Agave spirit mezcal is still made largely the way it has been for generations in parts of Mexico, with craft knowledge conveyed within Indigenous families, the Associated Press reported. In villages in Oaxaca, which AP described as the country’s largest mezcal-producing state, the drink is woven into daily life—served at weddings, funerals and community celebrations and used as a home remedy as well as a hospitality gesture.
The process begins in the fields, where workers known as jimadores cut mature agave—called maguey—by hand, often on steep hillsides. AP reported that jimadores use machetes and sharp blades to slice away the spiny leaves and expose the “pineapple,” which is then carried to distilleries by trucks or donkeys. The work can be dangerous, AP said, because the terrain can be uneven and the agave spines can injure workers.
AP also described how the raw material depends on the species of agave. It said about 40 species can be used for mezcal out of roughly 200 that exist, and that espadin is the most common because it matures faster than many wild varieties and is often cultivated in monoculture. After harvesting, producers move to cooking, a stage AP said is slow and built around pits lined with hot stones and covered with soil.
In Oaxaca, AP reported that producers bury agave in pits lined with hot stones and heat those stones with firewood, roasting the agave for several days. AP said the slow cooking is what gives mezcal its distinctive smoky flavor. During this stage, some producers also describe changing expectations around who works the distillery, including leadership roles. Elena Aragón Hernández, described by AP as a “mezcal master” from Santa Maria Zoquitlan, told AP that “Women have always been part of the process and we are now demanding our place in this industry.”
After the agave is cooked, AP said producers crush it to make a mash. Many towns use a massive circular stone called a tahona, with AP describing how a horse pulls the stone in circles to grind the agave. AP said some producers have started using mechanical shredders to speed up the work, but traditional producers argue that the tahona “breaks the fibers differently” and produces a flavor that machines cannot replicate. Luis Cruz Velasco, who AP said learned the craft from his family in San Luis del Rio, told AP that, “We spend all day at the palenque working from sunrise to sunset, Monday to Sunday,” and said he “realized making mezcal was much harder and physical than I thought.”
Once the agave is crushed, AP reported that producers transfer it to open wooden vats and mix it with water by hand. Fermentation can take days or weeks depending on temperature and humidity. AP said mezcal production requires significant amounts of water and firewood, and noted that some distilleries are buying certified wood, installing systems to cool and reuse water, and using biodigesters to treat waste from fermentation and distillation.
AP provided one example of scale from a producer in Soledad Salinas, Armando Martínez Ruiz, who AP said described distillery use of roughly 30,000 liters (7,925 gallons) of water and more than 15 tons of firewood each month to produce about 5,000 liters (1,320 gallons) of mezcal. After fermentation, AP said the spirit is distilled in small batches in copper stills—called “artisanal mezcal”—while a smaller number of producers continue distilling in clay pots, referred to as “ancestral mezcal,” which AP described as a slower and older technique.
AP said the mash goes through two rounds of distillation before it is ready to drink, and that producers measure it by sight, smell and taste rather than tools. The final product is also experienced differently by drinkers, AP reported, noting that each year thousands of visitors travel to Oaxaca to taste mezcal at local bars known as mezcalerías. AP said mezcal is typically sipped slowly rather than taken as a shot, allowing drinkers to notice differences among varieties.