Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from any type of agave and the word comes from the Nahuatl language mexcalli, which means ‘oven-cooked agave’. While all tequilas are considered mezcals, not all mezcals can be tequilas. Even though tequila and mezcal are both agave-based distilled spirits, tequila can only be made out of blue agave —agave tequilana— and that is one of the main differences between these two Mexican spirits, not to mention the prominent smoky flavor of mezcal on the palate.