As reported here in December, the Mexican Secretariat of the Economy has proposed legislation – NOM 199 – that could extinguish traditional mezcal production in areas outside of the Denomination of Origin (DO) regions. While presented as an effort to increase consumer protection, these rule changes would in fact result in less clarity for consumers. Non-DO…
The Latest Affront To Traditional Mezcal: NOM 199 by Clayton J. Szczech, December 4, 2015 Half of Mexico’s population lives in poverty, and yet the country’s Secretary of the Economy is making it a priority to clarify the definitions of frozen shots and Slivovitz. No, really. Oh yeah, and at the same time, renew its attempts to…
What Next for the Mezcal Norm? by Clayton J. Szczech, December 8, 2014 This is an addendum to a three article series on proposed changes to the Mezcal Norm. Please read the third, second and first parts for background. The first Encuentro Nacional de Mezcal took place in Morelia, Michoacán on the last weekend of November. Dr. Hipócrates Nolasco, President of the…
Mezcaleros Unify Around Improved Norm by Clayton J. Szczech, June 26, 2014 This is the third article in a series on COMERCAM’s proposed changes to the Mezcal Norm. Please read the first and second parts for background. An elderly indigenous man with sun-wizened skin and a big cowboy hat stands next to a dapper urban lawyer in…
Battle Lines Drawn Over Mezcal Rule Changes by Clayton J. Szczech, June 18, 2014 This is the second article in a series on COMERCAM’s proposed changes to the Mezcal Norm. Read the first part here. While the leadership of COMERCAM seeks to build consensus around a modified version of their proposed changes to the Mezcal Norm,…
COMERCAM Proposal Would Recognize, Define Artisanal Mezcal by Clayton J. Szczech, June 1, 2014 For years, artisanal mezcal producers and their advocates have critiqued the mezcal Norm as biased in favor of large, industrial producers, and out of touch with mezcal culture, tradition and the reality lived by small mezcaleros. Specifically, it seemed to many…