First things first, Mezcal is anything spirit that is made from agave; while all Tequilas are technically Mezcal, not all Mezcals are tequila. Tequila’s agave roasting process utilizes cooking processes that lack the ability to impart a smoky flavor, while anything Mezcal that isn’t tequila has agave roasted in fire pits that give Mezcal its distinctive smoky flavor. Now that is out of the way, back to Mezcal. Mezcal as a spirit can be split into two categories: Those for tourists (Americans in particular), and standard, Mexican Mezcal. Touristy Mezcals can be lower quality, as Mezcal has far less quality controls than Tequila (on that the same note, the only way you’ll find an inferior tequila is getting anything that isn’t 100% blue agave), and often have the addition of an insect larvae floating around in the bottle.
“Normal” Mezcal doesn’t try any of that; it’s just good, smoky, Mezcal, and just like tequila, come in joven (young/unaged), and reposado (mature/aged) variants. Regardless of what Mezcal you go with, there is almost always a distinctive smoky taste to it, so it can add a smoky twist to all of your favorite cocktails. Joven Mezcal, and especially Illegal Joven Mezcal, is on the mild side when it comes to smokiness and spiciness. Without the smoke overpowering everything, it’s a great starter for those that may think smokiness is a weird flavor in beverages. Try it in place of Tequila in palomas, margaritas, and the classic tequila sunrise (I’d call it a mezcal sunset). If you don’t want to go buying a whole bottle of mezcal yet, you can experience some of the Mezcal smoke in Applebee’s watermelon margarita as an add-on option, which I approve of.