Tequila, Mezcal & Destilado de Agave: Understanding Mexico’s Agave Spirits

Walk into a well-stocked spirits shop today and the world of agave can seem almost impossibly broad. There is Tequila from Jalisco and beyond, Mezcal from Oaxaca and other regions of Mexico, and an increasingly fascinating collection of bottles labeled Destilado de Agave or, in the United States, more broadly as Agave Spirit.

They all begin with agave. But what happens between plant and bottle—and, importantly, where it happens—can make them remarkably different spirits.

The distinctions are about much more than flavor. They involve geography, agave species, production methods, generations of regional tradition, and Mexico's system of protected Denominations of Origin.

Understanding those differences makes exploring agave spirits considerably more rewarding.

First: What Is an Agave Spirit?

Agave is not a single plant but a large genus encompassing many species. Mexico is home to extraordinary agave diversity, and communities throughout the country have used these plants for food, fiber, fermented beverages, and eventually distilled spirits for generations.

At its simplest, an agave spirit is created by converting the agave's complex carbohydrates into fermentable sugars, fermenting those sugars, and distilling the resulting liquid. Traditionally, that conversion is accomplished by cooking harvested agave, although the specific methods vary considerably among categories and producers.

From there, things become much more interesting.

The species or variety of agave, where it grows, how it is cultivated or harvested, the method used to cook it, how it is crushed or milled, the fermentation vessel, microorganisms involved in fermentation, water, still type, and the decisions of the distiller can all profoundly influence the finished spirit.

That is why thinking about agave spirits purely in terms of “Tequila versus Mezcal” misses much of the story.

Tequila: One Agave, a Defined Place

Tequila has one of the most tightly defined identities in the agave world.

Legally, Tequila must be produced from Agave tequilana Weber variedad azul, commonly called Blue Weber agave, within the geographic area protected by the Tequila Denomination of Origin. That territory includes the entire state of Jalisco along with designated municipalities in Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas.

Its production is governed by Mexico's official Tequila standard, NOM-006, and conformity with the standard is overseen by the Consejo Regulador del Tequila.

That immediately distinguishes Tequila from much of the broader agave world: only one variety of agave is permitted.

There is still enormous variation within Tequila, however. Agave grown in different landscapes can express itself differently, and producers employ a wide range of techniques for cooking, extraction, fermentation, distillation, and maturation.

There is another distinction worth knowing when reading a Tequila label. “100% Agave” Tequila must derive all of its fermentable sugars from Blue Weber agave. Tequila without that designation may include other permitted sugars, although at least 51% of its sugars must still come from Blue Weber agave.

Tequila can also be classified according to maturation. Blanco is generally unaged or minimally rested, while Reposado spends at least two months in oak. Añejo requires at least one year of aging, and Extra Añejo at least three years.

But those classifications tell us primarily about what happens after distillation—not necessarily how the spirit was made before it entered the barrel or bottle.

Explore Tequila

Mezcal: A Much Broader World of Agave

If Tequila begins with one permitted variety of agave, Mezcal opens the door considerably wider.

Numerous agave species and varieties may be used, giving producers an extraordinary botanical palette. Espadín is the agave many drinkers encounter first, but bottles made from Tobalá, Tepeztate, Arroqueño, Cuishe, Madrecuixe, Mexicano, and numerous other agaves reveal just how diverse the category can become.

Like Tequila, Mezcal is protected by a Denomination of Origin and regulated under its own official Mexican standard, NOM-070. To legally bear the name Mezcal, a spirit must satisfy the applicable geographic, production, certification, and labeling requirements.

One of the most persistent misconceptions is that Mezcal is simply “smoky Tequila.”

It isn't.

The association comes largely from a traditional production technique used by many mezcaleros: roasting agave in earthen pit ovens, which can impart smoky aromas. But smoke is only one possible component of Mezcal's flavor.

Depending upon the agave, landscape, fermentation, distillation, and production method, Mezcal can be floral, mineral, herbaceous, earthy, fruity, savory, peppery, intensely vegetal—or, yes, smoky.

The category formally recognizes three production categories: Mezcal, Mezcal Artesanal, and Mezcal Ancestral. These aren't simply marketing terms. Mexican regulations specify different permitted techniques and equipment for cooking, milling, fermentation, and distillation within each category.

For curious drinkers, this is where looking beyond the word Mezcal becomes important. The producer, village, agave variety, method of cooking, fermentation, and still can tell you far more about what is inside the bottle.

Explore Certified Mezcal

So What Is Destilado de Agave?

This is where the conversation becomes especially interesting—and a little less straightforward.

Destilado de Agave literally translates to “agave distillate,” and bottles reaching the United States may also be labeled more broadly as Agave Spirit. Unlike Tequila and Mezcal, however, we shouldn't think of Destilado de Agave as simply a third protected denomination with its own equivalent set of geographic boundaries and production rules.

Instead, the term can lead us into the much broader world of agave distillation that exists beyond familiar protected categories.

There are many reasons an agave spirit may fall outside the Tequila or Mezcal denominations. It may be produced outside the geographic boundaries of a particular Denomination of Origin, or its production, certification, or labeling may not conform to the requirements necessary to bear a protected name. In other instances, producers working within longstanding regional traditions may market their spirits outside the denomination system.

That distinction is important because a bottle labeled Destilado de Agave should not automatically be interpreted as lesser-quality Mezcal.

Quite the opposite: this is one of the most fascinating areas of agave spirits to explore.

Some bottles sold under broader agave-spirit terminology can provide a window into highly localized traditions, unusual agave varieties, distinctive equipment, and production methods that don't fit neatly within the categories most consumers recognize.

Rather than looking at a bottle and asking, “Why isn't this Mezcal?”, a more useful set of questions might be:

Who made it? Where was it made? Which agave was used? And how was it produced?

Those answers can tell a far richer story than the category printed on the bottle.

Explore Destilado de Agave

The Difference in the Glass

There is no single flavor profile that cleanly separates these spirits.

Tequila is sometimes characterized as brighter and cleaner, Mezcal as smokier and earthier, and traditional agave distillates as rustic or intensely expressive. Those descriptions may occasionally be useful, but they quickly fall apart when confronted with the diversity of serious producers.

A traditionally produced high-proof Blanco Tequila can be intensely vegetal, mineral, and savory. A Mezcal may be remarkably floral and delicate with barely perceptible smoke. A Destilado de Agave might range from beautifully restrained to wildly aromatic and complex.

That diversity is precisely the point.

Agave spirits are expressions of plant, place, production, and people.

The idea isn't merely romantic. The Mexican standard governing Mezcal itself recognizes numerous factors that can contribute to a spirit's character, including the agave used, soil, topography, climate, water, microorganisms, the producer, and production practices.

In other words, there is much more happening in the bottle than simply “smoky” or “not smoky.”

A Better Way to Shop for Agave Spirits

Instead of beginning with the assumption that one category is inherently better than another, look more closely at the bottle.

Consider the agave. Is it Blue Weber, Espadín, Tobalá, Salmiana, Maximiliana, or something less familiar?

Look at place. Where was the agave grown, and where was the spirit actually produced?

Look at the producer. Is the person who distilled the spirit identified?

And look at production. How was the agave cooked? How was it milled? How was it fermented? What type of vessel was used? Was it distilled in copper, clay, wood, or another type of still?

These details can begin to tell you what makes a particular spirit distinctive before you ever taste it.

One Plant Family, Countless Expressions

Tequila, Mezcal, and Destilado de Agave aren't simply three different styles competing for space on the same shelf. They are different windows into Mexico's immense and diverse culture of agave distillation.

Tequila demonstrates how a single agave—Blue Weber—can produce remarkable variation across landscape, technique, and maturation.

Mezcal introduces an enormous diversity of agaves and regional production traditions within a protected denomination.

And bottles labeled Destilado de Agave or Agave Spirit can take us beyond those familiar categories, opening the door to other regional traditions, producers, agaves, and methods of production.

Once you stop thinking of Mezcal as “smoky Tequila” and Destilado de Agave as simply “Mezcal that couldn't get certified,” the world of agave becomes much more interesting.

The question is no longer simply “Tequila or Mezcal?”

It becomes:

Which agave, from where, made by whom—and how?