Tequila distillation is industrial; mezcal is
double-distilled, first in small clay pots, then
in a larger metal pot still. Most tequila and
mezcal is bottled without aging.
Tequila and mezcal have distinctive
flavors that include roasty aromas, but also
flowery ones (linalool, damascenone,
phenylethyl alcohol), and vanilla (vanillin).
Flavored Alcohols: Bitters and Liqueurs
Alcohol’s split chemical personality, its
resemblance to fats as well as water, makes it
an excellent solvent for other volatile,
aromatic molecules. It does a good job of
extracting and holding flavors from solid
ingredients. Herbs, spices, nuts, flowers,
fruits: all these and more are soaked in
alcohol, or distilled along with alcohol, to
make a host of flavored liquids. Gin is the
best known of these. Most of the others fall
into two families: bitters, which are just that,
and liqueurs, which are sweetened to varying