Tequila and mezcal: where Mexico's agave spirits can be made, and how to read the label

Mexico protects tequila and mezcal by law. A drink can be sold as tequila or mezcal only if it comes from a defined territory and meets an official Mexican standard, known as a NOM, checked by a certifying body. Knowing the rules lets you read a bottle in any market or shop in the country, and explains why spirits made from the same family of plants carry such different labels.

Tequila: five states, one agave

The Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT), which certifies the spirit, says the general declaration protecting the name was published in Mexico's official gazette on December 9, 1974. The protected area covers 181 municipalities in five states: Jalisco, Michoacán, Guanajuato, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. Only one plant may be used, Agave tequilana Weber, blue variety. The rules are set out in the standard NOM-006-SCFI-2012.

The CRT sorts tequila into two categories and five classes:

The CRT's advice to buyers is blunt: "Sin etiqueta NUNCA ES TEQUILA," meaning that without a label, it is never tequila. It also tells buyers to look for the tax stamp, or marbete, issued by Mexico's finance ministry (SHCP).

Mezcal: a wider map that changed in 2026

Mezcal has had a denomination of origin since 1994, according to its main certifying body, the Mexican Regulatory Council for Mezcal Quality (COMERCAM). The protected territory covers five whole states, Oaxaca, Guerrero, San Luis Potosí, Zacatecas and Durango, plus 118 municipalities in Puebla, 30 in Michoacán, 11 in Tamaulipas and 6 in Guanajuato. The agave must come from that territory, and mezcal may be produced and bottled only inside it.

The map keeps moving. On May 20, 2026, Mexico's industrial property institute (IMPI) published two changes in the official gazette. One added the municipalities of Puebla and Huaquechula, in Puebla state. The other added Comonfort, Dolores Hidalgo, San José Iturbide and Tierra Blanca, in Guanajuato. COMERCAM also lists a 2018 change that added some municipalities in the State of Mexico, Aguascalientes and Morelos, and a recent addition of four municipalities in Sinaloa, and says both are being appealed.

Mezcal's three categories

Unlike tequila, mezcal must be made entirely from agave: the standard NOM-070-SCFI-2016 defines it as 100% maguey or agave. It sorts mezcal into three categories by how the agave hearts are cooked, milled, fermented and distilled:

The standard also sets classes, including white or young (blanco o joven), matured in glass for more than 12 months, reposado for 2 to 12 months in wood, and añejo for more than 12 months in wooden containers of less than 1,000 liters. Mezcal may also be flavored with, or distilled with, other permitted ingredients.

Reading a mezcal label

For bottles sold in Mexico, NOM-070 requires the label to show, among other things:

• one category, Mezcal, Mezcal Artesanal or Mezcal Ancestral, and one class, set apart from the brand name
• the words "100% Maguey" or "100% Agave"
• the traditional or scientific name of the agave used, with two or more species listed from the largest share down
• the name of the Mexican state where the mezcal was produced
• a protected-denomination-of-origin caption in capital letters at least 3 mm high
• a lot number, so the bottle can be traced

The certification seal is a hologram with a unique number for each bottle. COMERCAM, which says it certifies 96% of mezcal, offers an app that validates holograms of its own design, and a separate check on its site for older designs.

Where certified mezcal comes from

COMERCAM's 2026 statistical report puts certified production in 2025 at 6,912,256 liters, measured at 45% alcohol by volume, a fall of 39% from 2024. Artisanal mezcal made up 91.03% of it, and espadín (Agave angustifolia) was the agave behind 84.53%.

Durango's mezcal

Durango is one of the five states the mezcal denomination covers in full. The state tourism office describes its mezcal as mostly made by artisanal methods from a regional agave it names as Agave durangensis. It says there are tours of the artisanal distilleries, or vinatas, of Nombre de Dios, 40 minutes from the state capital. Our Durango city guide covers the capital itself.