Resumen

LOPEZ-GARCIA, Susana Yareth; ESPEJEL-GARCIA, Anastacio; HERNANDEZ-MONTES, Arturo  y  BARRERA-RODRIGUEZ, Ariadna Isabel. Sensory characterization for the differentiation of ancestral mezcal from two producing areas of Oaxaca, Mexico. Polibotánica [online]. 2025, n.60, pp.459-473.  Epub 10-Nov-2025. ISSN 1405-2768.  https://doi.org/10.18387/polibotanica.60.27.

Ancestral mezcal is a traditional beverage produced by the distillation of fermented agave juice. Its sensory quality depends on the composition of volatile and non-volatile compounds, which differ according to the species or variety of agave, region and conditions in the production process, being the consumers who evaluate the sensory and non-sensory attributes of the product, which not only allows differentiating between types of mezcal, but also contributes to preserve its authenticity and identity. The objective of this study was to identify sensory and non-sensory differentiating attributes of ancestral mezcal from two producing areas in the state of Oaxaca (Santa María Ixcatlán and Santa Catarina Minas) and two agave species (Agave angustifolia and Agave potatorum), and the attributes of an ideal ancestral mezcal. For this purpose, the CATA method was applied to mezcal consumers (n=100), obtaining sixteen attributes that allowed differentiating the four samples of ancestral mezcal. With a panel (n=10) and the same samples of ancestral mezcal, a Flash Profile was made based on six cosensus attributes, which showed a better differentiation by species than by production zone. It is concluded that ancestral mezcal, depending on the agave species used in its production and the production zone, presented differentiating sensory attributes, which could contribute to strengthen its identity and valorization as a traditional beverage.

Palabras llave : ancestral beverage; sensory attributes; non-sensory attributes; wild agaves.

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