01/03/2020
Oaxaca the epicenter of mezcal production and a brightly painted and intense city of amazing energy and exuberance. Its people, and culture are infectious and if you spend a few days there you often are planning your next trip before you even leave.
To be called mezcal, the spirit must be made in one of nine Mexican states: Durango, Guerrero, Guanajuato, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas. Due to recent DO alignments other agave spirits outside these states can not label themselves mezcal. This is highly contested and an ongoing debate. While increasing popularity of the category has lead to some needed regulations, some of these regulations and imaginary lines in the sand, leave out producers who have been making agave spirits in this style well before any gr**go was drinking mezcal. All arguments aside on labels the agave spirits of central and southern Mexico made in the “mezcal” style is a rabbit hole of deliciousness and delight.