Espadín
Mostly cultivated, big hearts, the quickest to mature.
- Heart weighs
- 25 to 60 kg Commonly cited
- Years to grow
- 6 to 8 Commonly cited
- bottles from one heart
- 3 to 10 Our arithmetic
La Biblioteca · Patria Mezcalería
The Agave Library
Seven chapters on the plants and the people behind what we pour: how long agave grows, how much it takes to fill a bottle, how it is roasted, cut and named. Every number is marked with how solid it is.
- IThe Agave Clock
- IIWhat it takes to fill a bottle
- IIIThe Roast
- IVMezcal, Artesanal, Ancestral
- VThe Still
- VIFive Denominations
- VIIThe Aroma Wheel
- RegulationWritten into a Mexican official standard or denomination of origin
- Commonly citedA range producers and educators commonly cite; it varies by plant and maker
- Our arithmeticWorked out from the commonly cited ranges, to show the scale
- TraditionHow it is done by hand, described rather than measured
IYears in the Ground
The Agave Clock
Most agaves flower once and then die, so the plant is harvested once, before it flowers, when the heart is full of sugar. Nothing about that can be rushed. Each ring is a plant: green while it grows, copper while it is ready. Scroll and the hand counts the years; tap a ring or a plant to read about it.
Commonly cited
-
- Where it grows
- Jalisco and the tequila denomination; cultivated in rows, mostly from offshoots (hijuelos).
- In the glass
- The only agave allowed in tequila. Highland piñas are often described as sweeter, valley piñas as earthier.
- On our shelf
- Our Alteños de Jalisco and El Valle de Tequila flights.
-
- Where it grows
- Oaxaca above all; mostly cultivated. In Sonora the same species makes bacanora.
- In the glass
- The workhorse of mezcal, most of what's made. Often described as bright, fruity and gently smoky; a good first mezcal.
- On our shelf
- Ask the bartender: espadín is the backbone of the shelf and of mezcal cocktails.
-
- Where it grows
- The high plains of San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas.
- In the glass
- A big, broad-leafed maguey of the north. Mezcals from it are often described as green, peppery and vegetal.
- On our shelf
- Ask the bartender.
-
- Where it grows
- The sierra of western Jalisco, around Mascota.
- In the glass
- One of the classic raicilla agaves. Raicillas are often described as fruity, funky and wild.
- On our shelf
- Raicilla rotates: our Roots of Mexico flight pours Raicilla La Venenosa when it's in.
-
- Where it grows
- Rocky, high-altitude slopes of Oaxaca and Puebla, often in the shade of oaks; mostly wild.
- In the glass
- Small, slow and prized: it takes many tobalás to fill a batch. Often described as floral, fruity and delicate.
- On our shelf
- Our Roots of Mexico flight pours Mezcal Tobalá Sacaespantos.
-
- Where it grows
- Oaxaca's valleys and hillsides; it grows tall on a trunk-like stem.
- In the glass
- Its long, narrow piña makes mezcals often described as mineral, dry and herbaceous.
- On our shelf
- Ask the bartender.
-
- Where it grows
- The deserts of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.
- In the glass
- Not an agave at all: a desert plant poured alongside agave spirits for centuries. Often grassy, herbal and mineral.
- On our shelf
- Sotol rotates: our Roots of Mexico flight pours Sotol Parejo Forest when it's in.
-
- Where it grows
- Oaxaca; a giant, often semi-cultivated from old family plants.
- In the glass
- One of the largest agaves and one of the slowest. Often described as rich, sweet and complex.
- On our shelf
- Ask the bartender.
-
- Where it grows
- Wild on steep, rocky cliffs in Oaxaca and Puebla.
- In the glass
- Among the slowest of all; a bottle can represent a quarter century in the ground. Often described as spicy, green and intense.
- On our shelf
- Ask the bartender.
See the numbers
| Plant | Becomes | Years to harvest |
|---|---|---|
| Blue agave Agave tequilana (Weber azul) | Tequila | 6 to 8 |
| Espadín Agave angustifolia | Mezcal | 6 to 8 |
| Salmiana Agave salmiana | Mezcal | 8 to 12 |
| Maximiliana Agave maximiliana | Raicilla | 8 to 12 |
| Tobalá Agave potatorum | Mezcal | 12 to 15 |
| Cuishe Agave karwinskii | Mezcal | 12 to 15 |
| Sotol Dasylirion (desert spoon) | Sotol | 12 to 15 |
| Arroqueño Agave americana var. oaxacensis | Mezcal | 15 to 25 |
| Tepeztate Agave marmorata | Mezcal | 15 to 25 |
Years vary with altitude, rain and soil; these are the ranges most often cited, not a promise for any one plant or bottle.
IIThe arithmetic of a bottle
What it takes to fill a bottle
A commonly cited figure is 8 to 12 kilos of raw agave for every liter of mezcal, so a 750 ml bottle holds roughly 6 to 9 kilos of plant. Run that against the size of the heart and the years it grew, and the price of a wild mezcal starts to make sense.
Commonly citedOur arithmetic
8 to 12 kgagave per liter
×0.75 Lone bottle
=6 to 9 kgof plant in every bottle
Tobalá
Wild, small hearts on rocky slopes, among the slowest to grow.
- Heart weighs
- 5 to 15 kg Commonly cited
- Years to grow
- 12 to 15 Commonly cited
- plants for one bottle
- 0.4 to 1.8 Our arithmetic
Years of growing inside one bottle
Plants per bottle multiplied by the years each plant grew. Our arithmetic
- Espadín under a year to 3 yrs
- Tobalá 5 years to 27 yrs
See the numbers
| Plant | Heart weight | Plants per bottle | Years to grow | Growing years per bottle |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espadín | 25 to 60 kg | 0.10 to 0.36 | 6 to 8 | 0.6 to 2.9 |
| Tobalá | 5 to 15 kg | 0.40 to 1.80 | 12 to 15 | 4.8 to 27.0 |
IIIFire, steam and time
The Roast
Raw agave is starch and fiber; cooking turns it to sugar. How it is cooked is the biggest single reason mezcal and tequila taste different. A pressure cooker does in hours what a pit in the ground does in days, and only one of them brings the smoke.
Commonly citedRegulation
-
Autoclave
autoclave
6 hours to 18 hoursSteam under pressure in a steel vessel. Fast and even; no smoke.
Allowed in Mezcal
-
Raised masonry oven
horno de mampostería
1 day to 2 daysSteam in a brick or stone oven above ground. Slower, softer cooked-agave notes.
Allowed in MezcalArtesanal
-
Earthen pit oven
horno de pozo
3 days to 5 daysHearts buried over wood-fired stones and left to roast underground. The source of mezcal's smoke.
Allowed in MezcalArtesanalAncestral
Time on a log scale, so hours and days fit on one line. Cooking times are commonly cited ranges; which ovens each category allows comes from Mexico's mezcal standard, NOM-070-SCFI-2016.
See the numbers
| Oven | From | To | Allowed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autoclave | 6 hours | 18 hours | Mezcal |
| Raised masonry oven | 1 day | 2 days | Mezcal, Artesanal |
| Earthen pit oven | 3 days | 5 days | Mezcal, Artesanal, Ancestral |
IVRead the label
Mezcal, Artesanal, Ancestral
Mexico's mezcal standard sorts every bottle into three categories by how it was made, not by how it tastes. Read down a column and watch the options narrow: ancestral mezcal keeps only the oldest tools.
Regulation
| Method | Mezcal | Mezcal Artesanal | Mezcal Ancestral |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook | |||
| Earthen pit ovenhorno de pozo | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Raised masonry ovenhorno de mampostería | Allowed | Allowed | Not listed |
| Autoclaveautoclave | Allowed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Mill | |||
| Wooden mallet, by handmazo | Not listed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Stone wheeltahona | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Chilean or Egyptian millmolino chileno o egipcio | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Trapiche or mechanical shreddertrapiche, desgarradora | Allowed | Allowed | Not listed |
| Mill train or diffusertren de molinos, difusor | Allowed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Ferment | |||
| Hollows in stone, earth or tree trunksoquedades | Not listed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Masonry tanks or wooden vatspiletas, tinas de madera | Allowed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Clay vessels or animal hidesbarro, pieles | Not listed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Stainless steel tanksacero inoxidable | Allowed | Not listed | Not listed |
| Distill | |||
| Clay pot over direct fireolla de barro | Not listed | Allowed | Allowed |
| Copper pot still over direct firealambique de cobre | Allowed | Allowed | Not listed |
| Column or continuous stillcolumna | Allowed | Not listed | Not listed |
- Mezcal
The broadest category: traditional and modern equipment allowed.
- Mezcal Artesanal
Pit or raised masonry ovens; mallet, stone or mechanical milling; open fermentation; copper or clay stills over direct fire.
- Mezcal Ancestral
The strictest: pit oven only; mallet, tahona or stone mill; distillation in clay pots over direct fire.
Source: NOM-070-SCFI-2016, sections 4.4.1 to 4.4.3, published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 23 February 2017. A filled mark means the standard names that method for the category.
VTwice through the copper or clay
The Still
Fermented agave is distilled twice. On the second run the mezcalero cuts the spirit as it flows, by smell, taste and eye, and builds the final bottle from the pieces.
TraditionRegulation
The cut
Strength falls as the run goes on. Not to scale.
- PuntasHeads
- CuerpoHeart
- ColasTails
35 to 55%alcohol by volume, the range mezcal is bottled atRegulation
First distillation
The fermented must, often with its fibers, runs through the still once to make ordinario, a low-proof spirit.
TraditionSecond distillation
Ordinario runs again. The mezcalero cuts it as it flows: puntas, cuerpo, colas.
TraditionThe pearls
Proof is judged by eye: spirit poured from a cane straw into a jícara, reading the beads (perlas) that form and how long they hold.
TraditionBottling strength
Mezcal is bottled between 35% and 55% alcohol by volume.
Regulation
VINamed for where they are from
Five Denominations
A denomination of origin means a spirit can only carry its name if it comes from its home region and follows its rules. Tequila was first; it took twenty years for mezcal to follow, and forty-five for raicilla.
Regulation
- 1974Tequila
- 1994Mezcal
- 2000Bacanora
- 2002Sotol
- 2019Raicilla
1974The first
Tequila
- The plant
- Blue agave only (Agave tequilana Weber azul)
- Where
- Jalisco, plus named municipalities of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas
199420 years later
Mezcal
- The plant
- Many agaves: espadín, tobalá, tepeztate, cuishe, arroqueño and more
- Where
- First Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas; more states added since
20006 years later
Bacanora
- The plant
- Agave angustifolia, the same species as espadín
- Where
- Sonora
20022 years later
Sotol
- The plant
- Dasylirion, the desert spoon (not an agave)
- Where
- Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango
201917 years later
Raicilla
- The plant
- Mountain and coastal agaves such as maximiliana and inaequidens
- Where
- Sixteen municipalities of western Jalisco and Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit
See the numbers
| Spirit | Protected | Plant | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tequila | 1974 | Blue agave only (Agave tequilana Weber azul) | Jalisco, plus named municipalities of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas |
| Mezcal | 1994 | Many agaves: espadín, tobalá, tepeztate, cuishe, arroqueño and more | First Oaxaca, Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas; more states added since |
| Bacanora | 2000 | Agave angustifolia, the same species as espadín | Sonora |
| Sotol | 2002 | Dasylirion, the desert spoon (not an agave) | Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango |
| Raicilla | 2019 | Mountain and coastal agaves such as maximiliana and inaequidens | Sixteen municipalities of western Jalisco and Bahía de Banderas, Nayarit |
Years are when each declaration of protection was published in Mexico's Diario Oficial de la Federación: tequila 9 December 1974, mezcal 28 November 1994, bacanora November 2000, sotol 8 August 2002, raicilla 28 June 2019. Regions shown are as protected today; tequila's and mezcal's have been extended since their first declarations.
VIIA shared vocabulary
The Aroma Wheel
Words to put to what is in the glass, from the cooked-agave core out to the details. It is a vocabulary, not a scorecard: pick a family to see which plants are often described that way, then ask the bartender to pour one.
Tradition
Choose a family on the wheel.
Descriptions follow how these plants are commonly described; every bottle, batch and maker differs.
Now taste it
Roots of Mexico
Three 1 oz pours side by side: sotol, raicilla and wild tobalá mezcal, three plants and three denominations in one sitting. For groups, our private tastings walk through tequila and mezcal with chef-crafted bites.
- El Valle de TequilaFortaleza Blanco, Atanasio SB, Cazcanes Añejo$40
- Alteños de JaliscoEnsueño Blanco, Tequila Ocho Reposado, Volans Añejo$40
- Roots of MexicoSotol Parejo Forest, Raicilla La Venenosa, Mezcal Tobalá Sacaespantos$45
Questions
What guests ask at the bar
What is the difference between mezcal, mezcal artesanal and mezcal ancestral?
They are the three categories in Mexico's mezcal standard, and each limits how the spirit is made. Ancestral is the strictest: an earthen pit oven, hand or stone milling, and distillation in clay pots over direct fire. Artesanal also allows masonry ovens and copper pot stills. Mezcal, the broadest, also allows autoclaves, diffusers and column stills.
How many agaves go into one bottle of mezcal?
It depends on the plant. A commonly cited figure is around 8 to 12 kilos of agave per liter. By that math, one big cultivated espadín heart can fill several bottles, while a bottle of wild tobalá can take anywhere from half a plant to nearly two.
Why is mezcal smoky and tequila usually not?
Most mezcal is roasted for days in an earthen pit over wood-fired stones, and the smoke goes into the agave. Tequila is usually steamed in masonry ovens or autoclaves, so it tastes of cooked agave without the smoke.
What are puntas, cuerpo and colas?
The heads, heart and tails of a distillation. The mezcalero cuts the run as it flows, keeps the heart, and blends back puntas and colas to reach the strength they want.
Why are some mezcals so much more expensive?
Time and scarcity. Espadín is ready in around six to eight years and is mostly cultivated; wild agaves like tobalá or tepeztate can take fifteen to twenty-five years, grow on hard-to-reach slopes, and yield far less spirit per plant.
Is mezcal always smoky?
Usually, a little: the agave is roasted in an earthen pit. How smoky depends on the maker, the agave and the roast. Many are more fruity, floral or mineral than smoky.
What's the difference between wild and cultivated agave?
Cultivated agave (like most espadín and all blue agave for tequila) is planted in rows. Wild agave (silvestre) grows on its own on hillsides and cliffs, matures more slowly and is harvested by hand where it stands.
Is sotol a mezcal?
No. Sotol comes from the desert spoon (Dasylirion), not an agave, and has its own denomination of origin. It's poured alongside agave spirits and often tastes grassy and mineral.
Do you serve raicilla and sotol?
They come and go with what's available. Our Roots of Mexico flight pours them when they're in, so ask the bartender what's pouring tonight.
Where agave comes from
The Agave Map, at Patria Cocina
Our sister restaurant in Grant Park maps where each agave spirit comes from, from the Jalisco highlands to Oaxaca, Sonora and the Chihuahua desert.