Livelihoods And Landscapes Behind Agave Spirits

Alcohol consumption is a widespread phenomenon, with 65% of Americans age 21 or older consuming alcohol regularly.^[1] While we often talk about cutting red meat from our diets, buying organic, fair trade produce, and only buying wild caught fish in an effort to limit our environmental impact, we rarely pause to consider how our alcohol consumption impacts the planet. Yet spirits are agricultural products, too. As the liquor market continues to grow, and we continue to scrutinize our choices as consumers, it’s important to more carefully consider the agricultural roots of different spirits.

A Brief History Of Agave-Derived Spirits

Tequila, a liquor perhaps best known as the centerpiece of a classic margarita, is distilled from the heart (aka the piña) of a blue agave^[2] plant. Mezcal, which has gained popularity in a variety of cocktails in recent years, refers to a broader class of spirits distilled from any agave plant. Different varieties of agave and regions of agave production lend mezcal a terroir, just like wine.

The basic process for producing tequila and mezcal requires harvesting and roasting the heart of an agave plant, fermenting the sugars contained therein, and from this, distilling the spirit we enjoy in a variety of cocktails.

Agave-derived spirits trace their origins back millennia and are intimately tied to Mexico’s cultural identity. Between the 14th and 16th century, the flourishing Aztec empire brewed alcohol from fermented agave sap. Modern tequila distilling began to evolve when the Spanish invaded the Aztec empire in the 16th century. The idea of further refining the fermented agave sap to create a more concentrated spirit came to life as the invading Spaniards ran out of brandy and began to apply European distilling methods to local plants and existing drinks.

In Mexico, agave plants are revered as sacred^[3] and, historically, mezcal was only made for special occasions within the community. Today, demand for tequila and mezcal is booming and the market for both liquors is growing rapidly. Sales of tequila and mezcal combined grew more than 17% in 2022 alone, making them the fastest growing spirits of the year.^[4] And, in 2019, the U.S. overtook Mexico to become the world’s largest market for mezcal^[5], its proliferation due, in part, to the increased incorporation of mezcal into cocktails.

But our preference for tequila and mezcal has taken a toll on agave populations. Agave is a slow-growing species, with many varieties taking at least 10 years^[6] to harvest. This slow growth rate makes agave a hard plant to cultivate at scale and a precious crop to harvest. It also makes agave (and thus tequila and mezcal) prone to boom and bust cycles as agave populations fluctuate, which strains the thousands of farmers whose livelihoods depend on cultivating agave.

Espadín is one of the quickest growing species of agave, and its speed of growth relative to other agave species has given it preferential treatment in the distilling industry. Mezcal derived from this species now accounts for approximately 80% of mezcal consumed globally. However, the growing demand for mezcal and a shift to cultivating faster-growing species of agave is running the risk of limiting agave diversity as farmers turn to monocultures of the most lucrative species. Furthermore, a rapidly growing demand for both tequila and mezcal is creating local environmental issues and driving unsustainable agave farming practices, which may have ripple effects throughout entire ecosystems.

The Future Of Agave

While it is clear that our collectively high consumption and growing demand is threatening the future of agave plants and the livelihood of farmers, there’s also another player in the game: climate change. Due to its geography, Mexico is likely to experience weather whiplash as a result of anthropogenic impacts, with extreme weather events^[9] such as tropical cyclones and floods, predicted across the country. This forecast does not bode well for the agave plant, which is highly sensitive to extreme changes in temperature, making it particularly vulnerable to future changes.

A 2019 study found that predicted climate changes will shrink the suitable habitat for both the long-nosed bat and different agave species, reducing the overlap between both by as much as 75% in the next several decades.^[10] This decline in overlap would drive a drop in pollination, threatening the survival of the long-nosed bat population as well as negatively impacting the reproduction and genetic diversity of agave species. Climate change then adds a further stressor to the already tenuous bat-agave relationship.

The fate of agave depends not just on our drinking habits but also on how we address climate change.

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A Solution-Oriented Market

Given that tequila and mezcal are in high demand, and considering both the cultural and ecological significance of agave plants, several organizations and regulatory frameworks have been established to protect and preserve agave in Mexico.

The Tequila Interchange Project (TIP) is a regulatory framework developed in 2010 that works to “advocate for the preservation of sustainable, traditional and quality practices in the tequila and mezcal industry.” TIP works with bartenders, consultants, educators, researchers, consumers, and tequila enthusiasts to protect all the different stakeholders, livelihoods, and identities wrapped up in agave plants.

“Tequila is a region. Agave is a culture. Mezcales are the spirit of Mexico. The traditions that make them distinct are centuries old. From cultivation, fermentation, and distillation, each step is both an art and a science. Agave fibers weave generation to generation and their sugars bind the story of Mexico to its people,” writes TIP.

Another framework that is gaining widespread adoption among agave plantations and farmers is the Bat Friendly Tequila and Mezcal Project. This initiative invites producers to allow 5% of their agaves to flower each harvest, thus protecting important pollen sources for bats. The project then offers a “bat-friendly” label that distilleries relying on agave from these farmers can use as a marketing tool to convey their interest in advocating for naturally pollinated agave, the preservation of traditional agave farming, and the longevity of agave populations.

Pedro Jiménez Gurría is a mezcal aficionado based in Guadalajara. Gurría is enamored by the cultural significance of agave-derived spirits in Mexico. “There are different types of agave species,” he explained on a podcast in 2020.

“In Mexico there are 150, at least. And from those, 75% of them are endemic. [So], there’s a biological center to [agave-derived] spirits in Mexico.”

Gurría has made it his mission to celebrate and protect agave culture and agave-derived spirits in Mexico. In 2012, he released the documentary Viva Mezcal, which highlights the importance of traditional mezcals in Mexico through the lens of different stakeholders, including biologists, agronomists, researchers, maestros mezcaleros, distributors, and bartenders. Pedro also started Mezonte, a NGO whose mission is to preserve traditional agave culture. Mezonte works across a range of mediums to advocate for the cultural and biological value tied to traditional agave farming practices and mezcal production.