What Mezcal Producers Are Worried About

foreign [Music] this is to prepare for the drinking yeah first Comer then mezcal Oaxaca it's Mexico's gastronomic capital you want good food this is where you come okay I'm full to drink now now we can drink yeah but when I really came to Oaxaca for is mezcal salud I'm just surprised I'm keeping it this this together Ulysses torrentera is the master of Mezcal and my guide inside this fascinating world tour and Terra owns in situ both a brand of traditional mezcals and a bar in Oaxaca that serves them is the tequilas ion both spirits come from Agave but while tequila must be made from the Blue Agave Mezcal can come from more than 40 species of the plant and is typically cooked in Wood-Fired pits giving it that Earthen Smoky flavor they're all so different the next morning surprisingly not hungover I drove out to meet with Gonzalo Martinez who says all that delicious stuff I drank the night before is made up of more than just agave and water gracias is each patch Martinez makes is a reflection of the generations that came before him which is why he's a fierce defender of the old way of doing things once harvested the hearts of the Agave plants called Pinas are cooked in a pit in the ground for about a week after the Agave is cooked in most places it's typically crushed by a horse or a mule with a heavy Millstone and the resulting pulp is then fermented for several days [Applause] Sabor low [Applause] oh it's good it's sweet how did you stop that how do you fight against it for Casino is [Music] the sudden boom in the spirit's popularity has many in the world of Mezcal worried that its mass production could lead to its destruction Los tanzantes one of the larger artisanal Mezcal Brands who exports to the US is teaming up with a local University to find new ways to grow wild Agaves which have trouble reproducing naturally and could be in danger of extinction why does the industry need something like this to be able to bring information back to the industry and to share it so we can provide mezcals for the future it seems like there's so many different challenges to to Growing agave in Oaxaca and mezcal is booming they are taking the Forest down so they can plant Agave but at the same time they are they are not letting the forest to recover because there's going to be a lot of erosion and degradation of the of the soil should people stop drinking Moscow no I think Mescal needs to be a luxury product for the people who can really consciously understand and drink the spirit of this plant [Music] Maestro mescaleros like Martinez are doing everything they can to prevent Mezcal from becoming just another bottle on the Shelf is you know Amigos oh that's so good mm-hmm

Channel: VICE News

Views: 257,164

Keywords: VICE News, VICE News Tonight, VICE on HBO, news, vice video, VICE on SHOWTIME, vice news 2023, mezcal, alcohol, mezcal farm, mezcal production, mezcal 2023, mezcal news, vice news mezcal, counter space, counter space mezcal, algave, algave farm, algave extinct, algave mezcal, mexico, mezcal mexico, tequila, mexico alcohol, mexican drinks, mexican liquor, mexican spirits, spirits, alcohol distillery, alcohol news, mexico news

Id: d-Dkm_-1uaY

Length: 6min 28sec (388 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 16 2023