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Agave Spirits
Every agave spirit in the shop on one shelf: tequila, mezcal, raicilla and the bottles that simply say agave spirit. What separates those words is a map and a rulebook, not a recipe. Two bottles made the same way by the same family can carry different names depending on which side of a state line the oven sits.
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88.8 proof750 mlNew
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Siembra Spirits
Siembra Valles Aniversario Tequila Joven NOM 1123 Cascahuin
82 proof750 mlNew
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108 proof750 ml
$85In stock
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The names are geography, not quality
Agave spirits are divided by denominations of origin. A denomination says which plants may be used and which places may use the name. It says almost nothing about care, method or whether you will like the result, and knowing that is the difference between reading a shelf and guessing at it.
Tequila: one agave, five states
Tequila must be made from blue weber agave, and only in Jalisco plus listed municipalities of Guanajuato, Michoacán, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. One plant, five states, and a long rulebook on top. The spec worth checking on a tequila is whether it is additive free, which is a separate question from any of this and is covered on the [tequila](/collections/tequila) shelf.
Mezcal: any agave, ten states
The mezcal denomination dates from 1994 and covers ten states: Oaxaca, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Michoacán, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas. Any agave species is allowed, which is the real difference. Espadín does most of the work because it matures in a handful of years. The wild agaves behind the bottles people chase, tobalá, tepeztate, madrecuixe, take a decade or more and cannot be farmed at any useful scale, which is why those bottles are small releases at high prices.
[Mezcal](/collections/mezcal) is a shelf of its own here.
Agave spirit: the same thing, outside the lines
A bottle that says destilado de agave or simply agave spirit is usually made exactly like a mezcal, by people who are either outside the denomination's map or inside it and not certified. Certification costs money and paperwork, and a small producer may decide it is not worth either.
Raicilla is the clearest example of how arbitrary the line is. It is agave spirit from Jalisco, made for generations, and it only received a denomination of its own in 2019. Nothing about the liquid changed that year.
So an agave spirit label is a statement about paperwork and geography. It is not a downgrade, and some of the most interesting bottles on this shelf carry it.
Sotol is not an agave at all
Sotol is made from Dasylirion wheeleri, the desert spoon, a different plant entirely, and has its own denomination covering Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango. The methods look like mezcal's and the results sit comfortably beside it, but anyone telling you sotol is a kind of mezcal is wrong about the botany.
Where to start
If you already know the category, the shelves above are the quickest route. If you do not, start with the difference you can actually taste: a tequila and a mezcal made from the same agave, espadín, will still differ, because mezcal's agave is usually roasted in a pit and tequila's is steamed. That is where the smoke comes from, and it is a method rather than a flavouring.
Can a spirit be both tequila and mezcal?
Not under the current rules. The two denominations are separate, and a producer registers under one. Historically tequila was a regional mezcal, which is why the categories overlap so much in method, but today a bottle carries one name or the other.
What does agave spirit or destilado de agave mean on a label?
That the spirit sits outside a denomination of origin, either because of where it was made or because the producer is not certified. It is a statement about paperwork rather than quality. Plenty of them are made identically to a certified mezcal by the same methods and the same families.
Is sotol a mezcal?
No. Sotol comes from Dasylirion wheeleri, the desert spoon, which is not an agave. It has its own denomination covering Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango. The production methods are similar enough that it sits well beside mezcal on a shelf, but it is a different plant.
What is espadín and why is it on so many mezcal labels?
Espadín is the agave most mezcal is made from, because it matures in a handful of years and can be cultivated. The wild agaves people seek out, such as tobalá and tepeztate, take a decade or more and cannot be farmed at scale, which is why those bottles are scarce and expensive rather than simply better.
What do blanco, reposado and añejo mean?
Time in oak. Blanco is unaged or close to it. Reposado rests between two months and a year. Añejo runs from one to three years, and extra añejo beyond three. The terms are defined for tequila; mezcal uses the same words but most of the best mezcal is unaged, because the barrel competes with the agave rather than helping it.
Why does mezcal taste smoky when tequila does not?
Method, not an additive. Mezcal agave is usually roasted in a pit lined with hot rocks and covered with earth, which puts smoke into the plant before fermentation. Tequila agave is steamed in ovens or autoclaves instead. Change the cooking and the smoke goes with it, which is why some mezcal is barely smoky at all.