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Oaxaca Mescal Production |
| Tequila and mescal are Mexican aperitifs, distilled from the sap of different species of the agave plant. Tequila is to mescal as Cognac is to brandy. Legally tequila can only be produced around the town by the same name, near Guadalajara -- just as champagne only comes from the Champagne region, near Paris. Oaxaca is famous for mescal, distinctive for having a dead caterpillar at the bottom of each bottle to prove the high alcohol content. |
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Mescal is made in three stages: 1) Agave is harvested after 8-10 years. The leaves are removed, leaving compact hearts or pinas (literally "pineapples"). |
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2) The pinas are steamed in an oven and crushed (often with a stone wheel pulled by a horse) to release the sap. |
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3) Yeast is added to
the sap. After fermentation the |
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 Mescal is sold in
glass bottles or aged in oak barrels. The
sample bottles are of different ages and flavors. |
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