What IS Mezcal? | Everything You Need to Know!

[@JustinLaFleur1990]

My introduction to Mezcal was a sad one. I was at a wake for a dearly departed friend and we toasted his memory to a bottle of really expensive Mezcal. But once I tasted that spirit I fell in love with it. I love the sweet smokey and earthy flavor it has.

[@averywalden5204]

One of my favorite things with mezcals is the burn, the reason for the burn is a reaction in the throat that makes the body respond to heat as if it was hot. I forgot the exact thing but it's still nifty to know why it happens 🙌

[@RedPillVegan]

Agave spirits are underrated - and they filled the liquor stores with celeb brands, and theres only a handful of decent artisan bottles in my area on shelves

[@Lui_Fern]

Yes and yes! You are spot on.

[@SavAJ23]

No hate but id like to know how a vegan could be red pilled?

[@averywalden5204]

One thing I'm always looking at is who bought it and imported it. Most celebs just buy someone else's and rebrand it which is ass.
One of the big things I'm looking for is bottles marked only as mezcal cause they are still probably making amazing quality products but aren't trying to keep up on the scrutinous requirements to be labeled as tequila. Where I'm at they're kind of far and few between but it's still something I'm keeping an eye out for.
Idk if it's his videos or someone else's that goes over the fact that mezcal it's one of the most complex unaltered spirits there is. After a year of trying like 50 different brands I still haven't found one that's the exact same.
"All tequila is mezcal, not all mezcal is tequila"

[@FrostXFire]

​@Lui Fernandes
Another great vid, Luis!
As a plus for Vida (since I see some concerns about it from the comments here), Del Maguey (while being made by a company now partially owned by Perod) holds a special place in my heart because they were the first Mezcal I ever had at a tiny bar in El Paso. They were (to my knowledge) the first real company to ever import and promote Mezcal here in the US back in the 90s, leading to the big rise in the 2010s for agave spirits that we're riding high in today!
Us Americans really would not have nearly the love or knowledge of Mezcal we have today if it weren't for the efforts of Ron Cooper and Del Maguey.
As well, they continue to only use their Single-Village series with twelve families in Oaxaca and Puebla, four of whom have been with Del Maguey and Mr. Cooper since the company founding back in '95.
If you're looking for some higher-end offerings in the Mezcal world, I usually recommend Mal Bien, El Jolgorio, Rey Campero, and
Para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien, también!

[@Lui_Fern]

Yes!!! Thank you so much for sharing. I loved reading it. And yeah that's exactly what I wanted to get across in this video with the Vida. If it weren't for Ron Cooper and Del Maguey maybe Mezcal wouldn't be as big.
I've been dying to try their single village offerings. I definitely need to get me hands on the ones you mentioned!
Thank you for the other recommendations as well as your insight! Always appreciated 😊
Salud amigo! 😁🙏

[@brianpage6932]

I was going to ask some mezcal questions on your other video but this one answered them, great video, I'm learning so much. Sometimes it's nicer to listen then read too. Appreciate this

[@Lui_Fern]

Happy you enjoyed this one 😁😁🙏 always happy to help and share the little that i know

[@RodneyHenderson357]

Do an episode of Mezcals to stay away from or those with additives.

[@kirklanbryson1044]

Vida was also my first bottle of Mezcal and I’ve fallen in love with Mezcal as a result. Now my favorite cocktail is the Oaxaca Old Fashion. Cheers!

[@Lui_Fern]

Oh wow! Glad you fell in love with it as well. I'm such a fan of Mezcal and i also adore Oaxacan Old Fashioned as well!

[@TheSpiritoftheCocktail]

Oaxaca old fashioned is one ive never tried. That sounds awesome!!!

[@Lui_Fern]

@@TheSpiritoftheCocktail it's such a classic tequila + Mezcal cocktail!! You gotta try it Tim. I even have a video on my channel on how to make one!

[@TheSpiritoftheCocktail]

@@Lui_Fern I'm on it!!!!

[@TheMDJ2000]

I came to mezcal from Islay whisky. I wasn’t disappointed.

[@Lui_Fern]

Pretty seamless transition!

[@soylapopis]

Great video, thank you for sharing your passion. I have fallen in love with Mezcal, it’s history and labor of love.

[@Lui_Fern]

Thank you for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed it haha it is always my pleasure to share these kinds of videos

[@ClaudeDiamond]

Total respect for the intensive information-Gracias

[@Lui_Fern]

You're welcome! 😁🙏

[@franciscodiazjr6294]

I honestly can't drink tequila, after i drank wayyy too much in Cancun, but I've tried mezcal and truly like it.. i haven't had it in a few months, but I'll surely buy a bottle on my Next visit to the liquor store

[@Lui_Fern]

Yes! Mezcal is incredible. Definitely drink more of it

[@tacosmademedoit364]

Glad you didn’t use the tequilero cups this time. With the larger cups, veladoras or copitas you’re able to smell the agave and not so much the alcohol.

[@Lui_Fern]

Yeah that's a good point!

[@TheSpiritoftheCocktail]

LUI!!!! Another great video!!! Thanks for really educating me about Mezcal. It's becoming one of my fav spirits!!! I'm on my 3rd bottle already!!! Those Mezcal negroni's don't make themselves!!! CHEERS!!!!!!!

[@Lui_Fern]

Yes! Love it Tim haha glad I've been able to help you out on this journey!

[@RedPillVegan]

Man hope you’ll crank out some more brand/or bottle reviews of your favorite tequilas and mezcals.

[@johnnytactical3054]

My experience with Mezcal is with Alipus San Miguel. On the nose it has leather, band aids, horse manure. Taste was diesel, mouthfeel was oily. Very interesting.

[@Lui_Fern]

It can definitely vary quite a lot. I've never heard of that mezcal myself but it sounds interesting!

[@TheSpiritoftheCocktail]

@@Lui_Fern Exactly!!!!

[@tomatillo17]

Que chingon promotion que haces a Este product 👍😎

[@cocktailswithlele4042]

Great video! Mezcal is my fav spirit!

[@Lui_Fern]

Thank you friend! And glad we think alike hahaha 😁😊🙌

[@carsonhc305]

Lui, I like Del Maguay mezcal a lot, but only with lime juice and agave syrup (with Tajin on the rim). It's so strongly flavored that it's useless to mix it with other liquors in a cocktail because all I'll taste is the mezcal.

[@kieranshevlin5034]

Thanks for the quality video, you're great at explaining stuff

[@Lui_Fern]

Thank you my friend! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😁 and learned something from it!

[@NomadOverNormal]

dude loving your videos!!! Subbed and a fan.

[@Lui_Fern]

Thank you friend! I'm happy you enjoy them 😁

[@StevenAbbott]

I have been ordering Tequila and Mezcal from Old Town Tequila for years. Many Mezcals that you would never get to try.

[@willtachi101]

Nice video! Very informative. 👍👍

[@Lui_Fern]

Thank you friend!! I'm glad you enjoyed it! 😁😁

[@cachano7]

Make a video about teswuino another drink made out of corn it's a kind of beer !! The best!!

[@Lui_Fern]

Okay! I can't promise that I will but I definitely will look into it!

[@MezcalBuzz]

Great, thanks for sharing!

[@Lui_Fern]

Thanks for watching!

[@MezcalBuzz]

@@Lui_Fern Mezcal? You got it! 👍

[@mezcaltalk4354]

nice vid!

[@Lui_Fern]

Thank you friend! I'm glad you enjoyed it 😁

[@maxgrenett5619]

Mezcal is my favorite spirit

[@Lui_Fern]

Yes Max!! Love it man haha glad we think alike!

[@TheSpiritoftheCocktail]

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! First in!!!!

[@Lui_Fern]

Can always count on you Tim! 😊😁

[@jameslopez958]

When I Started Drinking Mescal! The Bartender In Mexico Told Me It's For The Poor People! This Was In The 80's It Was Always Less Expensive Than Tequila 🤔👍🙏❤️

[@SirBrass]

Purely due to marketing I think.

[@wking8]

I fell in love with mezcal in Mexico but cannot find anything that matches the flavor in the states. The bottle I brought back was El Famoso. Have you tried it or know anything that's similar?

[@Lui_Fern]

So I've never had El famoso but my recommendations are Del Maguey and Los Vecinos del Campo.

[@b0ssbeerreviews83]

In Oaxaca my friends all swear there was Mezcal made way before the Spanish came

[@Lui_Fern]

So that's something that's been debated a lot. And maybe i shouldn't have said it so matter of factly. Lots of people claim that so it is disputed that there was distillation prior to the Spanish

[@johntabor2619]

Worm salt, shot, then a orange slice or a squirt soda

[@Ivan-bj3rv]

I picked up a couple bottles of vecinos tobala a while back but have not tried it yet. I am barely getting into mezcal. Have you had their tobala? And if so how does it compare to other top mezcales?

[@bonecc4061]

I went to Mexico and went mezcal tasting and there was a bottle with a scorpion in it and it was the best tasting mezcal I ever had and now I can’t find it. Not even online

[@googleuser3007]

I purchased a bottle is Casa Migo Mezcal. It was just odd.interesting bottle but the flavor was way too much. BTW: Scoping out the wine behind you-Montes Alpha Cab and Purple Angel. Some of the best Chilean wines!

[@Lui_Fern]

The purple angel is one of my favorite bottles of wine ever. We had a bottle when my fiance and I got engaged

[@duckyguy1147]

Ur Spanish accent is so sweet.

[@Lui_Fern]

Thank you 😁😂

[@BasicBeachCommunity1]

Yeah you explained it but you said mixing three types of tequilas but it's actually three types of agave plants right I mean why would they make the other tequilas and just mix them

[@elle8062]

Is "los vecinos del campo mezcal tobala" any good ?
There's not that much of information about this mezcal
Please let me know man

[@babiskissanis2367]

I wish my uni lecturers were are interesting and passionate as you

[@Lui_Fern]

Hahahaha thank you!! I really appreciate that 😁 I'm glad you think I'm interesting!

[@babiskissanis2367]

@@Lui_Fern your subject is interesting in itself but you seem so passionate about it I could listen to you talk about paint slowly drying in a wall..

[@Lui_Fern]

@@babiskissanis2367 well thank you very much. I really am passionate about south and latin American spirits.

[@franciscodiazjr6294]

Is mezcal ever mixed with anything? Or always straight up?

[@Lui_Fern]

There are lots of Mezcal cocktails out there! I have made quite a few videos on Mezcal cocktails actually

[@rye2dawg]

First batch of mezcal was created by the Filipino immigrants during the Spanish galleon trade.

[@Lui_Fern]

Interesting! Never heard that before. Thank you

[@almageist]

There are a lot of competing theories about when mezcal got it start including the Filipino theory. That being said any combination of those theories could be correct including that the Pre-hispanics were distilling prior to the arrival of the Spanish. We just don't know. I personally think there could have been multiple traditions that started independently .

[@AngryCocktails]

I used to describe mezcal as "like drinking from an ashtray - but nice"

[@Lui_Fern]

Thats a good way to put it 😂😂 i like that!

[@jjmboston5832]

lol a dirty ashtray?

[@kbrooks6317]

Vida I didn't care for it it a was different than what I have had in other mazcal

[@lbabytutorials4852]

Make some Dos Hombres drinks

[@Lui_Fern]

Oh i should refer you to my video on that Mezcal brand 😂😁

[@lbabytutorials4852]

@@Lui_Fern dos hombres I got a bottle from Aaron Paul & Bryan Cranston but idk what drinks to make with it

[@danigomb]

first sip of mezcal- bljak! Horrible smoky sweetness. I still dont take another one- not my cup of tequila

[@officialhuskyharris]

Mezcal gives you a worse hangover than Tequila. Has a stronger burn also. It was the poor man's Tequila back in the day, that's why it can be made out of different plants (compared to tequila). That's what you came to this video for.

[@Lui_Fern]

Not necessarily. Tequila is a version of mezcal. Tequilas original name was Mezcal de Tequila and not all Mezcal has a harsher burn. They aren't "different plants" they are different species of the same plant. The agave plant.

[@dfmzfr]

You lost me at the bottle of Vida. True mezcal is made by independent, Mexican producers, not by foreign-owned big alcohol.

[@Lui_Fern]

So the reason I went with Vida is because it's the bottle that is most widely available as not everywhere in the U.S has access to the artesanal Mezcals. I also do talk about other Mezcals I have at my bar. But I'm sorry i lost ya

[@JCbeMe]

It's a tough one. Supporting local producers over large cooperate entities is always preferred - financially backing the product's authentic origins. But big alcohol have the means to distribute Mezcal at an affordable price all over the world - allowing access for the less wealthy. I don't want Mezcal to become an elitist drink only afforded by the wealthy or well connected. But at the same time I don't want the tradition exploited and destroyed by foreign opportunists. Some form of balance is needed.

[@asmith8898]

This guy only speaks the language... he isn't actually apart the roots.

[@jjmboston5832]

Good vid. Still haven't tried Mezcal. I think I remember our catechism teacher teaching us that story about the "poor little Agave plant being struck by lightening....." LOL

[@Lui_Fern]

Thank you my friend! Glad you enjoyed it. And wow haha that's funny that they taught you that in Catechism. 😊
Definitely should try some mezcal! It's so good