaca — Mezcal

Mezcal is to tequila what Armagnac is to Cognac — the artisanal, terroir-forward ancestor that preserves process the industrial version has abandoned. Any agave species, anywhere in the authorised states, distilled in the traditional way (pit roasting, stone milling, open fermentation, copper or clay pot distillation) is mezcal. Oaxaca produces 85% of all mezcal. The earthen pit roast — burying the piñas (agave hearts) with hot rocks for 3-7 days — is the source of mezcal's distinctive smoke character, which varies by fuel type (mesquite, ocote), pit depth, and duration. Each palenque (mezcal distillery) and maestro mezcalero produces a distinct expression.