For many people, tequila is no stranger, conjuring youthful memories of serious hangovers and the blurry recollection of friends chanting out “Shots! Shots! Shots!” at a bar. But with age comes maturity, knowledge, and the enlightenment that there are not only many different levels of quality in tequila (no, a good tequila should not taste like paint thinner) but that Mexico has another delicious drink to offer: mezcal. The first step to appreciation is understanding, so here’s our beginner’s guide to tequila, sure to set you on the right path to sipping (not shooting) smooth, aged extra añejo tequilas and smoky, artisanal mezcals.

Tequila is Mezcal… but Mezcal is not Tequila

When you distill agave (a plant native to Mexico) you get a liquor known as mezcal. Because tequila is made with agave, it falls under the category of mezcal. But while mezcal can be made with over 30 different types of agave, tequila is made exclusively with blue agave. What’s more, tequila can only be produced in 5 specific Mexican regions. The most well-known is Jalisco, but there’s also Michoacán, Guanajuato, Nayarit, and Tamaulipas. If you’re looking to seek out the drink’s spiritual home, head to the town of tequila, in Jalisco. Oaxaca is the center of mezcal, where up to 90% of the country’s output is made.

Let’s Get Cooking

When agave plants are harvested, their spiky leaves are sheared off and what’s left looks a lot like a pineapple (which explains why it’s called the piña). For tequila, the piñas are put in traditional brick ovens called autoclaves, and cooked until they soften and caramelize, making the sugar extraction (the base of the booze) way easier. The piñas are then crushed and the agave sugar left is put into wood or stainless steel vats to ferment. The tequila is then distilled, and often aged in oak barrels. For mezcal, the piñas are cooked in cone shaped pits in the ground lined with hot volcanic rocks and covered with earth. This traditional cooking method takes a couple of days and is what gives mezcal its smoky flavor. The piñas are then crushed to a paste using a tahona – a special grinding mill – and this mixture is placed in wood barrels with water to ferment. It’s then distilled in clay or copper pots to separate the liquid from the fibers, then (sometimes) blended, and bottled or aged in oak.

Making the Grade

Both tequila and mezcal vary according to quality, production method and ageing. Here’s the basic breakdown:

Tequila
Gold tequila gets its color from added caramel and additives – not aging – so it’s not 100% agave. This is your basic, bar tequila, and quite possibly the one that you over-indulged on in your 20s. Silver or blanco tequila is what you get after distilling and before aging. Many aficionados like how you can taste the floral agave notes in these varieties. Reposado, or ‘rested’ tequilas are aged in oak barrels 2 months to a year, making them smooth with oaky undertones. Añejo (aged) tequila is barreled for at least a year, often more, and acquires a deep, smoky, smooth flavor. Extra añejo is aged 3 years or more and takes on the peaty characteristics found in cognac.

Mezcal
Mezcal has a similar grading system. Joven (young) mezcal is un-aged, clear and what the purist mezcal drinkers consider the best. Reposado mezcal is aged for at least two months in oak barrels for a light caramel color and añejo or añejado mezcal is aged a year or more in oak, and produces a dark caramel color liqueur. Aged mezcal can vary in taste profile depending on the agave variety used and the oak it’s barreled in, but will undoubtedly become a more rich and complex liquor as it gets older. Unlike tequila, aging mezcal is a relatively new idea, and does not necessarily produce a better quality product.

And Remember…

Whether you’re drinking tequila or mezcal, look for 100% agave on the label or you’re not getting the real deal!

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