With just a glance, Sosima Olivera knows when her prized agave plants will be ready to make mezcal, tequila’s lesser-known Mexican cousin whose rapidly growing popularity is raising fears of overexploitation.
The mezcal boom means a greater need for land, water and firewood used to make the smoky spirit, Olivera said.
“This excess demand on the national and international markets has consequences. Of course, when more plants are needed, there is more exploitation,” says the 50-year-old, who heads a grower group.
Craft distillers like Olivera, who has dedicated her life to the process, are looking to secure the future of mezcal with efforts such as seed banks and efforts to showcase artisanal methods.
“One bottle sums up everything we’ve been doing for years,” she told AFP as she toured a field in southern Mexico’s Oaxaca state where magueys – a type of agave plant – grow slowly under the sun.
Once drunk only in small Mexican communities, mezcal is enjoying increasing demand both domestically and internationally.
It is traditionally drunk neat, accompanied by slices of orange and salt, mixed with dried chilies and ground agave worms.
Today it can also be found on the menus of trendy cocktail bars from New York to Tokyo.
Celebrities who have jumped on the bandwagon include co-stars of hit television series Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, who founded the beverage company Dos Hombres.
– No maguey, no mezcal –
The value of Mexico’s mezcal exports rose from nearly $20 million in 2015 to around $63 million in 2020, according to official figures.
The United States, Canada, Spain, France and Germany are among the top consumers of the drink, which is made in several Mexican states but primarily in Oaxaca.
Although mezcal and tequila share similar production methods, there are some important differences between them.
Tequila is made from blue agave in the western state of Jalisco.
Mezcal uses other species — including prized wild magueys — some of which take 15 years or more to mature.
Because of this, growers like Graciela Angeles feel it is crucial to preserve the plants for future generations.
“What will become of biological diversity? There are very few efforts to conserve these species,” said the 43-year-old creator of the Real Minero brand.
“Without magueys, there is no mezcal,” added Angeles, who saves seeds to ensure the plants still exist so her kids can someday harvest them.
– ‘Balance in life’ –
The complex process of making mezcal largely depends on the talent and sense of smell of the distiller.
But with the rise of well-funded corporations, large-scale producers have become little more than “assembly plants” mixing mezcal from different communities, Angeles said.
On average, a 750-milliliter bottle costs around $40 in Oaxaca, but the most exclusive varieties are priced in excess of $100.
In the United States, a limited-edition bottle of “Dos Hombres” mezcal made from Tobala agave sells for more than $300.
The mezcal that Olivera and Angeles make is the result of a painstaking process that stretches back several generations—something they firmly believe will live on.
“There will always be small producers … who know that we have to grow a certain amount of plants, distill a certain amount. There is a balance in life,” said Olivera.
Both women organize tastings to showcase the aromas and flavors of their products.
In the city of Oaxaca, Mezcal tasting has become a must for many tourists.
Australian visitor Christopher Govers said he learned all about the spirit “after falling in love with the taste and the effects”.
“The history and culture behind it is connected to the taste,” he said at a busy fair where a lighted sign read “Make Mezcal, Not War.”
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