Tequila's "poor cousin" is increasingly popular and is supplanting the noblest spirit not only in Mexico but in bars around the world.
Its name derives, according to the most accredited version, from the union of two ancient words in the Nahuati language, of Aztec origin: metl, which means agave, and ixcalli, oven.
And in the homeland of mezcal, the state of
Oaxaca
, in central Mexico, producers are on the alert.
"I believe that this excessive demand coming from national and international markets has consequences - explains
Sosima Olivera
, who produces mezcal at Tres Colibries (Three Hummingbirds) in Villa Sola de Vega, in the state of Oaxaca -. If more plants are requested, of course. there is
more exploitation of the territory
, landscapes, biodiversity, water, firewood. Basically, everything becomes working for a mere economic interest ".
The watchword, among the products of central Mexico, is tradition: to preserve the teachings of fathers and grandfathers, to pass on the traditional method, which only involves the use of only the central part of the agave known as espadin.
At Tres Colibries the mezcal, which has always been associated with a 'macho' idea of both production and, above all, consumption, speaks instead in the feminine.
In fact, Sosima is not the only woman to work the Tobala agave, she is the one who selects the most valid 'pine cones'.
While the heavier and heavier work of smoking is still reserved for men, women are at the forefront of selection and control.
You worry, more than your male colleagues, about where the mezcal and its tradition will go.
"Our concern for the future - says producer Graciela Angeles - is what will happen to the biological diversity that underlies the world of mezcal: very little effort is made to conserve these agave species. The aggravating factor is that they are plants with a period of time. very long vegetative period and consequently the production rates cannot be accelerated. "The agave destined for mezcal, in fact, is cut and processed only between six and eight years of life." The question and our main concern is: what will happen? ", concludes Graciela.