Mezcal Is The Fastest-Growing Liquor In The US. Why Aren't Mexican Producers Cashing In?

Making mezcal is really hard work. Mexican producers harvest agave by hand and cook it in giant, earthen ovens. Then they crush it using a 1,000-pound, horse-drawn stone and distill it in copper pots. Despite all this effort, Mexican producers aren’t making the big bucks, even though demand for the spirit is booming.

While Mexican regulations do require mezcal to be made in Mexico, that hasn't stopped large, international companies from scooping up mezcal supplies, repackaging, and reselling bottles for huge profits abroad. And the only organization that can stand in the way, the mezcal certifying agency COMERCAM, has faced claims of favoritism of these large companies. This has left some century-old mezcal brands frustrated and fearful that their ancestral ways of making mezcal are at risk. So, there's a growing trend of brands leaving the certified industry and choosing to call their brands "distilled agave" instead of mezcal.

Special thanks to Casa Mezcal:

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Mezcal Is The Fastest-Growing Liquor In The US. Why Aren't Mexican Producers Cashing In?

[RochelleHasTooManyHobbies]

As a scientist, I was SO impressed to hear that she starts every agave plant from seed. That is disgustingly rare in modern agriculture, and the reason why mainstream bananas are dying right now.

When you start a plant from cuttings, it is a clone. There is no chance for the plant to evolve, and they MUST evolve to keep up with diseases affecting them which evolve. And over the years, it also reduces genetic diversity of a crop, making it even more susceptible to disease.

Kudos to her. I'll buy her mezcal before anyone else's.

[jasonhernandez]

I’m currently in my parents home town in Oaxaca and we grow our own agave here. I wouldn’t say it’s made everyone rich but I can see that all of us here in this village are happy. We all own houses and don’t struggle from a day to day bases. No rent and no actual bills. Money isn’t all that important to the people. It’s the laid back lifestyle of being able to say what you own, is truly yours.

[Spirit]

The small producers should unite and form their own Mezcal federation.

[desireec]

i work at a bar here in houston and i’ll be letting the owner know (an irish guy who looooves mezcal) to buy her mezcal. i have to try it. and the fact the agave is grown from SEED! sooo impressive.

[Nico-lnge]

Seems like a traditional story of a booming product in a Latino country
1. The product gets popular
2. The government gets involved in order to make it "official" which works fine the first two years and then gets totally corrupt
3. The people lose their government support and become poorer than before
4. Outside country gets involved and do "business" with locals
5. The outside country gets richer and the local producers stay the same or even more poorer
6. The products ends up dying or losing his original formula.
Pretty standard imo

[ShikiKaze]

She's a Savage. "Any clown can call it Mezcal". Love it, and so true.

[stryfe]

good reportage, as an mexican i am very sad about how the whole lincenses and certifications work today. the mezcaleros deserve way better payment and recognition

[makukawakami]

I'm on the farmer's side here. I've had repackaged mezcal and it's like a warm embrace from a lover. I want the farmers to actually have the profits and keep this beautiful tradition alive.

[grandepiano]

I love that each fraction of the distilling process, the head, body, tail all have their uses, even the parts not used for drinking. Nothing goes to waste, a clean process.

[erroneous]

I’m not a hard alcohol guy generally. But the best liquor I ever had was corn liquor (moonshine) from an old man back in the hills of the ozarks. Probably 120-140 proof but smooth with a clean finish. I’m glad people are keeping the old tradition methods alive. Machines can’t capture the subtlety that craft produced spirits have.

[homiedaclown]

The fact that Edgar and other distillers can tell what day the agave will be distilled just by tasting it is impressive in its own right

[VeloVasquez]

It's such an art. Sad to see it being ruined by the bureaucracy and corruption. Como todo en mi Mexico lindo.

[GuamanianBlood]

I love people that work hard work with their hands and are proud of what they produce 💪🏽

[byrond]

It would have been nice if the author of this video included the names and links to the Mexican owned producers for people to buy and support their products.

[aibanes]

Amazing work you guys did here, it has been sad to see how international brands are taking mezcal and selling it for a lot of money, in the past four years we have seen how a bottle of mezcal went from 10usd to 20-25usd and some are no longer real Mexican brands. Oaxaca is very well know for good artisanal mezcal, great place to visit

[woozworldbabe]

i work at a tequila bar in new orleans, mezcal is soarinngggg people come in wanting the most unique spirit straight from mexico itself, and pay $12-$17 a shot for it… these workers should be getting way more for their efforts

[Eralen]

i don't really drink but the way they make this is so beautiful. Planting from seeds, milling it in a mule powered stone mill, i love it! You can tell they have respect for the land and for the tradition. a million times better than big factories where everything is made of stainless steel and white concrete that get their ingredients on big freight ships from all over the world. Its a shame this type of local production is so rare nowadays. If anyone asks me what mezcal to buy i'll say REAL MINERO

[Astrotamtv]

im so glad you made this about small mezcal producers and not the big corpo ones.

[rafaelperalta]

I hope BI continues to produce more content like this to shed light on some issues unknown to some or even most of us.

[Soapartisan]

I love to see a woman distiller and her wealth of knowledge . She and all of her staff are true master artisans. Their knowledge, skills and experience is priceless . She kept her brand true to self she should be extremely proud of her heritage and hard work .