Sustainability and Tradition in Mezcal Production: A Look at Hudson Valley Wine Bars

 Mexico is known as the country of agaves, or magueyes, which grow in almost every state of the country. Generally, plants of the genus Agave are monocotyledonous, identified by their rosette structure and long life span, and have ground-level basal shoots or aerial bulbils with reproduction that can be sexual by seed or propagated vegetatively. All Agave species are native to the American continent, and the central region of Mexico is considered the centre of origin for this segment.

Day by day, the word "mezcal" has evolved from a generic name to a more specific word used to describe the distilled beverages produced under the official Mexican standard by the DOM. This definition states mezcal as a "Mexican distilled alcoholic beverage, obtained by distillation of fermented juices with cultivated microorganisms, 100% from maguey or agave. Those plants for beverages are extracted from mature heads of maguey or cooked agaves, harvested in the territory covered by the DOM.

Mezcal is a traditional and iconic Mexican distilled beverage made from varied species of agave. The production process always consists of five stages, like harvesting the agaves, cooking, crushing, fermentation, and distillation. The total production is concentrated in a large area of the country, for mezcal, a large part of which is protected by the Denomination of Origin.

The plants belong to the Mexican culture and, since ancient times, have been used for multiple purposes, like as a source of food, construction material, living fences, medicine, drink, fibres, vinegar, and ornaments, among others. What remains mainly today is their use in the elaboration of beverages, whether they are distilled or not. Agaves are extremely beneficial to our health because they contain a glucose molecule as well as a high content of reserve sugars, fructans, which are highly branched polymers of fructose. 

There are several important aspects of mezcal production, not only highlighting some particularities specific to certain production areas but also addressing the problem of the official standard. On the sustainability of artisanal processes, a broad discussion is presented  and the main points to be taken care of in this framework. From the perspective of the design some elements considered fundamental  of a sustainable artisanal distillery are described.  

In the last 10 years, official production has increased from 1 million litres to almost 8 million litres today. This substantial increase in production puts a lot of pressure on resources, as part of the production is obtained from wild agave, a particular raw material. By increasing production through modernised production processes, it exposes tradition to risk, sacrificing the artisanal aspect of this production in the process. In the above context of great tradition and growing market demand, some people consider it appropriate to address the issue of sustainability.

Aroma Thyme Bistro, the Hudson Valley wine bar, offers fine mescal for you. This blog is to examine and revisit the current state of mezcal production, how sustainability may be addressed in a very artisanal process, and what are the challenges of the production chain to satisfy a growing demand without sacrificing the tradition and culture related to this iconic Mexican beverage.