Making Mezcal in Oaxaca

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Espadin agave

Last week I visited a small, artisanal palenque in Santiago Matatlán that has been a family operation for many generations. I had the opportunity to visit because my Spanish tutor in Teotitlan del Valle knew them. In fact, they supply her family’s store and had invited her to come tour their operation. Matatlán is referred to as the Mezcal Capital del Mundo because over one hundred small-scale producers grow and make mezcal.

Sign on the roadside claiming Matlan as the Mezcal Capital

Nereo explained that agaves, in nature only flower after many years. Once enough sugars and juices are concentrated in the heart of the plant, it sends up a tall shoot adorned with flowers. After seeds mature, the entire plant dies. In cultivation, the agave or maguey is harvested right before flowering.

Harvesting

Mezcaleros  want the sweet juices at the core of the plant so they walk the rows to select agave plants with an emerging flowering stalk or quiote. Harvesting the plant is done by hand—leaves are chopped off with a machete, leaving the core or the piña—called that because it looks like a pineapple.

Nereo’s grandson harvesting Espadin plants.

It takes 6-15 kg of piña and 10 liters of water to distill 1 liter of mezcal

Espadin piña

Tobala piña delivered by truck from the wild.

Roasting

Once they have enough piñas, the mescaleros start the roasting procedure. Unfortunately, I have not watched this process, but I think a fire is started in the pit with oak or mesquite, then covered with volcanic rocks that turn bright red. Next the piñas are placed in a heap and covered with agave foliage or burlap sacks. Volcanic rocks absorb more smoke so the roasting agave aquire less smoke flavor. Apparently in different regions a slight smoke flavor is valued and other rocks are used. Nereo said that a smokey flavor is undesirable. The roasting process is monitored for 3-5 days.

Mashing piñas

When the piñas are removed, they are brown, caramelized, sweet and stringy. (Since Nereo didn’t have a current batch, the below photo is from Don Agave’s pulque, located across the highway from Teotitlan del Valle.)

The roasted piñas are then mashed in the traditional stone mill pulled by a single horse.

Horse pulls stone mill to mash roasted maguey

Fermentation

The maguey mash is forked out, carted to oak tanks, where water is added and it’s allowed to ferment for two weeks. Over the years, these tanks acquire natural yeast residue that assists with the conversion of agave sugars and juice into alcohol.

Distillation

The fermented liquid is poured into a traditional still consisting of masonry ovens, copper tubes, clay pots heated from below by a wood fire. Water cools the pipes causing the alcohol vapor to condense back to liquid. the flowing water absorbs heat. A constant stream of water through the condenser ensures efficient cooling.

Nereo’s other grandson pouring the fermented liquid into the still, to begin distillation.

Angelica Mendoza asking about the distillation process.

Water cools the pipes causing the alcohol vapor to condense back to liquid. The flowing water absorbs heat. A constant stream of water through the condenser ensures efficient cooling.

The alcohol emerges from below the last brick tank. The spigot at the base is just barely visible.

We enjoyed sampling the joven mezcal!

Cultivating Agave for Mezcal

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Some types of agave reproduce asexally, making cultivation easier and more uniform. Either small hijuelos (sons) form vegetatively at the base of a mature plant, or bulbils form instead of flowers and seeds. (This latter formation also occurs in many garden plants including garlic and chives.)

Other species are used in traditional mezcal production, but are difficult to grow. Traditionally they have been collected from the wild, but as the demand for mezcal keeps increasing, wild populations are shrinking, and growers are attempting to cultivate other species.

Tobala agave

Tobalá Agave potatorum, is one I particularly enjoy. The flavor is full-bodied, a complex of notes hinting at floral and spicy. The Tobalá plant is much smaller than Espadín:, requiring up to to eight piñas to equal one of the latter. Combine that with the fact that Tobala rarely produces bublils or pups, so it must be grown from seed. Luis Mendez in Solga Vega Oaxaca is now cultivating the plants to preserve the wild population from over-harvest. A nursery in Santa Catarina Minas is also selling seedlings.

In January 2020 I helped pot up Tobalá plants for Tony Raab at Casa Raab, San Pablo Etla, Oaxaca.

One of Tony’s workers, Rodregio.

Tobala seedlings

AMMA published this diagram of agave anatomy.

In my search for information on sustainable maguey preservation and cultivation, I came across this post Mescalistas: Can wild agave be successfully grown? In the future I hope to visit more maguey plantations.

Mexican Agave

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Mexico is rich in biodiversity, and Oaxaca is the state with the most diversity. Agaves are richly represented here with 200 species and often grow in tropical deciduous forests or deserts. Most agave plants only flower once and then they die. Archeological sites around the country show signs of agave for medicine, food, and textiles including ropes and nets.

Maguey is the name for any number of agave species that are used for making mezcal. Although I have a passing interest in the alcoholic beverage, I am fascinated by the ethnobotany of maguey.

Oaxaca is the epicenter of mezcal that draws travelers and connoisseurs from around the world. Forty-two kinds of maguey can be made into distilled alcohol, and proponents of sustainable mezcal production want to see more Mexican species planted and used. Two agave species dominate the market and grow as monocrops, A.tequiliana and A. angustifolia var.oaxacaencis. (Tequila, the distilled beverage of Agave tequilana can only bear that name if it comes from the northern region of the state of Jalisco, where it is commercially grown and produced on an industrial scale in the town of Tequila.) In Oaxaca the number one plant is Espadin, or Agave angustifolia, cultivated because it matures uniformly in about 6-8 years.

Espadin, Agave angustifolia var. oaxacensis

Drive along Hwy 190 through the Tlacolula Valley to see field after field of narrow-leaved Espadin. Milpas that once flourished with maiz and squash for local consumption are now monocrops of Espadin. Commercial brands like Mezcal Benevà produce mezcal on an industrial scale and require larger fields. It matures uniformly in about 6-8 years. There are many common names for espadin including: arroqueño, coyote, cenizo, and dua-bzog, a Zapoteco name. While the species Agave americana grows throughout Mexico and even as far north as Texas in the US (where it goes by the common name century plant.) The variety A. americana oaxacensis is endemic to Oaxaca and Puebla.

Maguey for Pulque

Other maguey used in mezcal include a couple of large, dramatic plants that are significant in making a traditional fermented drink called pulque. This historic fermented product is still drunk today and is considered healthy. It is an acquired taste, being both sour and viscous!

Tepextate, Tepestate, Agave marmorata

Photo from the gardens of Don Agave in Teotitlan del Valle.

Green agave, or pulque agave, Agave salmiana,

This giant is used in mezcal production. It is also a popular ornamental found around the world in Mediterranean gardens.

Maguey verde grande, Agave atrovirens

The agave at the top of the post is a photo I took while hiking between Llano Grande and Cuajimoloyas. Agave atrovirens, the largest of agaves, it can grow 6 to 8 feet tall. Maguey verde grande has a flowering spike or quiote that can grow to 15 ft. with reddish flower buds turning yellow upon opening. This species is native to Oaxaca, Puebla and Vera Cruz. I saw it while hiking in the Sierra Norte at 10,000 ft elevation. There was a row planted along the edge of a milpa of corn. When I asked Celestine, our hiking guide if this maguey was used for mezcal he said no, just pulque. But others do use it. Maguey verde grande produces hijuelos, or vegetative shoots at the base of mature plants.

The Road to Sustainablity for Mezcal

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Mezcal has become the world’s favorite distilled beverage—in 2021 production increased 700% from 10 years before. That year eight million liters were produced, much of it in Oaxaca. Any industry growing that fast will have serious environmental  and cultural implications.

Although Santiago Matalan is regarded as the mezcal capital of the world, much is changing. As the need to respond to the challenges facing mezcal production increases, innovations are happening in other corners of Oaxaca and throughout the country. The crux of the matter is these solutions are long-term project with no immediate economic returns.

Challenges

  • Agaves are exclusively harvested before they flower, just as the flowering stem emerges when they are rich in sugars. Removing this quiote concentrates the sugars in the heart of the piña.
  • Removing the flowers impacts native pollinators, especially an important endangered bat species.
  • Removing the flower stem prevents seed production that increases genetic diversity.
  • Monoculture  of identical clones reduces diversity, increasing the risk of entire fields succumbing to disease and pests.
  • Overharvesting wild agaves reduces available nectar for endangered long-nosed bats.
  • Waste from mezcal production, the liquid vinzana is toxic, as are the agave fibers.
  • Water consumption: ten liters of water are required to produce one liter of mezcal

Solutions

Some local Oaxaca heroes include Luis Mendez of Sola de Vega . He has spent years experimenting with cultivating agave plants from seed and his nursery provides growers with small plants. This helps break up monocultures, prevents over-harvesting wild plants, and provides for pollinators. Besides growing agave for mezcal, he encourages people to use them for erosion control, windbreaks, and to increase biodiversity.

Fourth generation mezcalero, Graciela Ángeles Carreño, is a woman from Real Minero who was featured in a Smithsonian article about sustainable production. The Race to Save Mezcal From the World. Her family’s brand Real Minero is a sustainable choice. Mezcal tours from Oaxaca City often go to this cutting-edge plantation and distillery.

Enterprising mavericks like  Ron Cooper with Del Maguey have partnered with Zapotec producers in Oaxaca. Another mezcal aficionado is Lou Bank, founder and CEO of SACRED: Saving Agave for Culture, Recreation, Education, and Development. This nonprofit  is empowering communities. When asked about green-washing, Bank had a pragmatic response that you can read here.  SACRED has raised over US$600,000 that has supported twelve rural communities that raise maguey.

On another front, university researchers  have partnered with local growers. The Association of Magauey and Artizanal Mezcal has more information. Instead of relying  exclusively on the fast-growing Espadin in monocultures throughout Oaxaca central valley, they are pioneering cultivating more varieties and growing them from seed. Instead of over-harvesting a number of wild maguey species in the surrounding mountains, the are cultivating them. By leaving 30 % of an agave plantation to flower and only harvesting 70% of the crop, pollinators will thrive.

New pathways for utilizing the mezcal waste both the solid fibers and the liquids are being explored, especially in the construction of adobe bricks. Native maguey grows throughout Mexico, and wherever it grows rural folks and campesinos have had bootleg operations—from Sonora to Puebla.

My all-time favorite author and ethnobotanist, Gary Paul Nabhan has pioneered the sustainable efforts with Ana Valenz Zapata  a Mexican scientist. Years ago they recognized the problems facing Tequila. Now Nabhan has co-authored another book, Agave Spirits.

“Culled from decades of fieldwork and interviews with mezcaleros in eight Mexican states, Agave Spirits reveals the stunning innovations emerging today across the mezcal supply chain and offers solutions for improving sustainability and equity.” Check out their great website Mezcal-Mankind-Mutualism

Oaxaca’s central valley and city is prone to water shortages during the prolonged dry season. Recent droughts have exacerbated the situation of a growing population and failing infrastructure. Environmental issues include climate change, deforestation, and mining. Mezcal production is also part of the problem. To produce one liter of mezcal  uses ten liters of water, much of it becoming toxic in the process. The water table is dropping and wells are going dry.

The months of June through September often are blessed with abundant rainfall. Rural communities are responding by harvesting rainwater. This includes planting trees, making swales and building tanks for water storage. As mezcaleros and non-profits work together for a sustainable future, consumers can support these efforts by purchasing from innovative mezcal brands.