How mezcal is made
The smoky taste comes from roasting the agave hearts for about three days in an earthen pit full of hot rocks.
- stations
- 6
- things upstream
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- raw sources
- 12
- steps from the ground
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The short version
Mezcal is a spirit distilled from any type of agave. The plant takes seven to fifteen years to mature, then the heart is cut out and cooked for about three days, often in a pit oven with hot rocks. It is crushed, fermented in vats and distilled twice in clay or copper pots.
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Cut out the agave heart
A mezcal agave takes between seven and fifteen years to mature. Workers cut off the leaves and roots to leave the piña, or heart, which can weigh about 40 kilograms.
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Roast in an earth pit
The piñas are cooked for about three days, often in earthen mounds over pits of hot rocks. That underground roasting gives mezcal its intense smoky flavor.
about 3 days
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Crush the cooked hearts
The softened piñas are crushed and mashed, traditionally by a stone wheel turned by a horse.
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Ferment in open vats
The mash ferments in large vats or barrels, and the liquid is collected. Traditional rules for artisanal mezcal allow animal skins, stone, clay or wooden tanks.
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Distill in clay or copper
The liquid is distilled twice in clay or copper pots, which further shape the flavor. Mezcal can reach an alcohol content of 55 percent.
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Bottle young or age it
Unaged mezcal is called joven. Some is aged in barrels from one month to four years, and a little as long as 12 years.
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Worth repeating
- Mezcal does not contain mescaline or any other psychedelic substance despite the similar name.
- The distilling technology came with Filipino sailors and migrants during the Manila galleon trade between 1565 and 1815.
- Some traditional mezcales de pechuga include fruit, meat or herbs in the second or third distillation.
Back to the ground
Follow every input upstream and mezcal starts as these 12 raw sources.
Open the whole family tree
Keep walking
Sources
Cite this page: "How mezcal is made." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/mezcal