A Margarita Menace
When it comes to the preservation of biodiversity and natural resources, exotic localities like the Amazon rainforest or the Great Barrier Reef have long enjoyed the majority of attention from the media and the public. But consumption patterns and the never-ending search for ever-cheaper production methods have had their fair share of environmental impacts in unlikely places — and remain largely hidden from their respective end users. A venture into the world of Mexican spirits.
What’s happening?
The landscape of spirits is attributed to an ever-changing dynamic since the first ever cocktail was presented to an appreciator of liquors in the mid-18th century New Orleans (the drink of choice was a glass of “Sazerac”, a mixture of cognac or whisky, sugar, water and bitters). The latest “injection of change” comes from the curve of Mexico’s tail, where a distinctive mix of biological, linguistic and cultural diversity has transformed itself into the focal point for the production of a suddenly most sought-after, agave-based spirit: Mezcal.
It is likely that the spirit and cocktail pundits among us have long been aware of this change — Negronis have turned into “Smoky” Negronis, Moscow Mules became Mezcal Mules. In America, the main importer of Mezcal, the spirit has surpassed the consumption of whiskey and vodka, whilst the worldwide market for the alcohol is expected to have doubled by 2027. Whilst, in Mexico, Mezcal — considered a “drink from the gods” originating from the sacred agave plant and whose brewing and distillation predates the Spanish colonization — has always been reserved for the celebration of special occasions, it was all but the spirit of choice elsewhere — on the contrary: it was seen as the lower class’s access to Mexico’s world of liquor. What was therefore a healthy balance between supply and demand is now in peril, where the once arboraceous mountain regions of Oaxaca have turned into a monotonous, blue-green landscape and agave farmers struggle to level a necessary increase in production with its environmental impact. A problem that remains hidden from most consumers.
Give me the lowdown
To get a grasp of the toll that the production of Mezcal is having on Mexico’s environment and biodiversity, a few details on what Mezcal actually is, seem helpful. Mezcal defines itself as a family of spirits distilled from the heart — the “Piña” — of the agave plant. Once “Mezcaleros” (Mezcal producers) have removed the leaves from the plant during harvest, they proceed by roasting the agave “Piña” over an open fire pit (giving the end distillate its smoky flavor — as opposed to Tequila, a “subset” of the Mezcal family, which is obtained by steaming the “Piñas”), crush it and ferment its fibers with yeast. It is then the fermented fiber “juice” that gets distilled and ends up in a bottle labelled with “Mezcal”. One differentiates between types of Mezcal based on the sophistication of their production process (“Standard” Mezcal is produced with modern equipment and tools, Mezcal “Artesenal” is produced by distilleries with less advanced processes and Mezcal “Ancestral” relies on hand mallets, Egyptian mills, horses and the like) and whether or not the Mezcal has been aged(whereby we either categorise it as Mezcal “Blanco”, which involves no ageing, Mezcal “Reposado” for ageing durations between one and twelve months or Mezcal “Añejo”, where ageing of more than twelve months is required).
The process of “obtaining” Mezcal does not seem to exhibit any inherent flaws at first — but a glimpse into the details reveals a breadth of issues.
On one hand, more than 40 out of the 200+ existing wild species of agave can be used to distil a spirit labelled as “Mezcal”, with the most distinctive factor being their respective growing times to maturity. “Tepeztate” agave, for instance, takes up to 25 years to be fully grown, whereas “Espadín” merely takes six to eight years. In a situation where the supply of agave needs to satisfy unprecedented demand for Mezcal, farmers must rely on the “quick turnaround” of Espadín agaves, which — in combination with generally low germination rates — does not only lead to monoculture and the increased use of pesticides across the arid valleys of Oaxaca and beyond, but also to the depletion of agave stocks due to overharvesting and to a “gap” in the genetic diversity of wild agave species, on which pollinators rely for their nectar, farmers for their robustness against infestations, topsoil for its anchoring or nutrients for cycling within the local ecosystem.
On the other hand, the production of Mezcal is not only found to be resource-intensive, but also yields a significant amount of dangerous waste. The roasting of the agave hearts, for instance, relies on the cutting of trees for firewood from nearby, mostly depleted forests, affecting rainfall patterns, habitats for local wildlife and soil composure. At the same time, the production of a single bottle of Mezcal generates about ten times the volume in liquid waste (“Viñaza”) and about 30 times the volume in spent agave fibers (“Bagazo”). With both Viñaza and Bagazo being highly acidic and low in oxygen, the often-unsafe storage methods employed by the Mezcaleros in their “Palenques” (Mezcal distilleries) lead to toxins reaching groundwater systems or nearby streams, affecting groundwater pH, drinking suitability and the supportability for aquatic life.
And whilst a crackdown through local laws and regulations would be the obvious first step, adherence to already-established standards of sustainability in the management of resources and waste during the production of Mezcal is sparse at best, and the enforcement of such more or less absent.
What does that mean?
An engagement with the complexities of Mezcal sees both sides — producers and consumers — confronted with the very familiar consequences of a rapid increase in demand without production infrastructure, processes and resources being able to cater for it. As with many other goods that take a toll — whether directly or indirectly — on humanity beyond the wallet, the wallet is usually a good starting point for consumers to get accustomed to the impact of their choices. By choosing to work with, distribute and being consumers of Mezcaleros that choose sustainable and innovative methods to maintain the beauty of Mezcal production in harmony with the environment, not only are we able to change the direction of the Mezcal industry beyond consumer education, but also are we able to de-commoditize a cultural treasure and set a sufficiently high and meaningful baselinefor the price of Mezcal.
When referring to innovative methods of cultivating the spirit of Mezcal, the possibilities are near endless. The Tosbal and Montelobos Palenques, for instance, replace virgin wood for roasting its agave hearts withdriftwood from the local river, whereas Banhez Mezcal grow and harvest their own wood to preventdeforestation trends. Similarly, for waste management practices, Viñaza can be concentrated and re-used as fertilizer, and Bagazo repurposed as solid adobe bricks for construction efforts or biofuel. Even the consideration of a diversity-focused cultivation of agave has been brought up, with the idea of enabling producers to not only grow sustainably, but also project future harvests and limit their intervention in a functioning ecosystem.
What remains for the consumers and the enjoyers of the smoky, rich spirit is a judgement call at the point of purchase — transparency on the bottle’s label is a start, whereby more information tends to indicate a greater dedication towards sustainable production processes, whilst evidence of the types of agave used and the respective regions in which the Mezcal was produced gives an idea on the level of dedication towards a mindful cultivation of the liquor. Ultimately, a big part of the excitement that comes with engaging with the world of spirits is the exploratory aspect of it — discovering Mezcals made from different regions and different types of agaves forms the beauty of an alcoholic spirit in all its shapes, forms and taste notes. Is it therefore too farfetched to integrate a slightly sustainable mindset when next sipping on Mezcal? Cheers!
