Updated 8/8/2024
Pechuga literally means “breast” in Spanish. A pechuga mezcal is one that has been triple distilled. In the third distillation, a turkey or chicken breast is typically suspended above the mezcal within the still. The alcohol dissolves the meat of the breast, which tends to add a very unctuous texture to the mezcal and a variety of taste sensations.
The term pechuga can be used in a more general sense to mean a mezcal that is distilled with a range of foods, including fruits, nuts, and other types of meat, including rabbit or conejo. Usually this distinction is made clear on the label by calling the mezcal a conejo instead of a pechuga, but the nomenclature can occasionally be fuzzy. Conejo mezcals are very rare, and, consequently, are much more expensive. Other variations exist. We’ve also had a venison pechuga from Guerrero, and there are iguana, lobster, and sheep pechugas on the market.
The taste of a pechuga will obviously vary with the contents of the mezcal. If it only contains a poultry breast or rabbit the change is very subtle. Some drinkers dislike the mouth feel of pechugas. Obviously most of these drinks are not vegetarian nor vegan, though there are several vegan pechugas on the market. When made with fruits and/or nuts, pechugas have wildly different flavors that can mirror their contents or range widely.
Read more of our entries in the Mezcalistas Encyclopedia of Mezcal and email us questions or ideas for future entries.
This is very interesting and I would love to see a video on production to see how it is done.
Thanks, we’ll put that on the list for our next trip!
I recently enjoyed La Nina del Mexcal Pechuga at Fish Guacho in Paso del Robles California. It had a very agave fruit forward nose with just a bit of smokiness. The flavor was also lightly smoked and clean taste of agave, very smooth finish and fantastic feel in the mouth like a very very light syrup reminiscent of the texture felt in the mouth of when sipping one of the late harvest desert wines found in California. Mas Fina!
Thomas Pope
Cambria Califotnia
La Niña del Mezcal Pechuga is well worth exploring. I enjoyed it at Fish Guach in Paso del Robles in California. They have a very expansive collection of Tequilas and Mezcals