Tequila and mezcal exports from Mexico had a customs value of 3,317 million dollars in 2021, a year-on-year increase of 35.8%, according to data from the Ministry of Economy.

Tequila is a distilled beverage that is made from the blue agave plant.

There are two main categories of tequila: “100% agave” and “Mixtos”.

The term tequila is protected and can only be used on the product label if the alcoholic beverage is produced in specific regions of Mexico and contains at least 51% agave.

Already, tequila and mezcal exports accumulated six consecutive years of year-on-year growth, from 1,135 million dollars in 2015.

According to Statista, the world tequila market is characterized by leading brands such as Sauza, Patrón and El Jimador.

According to the company Spirits Time International, current projections anticipate that the tequila market will continue to grow until at least 2022.

Until now, the Covid-19 pandemic has not negatively affected the industry of this pair of alcoholic beverages.

Mezcal

To qualify as tequila, the alcoholic beverage must be made in Jalisco, Mexico and a very few neighboring areas.

Also, according to Tequila Patron, to determine if the tequila was made in Mexico, look for the “Hecho en México” (“Made in Mexico” in English) label.

Bear in mind: Añejo is a style of aged tequila. Añejo means that the tequila has been aged in any container from one to three years, usually oak barrels.

Most distilleries use a wide variety of wooden barrels to age Añejo tequila, but the most popular are American oak and French oak.

In turn, Reposado is a style of aged tequila. To qualify as reposado, tequila must be aged in barrels or storage tanks between 2 and 11 months.

Finally, the agave is the plant from which tequila is made. The cultivation of agave for tequila takes about seven years for the plant to reach maturity to be harvested.

For its part, mezcal is the name of a traditional Mexican alcoholic beverage, which can be produced in nine different states of the country and is made from the distillation of the heart of the maguey.