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California Studies in Food and Culture #56
Divided Spirits: Tequila, Mezcal, and the Politics of Production (California Studies in Food and Culture)
Divided Spirits tells the stories of tequila and mezcal, two of Mexico’s most iconic products. In doing so, the book illustrates how neoliberalism influences the production, branding, and regulation of local foods and drinks. It also challenges the strategy of relying on “alternative” markets to protect food cultures and rural livelihoods.
In recent years, as consumers increasingly demand to connect with the people and places that produce their food, the concept of terroir—the taste of place—has become more and more prominent. Tequila and mezcal are both protected by denominations of origin (DOs), legal designations that aim to guarantee a product’s authenticity based on its link to terroir. Advocates argue that the DOs expand market opportunities, protect cultural heritage, and ensure the reputation of Mexico’s national spirits. Yet this book shows how the institutions that are supposed to guard “the legacy of all Mexicans” often fail those who are most in need of the small producers, agave farmers, and other workers who have been making tequila and mezcal for generations. The consequences—for the quality and taste of tequila and mezcal, and for communities throughout Mexico—are stark.
Divided Spirits suggests that we must move beyond market-based models if we want to safeguard local products and the people who make them. Instead, we need systems of production, consumption, and oversight that are more democratic, more inclusive, and more participatory. Lasting change is unlikely without the involvement of the state and a sustained commitment to addressing inequality and supporting rural development.
In recent years, as consumers increasingly demand to connect with the people and places that produce their food, the concept of terroir—the taste of place—has become more and more prominent. Tequila and mezcal are both protected by denominations of origin (DOs), legal designations that aim to guarantee a product’s authenticity based on its link to terroir. Advocates argue that the DOs expand market opportunities, protect cultural heritage, and ensure the reputation of Mexico’s national spirits. Yet this book shows how the institutions that are supposed to guard “the legacy of all Mexicans” often fail those who are most in need of the small producers, agave farmers, and other workers who have been making tequila and mezcal for generations. The consequences—for the quality and taste of tequila and mezcal, and for communities throughout Mexico—are stark.
Divided Spirits suggests that we must move beyond market-based models if we want to safeguard local products and the people who make them. Instead, we need systems of production, consumption, and oversight that are more democratic, more inclusive, and more participatory. Lasting change is unlikely without the involvement of the state and a sustained commitment to addressing inequality and supporting rural development.
280 pages, Paperback
First published September 22, 2015
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266 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 7, 2025
I found this book when Drew and I were at a bar and found out that Tequila is a type of Mezcal and not the other way around. We were witnessing a very big boom in the mezcal drinks in DC at that time, so we were trying to figure why mezcal did not precede tequila in the US. This question led us to this book where Sarah Bowen outlines the deeply political history of agave industries and its regulation in Mexico and the variable effects of policies like Denomination of Origins in Mexico compared to success stories in France.
Bowen has a concise and accessible style of writing, placing key findings and foundational facts within interesting historical and personal narratives. It's engaging. It's informative. It gets to the point and shows of how many complexities can lie between you and a good margarita.
It has been a while since I read it so the only complaint I can remember was that in one section Bowen uses USD without fully contextualizing the economy of the community she was working with which made it harder to fully understand the buying power local agave farmers held.
Bowen has a concise and accessible style of writing, placing key findings and foundational facts within interesting historical and personal narratives. It's engaging. It's informative. It gets to the point and shows of how many complexities can lie between you and a good margarita.
It has been a while since I read it so the only complaint I can remember was that in one section Bowen uses USD without fully contextualizing the economy of the community she was working with which made it harder to fully understand the buying power local agave farmers held.
May 11, 2023
I picked this up as background for a research project. I was pleasantly surprised how well-written and compelling it was, in addition to being remarkably informative.
November 24, 2015
Gastropod (awesome podcast) explored Denomination of Origin (DO) for mezcal and tequila in their episode Mescal: Everything but the Worm.
The DO ties things like Champagne and Roquefort cheese to a specific area and enforces specific methods unique to the product. Tequila was the first successful DO outside of Europe in 1974 and secured tequila as a uniquely Mexican product in the face of Spain and South Africa marketing drinks as tequila prior to the designation.
In terms of market growth and the explosion of premium tequila brands the DO has been a huge success. In terms of environmental sustainability, preservation of cultural traditions, fair wages and working conditions for rural workers, the DO hasn’t done much at all.
The DO favours practices that align with growth and the industrialization of tequila. It allows for the adulteration of tequila up to 49%, the use of autoclaves and diffusers. What was once made from over a dozen different agave plants, the DO now limits it to blue agave creating an especially susceptible to disease monoculture. These are the mistakes that mescal is trying to avoid.
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I’m a fan of tequila. Not exactly an easy proposition here in Ontario where it’s downright disheartening to see what actually makes it across our borders. This was an immensely readable dissertation and has left me wanting to explore mezcal now too. Unfortunately here in Ontario the availability of mezcal makes tequila seem like an embarrassment of riches.
The DO ties things like Champagne and Roquefort cheese to a specific area and enforces specific methods unique to the product. Tequila was the first successful DO outside of Europe in 1974 and secured tequila as a uniquely Mexican product in the face of Spain and South Africa marketing drinks as tequila prior to the designation.
In terms of market growth and the explosion of premium tequila brands the DO has been a huge success. In terms of environmental sustainability, preservation of cultural traditions, fair wages and working conditions for rural workers, the DO hasn’t done much at all.
The DO favours practices that align with growth and the industrialization of tequila. It allows for the adulteration of tequila up to 49%, the use of autoclaves and diffusers. What was once made from over a dozen different agave plants, the DO now limits it to blue agave creating an especially susceptible to disease monoculture. These are the mistakes that mescal is trying to avoid.
It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I’m a fan of tequila. Not exactly an easy proposition here in Ontario where it’s downright disheartening to see what actually makes it across our borders. This was an immensely readable dissertation and has left me wanting to explore mezcal now too. Unfortunately here in Ontario the availability of mezcal makes tequila seem like an embarrassment of riches.
July 11, 2022
Very impressed with Sarah Bowen's writing, research, history, interviews, synthesis and field notes in this project that she spent over a decade on. I recommend for anyone who likes the topic or the taste of artisinal Tequila and Mezcal and wants to know more about the relationship of the beverage in the glass to the people and the process that gets it there.
May 16, 2020
The best book yet written on agave spirits.
July 22, 2021
Awesome read! Would like a sequel.
March 3, 2024
Very interesting exploration of the history and political dynamics surrounding tequila and mezcal. Generally smoothly written and dynamic.
April 17, 2017
A rather thorough ethnographic take on the complexities of the past and present DO and terroir regulatory committees in Mexico as they seek to define and create a market for "the legacy of all Mexicans." The book is personally and meticulously researched, spanning the early 2000s through 2015, and Bowen writes as a true authority on the subject matter. The history of Tequila's emergence via colonialism and the hope for an exportable namesake, along with its methodological divergence from traditional mezcals, is made starkly apparent.
The influencing power of the DO is the crux of Divided Spirits: whether to make multinational profits, or to protect the authentic heritage of a traditional and indigenous practice. While Bowen's text is academic, and reflects her field of study, there is something lost in not gaining a deeper understanding of the traditional and indigenous cultural relevancies and impacts of mezcal. The class differential is present in the work as she details the market share focus of Tequila against the campesino ethic within mezcal production. But not much is revealed as to how and why the divergence in spirits is driven by cultural forces.
Without this piece being more thoroughly investigated it could be easy to draw the conclusion that the DO in many ways has just been a process of disengagement for the poorer agave farmers and uncertified mezcal producers. However, Bowen regularly hints at the importance of mezcal and traditional production in the maintenance of indigenous culture, something which I would have enjoyed reading via additional inclusion of mezcalero interviews, or even a chapter unto the topic itself. Furthermore the publicly influence into mezcal's own DO is rightly celebrated in the work, it appears as if this time the regulatory body may actually be working to preserve tradition.
In all I'd give Divided Spirits 4.5 stars and highly recommend it. My reading has been additionally impactful as I leave for my own trip to the palenques of Oaxaca tomorrow. I feel adequately prepared to make personal that which I've learned from her own sweat and study.
The influencing power of the DO is the crux of Divided Spirits: whether to make multinational profits, or to protect the authentic heritage of a traditional and indigenous practice. While Bowen's text is academic, and reflects her field of study, there is something lost in not gaining a deeper understanding of the traditional and indigenous cultural relevancies and impacts of mezcal. The class differential is present in the work as she details the market share focus of Tequila against the campesino ethic within mezcal production. But not much is revealed as to how and why the divergence in spirits is driven by cultural forces.
Without this piece being more thoroughly investigated it could be easy to draw the conclusion that the DO in many ways has just been a process of disengagement for the poorer agave farmers and uncertified mezcal producers. However, Bowen regularly hints at the importance of mezcal and traditional production in the maintenance of indigenous culture, something which I would have enjoyed reading via additional inclusion of mezcalero interviews, or even a chapter unto the topic itself. Furthermore the publicly influence into mezcal's own DO is rightly celebrated in the work, it appears as if this time the regulatory body may actually be working to preserve tradition.
In all I'd give Divided Spirits 4.5 stars and highly recommend it. My reading has been additionally impactful as I leave for my own trip to the palenques of Oaxaca tomorrow. I feel adequately prepared to make personal that which I've learned from her own sweat and study.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews