Mezcal
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Mezcal, sometimes spelled mescal, is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave.
Bottles at a factory in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca
A "Huichol still", a modified Filipino-type still with a suspended internal distillate collector. It was used by the Huichol people for making sotol (c. 1898).
A cantaro jar, made from barro negro pottery, used for serving mezcal
A typical maguey landscape
Tequila
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Tequila is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the town of Tequila 65 km northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands of the central weste
Mezcal
…existed before the arrival of the Spanish. Mezcal is made from the heart of the agave plant, called the piña. The most widely consumed form of mezcal is tequila, which is made only with blue agave. Some 90% of Mexican mezcal comes from Oaxaca. In Mexico, mezcal is generally consumed straight and has a strong…
Blue agave fields near Tequila
A distillery oven loaded with agave piñas or "pineapples", the first step in the production of tequila post harvest
A tahona, large stone wheel, at the Hacienda Doña Engracia that was used to crush the piña. Large, modern distilleries commonly complete this process mechanically.
A jimador or a worker who harvests the agaves and cuts off the sharp leaves