Protected Designations of Origin for Mezcal and Tequila

The Denominación de Orígen Mezcal or Tequila etc. is a Protected Designation of Origin, which works similar to a protected trademark and is owned by the -in this case Mexican- state. This means that only products that meet the rules of the DO may carry the name of a product under protection of a DO. In Germany, for example, Allgäuer Bergkäse. Spreewälder Gurke, on the other hand, is only a Protected Geographical Indication. DOs are concepts of a European mindset and seek to preserve and convey authenticity in a world of dwindling cultural identities. Used correctly, DOs can create sustainability in manufacturing culture and quality, economics, and environmental protection. The opposite case can be expected if used incorrectly. In any case, of course, they are also marketing tools.

The DO Tequila was the first outside Europe. Under the free trade agreement between Mexico and the EU, there is mutual recognition of all Protected Designations of Origin. All bottles protected by a DO carry a NOM number by which the distillery can be located. Mezcal also carries a sticker with a hologram, bottle number and QR code with more information about the product.

Several factors have caused an increase in the production of "Vino Mezcal de Tequila" over time. One was the local market in the capital city of Guadalajara, the coastal location with the export port of Puerto Vallarta, and the predominant form of large-scale land ownership (haciendas), which allowed for a production structure based on the division of labor for agaves and their processing. This is the prerequisite for being able to scale production. In regions with landowning smallholders (such as Oaxaca or Guerrero), the distilling culture developed in a completely different way.

The 1974 standard was another milestone on the way to becoming a player in the international spirits market, which had been in the offing since the turn of the century. The development came at the expense of small producers, traditional methods and product diversity. In an initial regulation from 1949, the raw material was specified as A. tequilana Weber, although a variety of agaves had been distilled in the region before - and still are, as can be seen in MEZONTE's products. In the '74 form, "mixtos" were permitted, allowing foreign sugars of unknown provenance up to 49%. If the product does not specifically state 100% agave (or puro de agave), it is a "mixto". So, despite the idea to the contrary, the DO and international success ensured that tequila was "sold off". The ever-worse products were followed by an ever-worse reputation.

Only recently, in the course of the craft movement, has there been a revival of old techniques with a focus on diversity, carried by small, family-owned distilleries that want to set themselves apart from anonymous industrial goods and celebrity brands. In the wake of this, DO is also increasingly being questioned.

For critics of DO Mezcal, which was introduced only 20 years later, Tequila has always been considered - with some justification! - as a deterrent to the effects of these regulations. Yet Mezcal has been able to retain much of its cultural identity precisely because of the absence of government regulation. Its production was banned during the colonial period, partly to give a market advantage to alcoholic beverages from the mother country, Spain. In many areas, prohibition applied in modern Mexico until the 1980s, this time to the advantage of competitors from the domestic spirits and brewing industries. There, too, no opportunity was missed to brand small-scale agave spirits as impure and dangerous.