Abocado

What does it mean when a bottle of mezcal says it’s “abocado de”? Abocado not avocado, let’s get that straight right out of the chute. Abocado is one of those funny words that has distinct meanings depending on the context. Unrelated to alcohol, the word can mean “destined” or “devoted.” In the world of wine it means “semisweet” or “quaffable.” When it comes to mezcal, the word has a few different meanings centered around the idea of a sweetened or infused mezcal. Frequently these mezcals are infused with fruits, nuts, herbs, and other vegetal matter. Occasionally they contain sugar, sugar cane, or honey. Occasionally worms or scorpions.

Legally there’s another very specific meaning that has even been written into law. NOM 70, the Mexican law that governs what goes into mezcal, defines abocado thusly:

e) Abocado con

Mezcal al que se debe incorporar directamente ingredientes para adicionar sabores, tales como gusano de maguey, damiana, limón, miel, naranja, mango, entre otros, siempre que estén autorizados por el Acuerdo correspondiente de la Secretaría de Salud (Ver 2.10), así como en la NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014 (Ver 2.2).

Here’s my loose translation

e) Abocado with

Mezcal that includes ingredients for additional flavors like the maguey worm, damiana, lemon, orange, mango, among others provided that they’re authorized by the Secretary of Health. (Ver 2.10), así como en la NOM-142-SSA1/SCFI-2014 (Ver 2.2).

So, even the legal definition leaves plenty of room for elaboration – as long as you get the Secretary of Health’s authority, it seems like you can create the infusion of your dreams.

But what makes abocados different from pechugas? There are two key differences between abocados and pechugas: First, pechugas have to be distilled with their additional ingredients. Second, pechugas can (but don’t have to!) contain meats, while there is never any mention of meats being infused into abocados. I’d also surmise that the insects included in abocados are previously roasted or cooked in some way.

Read more of our mezcal definitions in the Mezcalistas Encyclopedia of Mezcal and email us questions or ideas for future entries.