Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Mezcal |
MezcalNoun1. A small spineless globe-shaped cactus; source of mescal buttons. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
"Mezcal" is a common misspelling or typo for: mescal. |
Synonyms: MezcalSynonyms: mescal (n), peyote (n). (additional references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Mezcal is made from the heart of the agave plant. After the agave matures (6-8 years) it is harvested and the leaves are chopped off, leaving only the large hearts, or 'piñas' (Spanish for pineapple). The piña is then cooked and then crushed, producing a mash.
Traditionally, the piñas were baked in palenques, large (8-12 ft diameter) rock-lined conical pits in the ground. The pits were lined with hot rocks, then agave leaves, petate (palm fiber mats), and earth. The piñas are allowed to cook in the pit for three to five days. This lets them absorb flavors from the earth and wood smoke.
After the cooking, the piñas are rested for a week, and then placed in a ring of stone or concrete of about 12 ft diameter, where a large stone wheel attached to a post in the middle is rolled around, crushing the piñas.
Modern makers usually cook the piñas in huge stainless steel ovens and then crush them with mechanical crushers.
The mash is then placed in large, 300-500 gallon wooden vats and 5%-10% water is added to the mix. The mash (tepache) is covered with petate and is left to naturally ferment with its own yeasts and microbes for four to thirty days.
To the resulting mash, cane and corn sugars, as well as some chemical yeasts, may be added. The government only requires that 51% of this mix be from agave. The resulting mix is then fermented for a couple of days in large stainless steel vats.
After the fermentation stage is done, the mash is double-distilled. The first distillation yields ordinary low-grade alcohol. After the first distillation, the fibers are removed from the still and the resulting alcohol from the first distillation added back into the still. This mixture is distilled once again. Sometimes, water is then added to the mix to reduce the proof down to 80. At this point the mezcal may be bottled or aged.
Mezcal ages quite rapidly in comparison to other spirits. It is aged in large wooden barrels for 2 months to 7 years. During this time the mezcal acquires a golden color, and its flavor is influenced by the wooden barrels. The longer it is aged, the darker the color and more noticeable the flavor.
Age classifications:
The worm in the mezcal bottle is a marketing gimmick. The worm is the agave worm. The originator of this practice was a man named Jacobo Lozano Páez. In 1940, while tasting prepared agave, he and his partner found that the worm changed the taste of the agave. (Agave worms are sometimes found in the piña after harvesting, a sign of badly chosen, infested, agave). Contrary to public belief tequila is, by law, not allowed to contain the worm. Some brands associated with containing the worm are 'Gusano de Oro', 'Gusano Rojo', and 'Dos Gusanos'.Production
The worm
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Mezcal."
| Domain | Usage | |
Movie/TV Titles | Su mezcal De Tequila (1949) Tequila y mezcal (2000) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
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Books |
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Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
mezcal | 89 |
brother mezcal | 4 |
mezcal tequila | 4 |
mezcal worm | 3 |
alban mezcal monte | 3 |
el mezcal zacatecano | 2 |
botella mezcal | 2 |
el mezcal | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "mezcal": mezcals. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-e-l-m-z" | |
-1 letter: camel, macle. | |
-2 letters: acme, alec, alme, calm, came, clam, lace, lame, laze, mace, male, maze, meal, zeal. | |
-3 letters: ace, ale, cam, cel, elm, lac, lam, lea, lez, mac, mae, mel. | |
-4 letters: ae, al, am, el, em, la, ma, me. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-e-l-m-z" | |
+1 letter: mezcals. | |
+3 letters: alchemize, schmalzes. | |
+4 letters: alchemized, alchemizes, caramelize, decimalize, musicalize, schmaltzes, schmalzier. | |
+5 letters: acclimatize, alchemizing, caramelized, caramelizes, communalize, criminalize, decimalized, decimalizes, enzymically, masculinize, musicalized, musicalizes, schmaltzier, schmalziest. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)4D 65 7A 63 61 6C |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references)-- . --.. -.-. .- .-.. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01001101 01100101 01111010 01100011 01100001 01101100 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)M e z c a l |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)004D 0065 007A 0063 0061 006C |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)477192696778 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Usage: Modern 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Expressions: Internet 7. Derivations 8. Anagrams | 9. Orthography 10. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
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