June 30th, 2025: Morelos enters Mezcal Designation of Origin
Mezcal DO extended to 23 municipalities, WSET updates level 3 Award in spirits, bush rum in Dominica and more...
Good morning everyone!
Our first news today comes from Mexico.
Mezcal from Morelos Gets Designation of Origin
There's a new entry into the Mezcal designation of origin. Morelos, one of the 32 states comprising Mexico's Federal Entities, is located in south-central Mexico, just south of Mexico City. Its capital city is Cuernavaca. Mezcal produced in Morelos is now officially included in the designation of origin, which will apply to 23 of its 36 municipalities: Amacuzac, Axochiapan, Ayala, CoatlĆ”n del RĆo, Emiliano Zapata, Jantetelco, Jiutepec, Jojutla, Jonacatepec, Mazatepec, MiacatlĆ”n, Puente de Ixtla, Temixco, Temoac, Tepalcingo, TepoztlĆ”n, Tetecala, TlaltizapĆ”n de Zapata, Tlaquiltenango, Xochitepec, Yautepec, Zacatepec, and Zacualpan de Amilpas.
This update doesn't appear to be on the Comercam website yet, but the announcement is official and comes from local authorities (the mayor of Jojutla).
Here are a few articles I suggest reading:
Mezcal de Morelos obtiene denominaciĆ³n de origen y beneficiarĆ” a productores locales
(by Angelina AlbarrƔn on El Sol de Cuernavaca)
ĀæQuĆ© significa para Morelos tener DenominaciĆ³n de Origen del Mezcal?
(by Miriam Estrada on El Sol de Cuernavaca)
(by M. Garcia on Diario de Morelos)
Mezcal appears to be in a phase of expansion and is widely regarded as a key opportunity for development in the country. Naturally, this comes with both pros and cons. We previously covered Mezcal this month, with a focus on:
Aguascalientes
and Durango
Cognac
A quick update on Cognac: Several newspapers are reporting on a possible agreement between France and China in the coming days. I'll provide updates as soon as there's any new information.
In case you'd like to read more, here are a couple of articles. However, they don't add anything new to the current situation:
Taxes chinoises sur le cognac : vers un accord Ā« dans les jours qui viennent Ā»
(by Charente Libre)
Cognac et armagnac : Paris espĆØre un accord avec PĆ©kin Ā« dans les jours qui viennent Ā»
(by Le Parisien)
Education
WSET Revises Level 3 Award in Spirits
The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) has updated its most advanced spirits qualification with deeper production insights. The new version includes refinements to the Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT). Article by Sophie Arundel on The Drinks Business.
WSET refreshes spirits qualification to meet global industry demand
Something I Found Interesting and Really Fun to Read
Bush Rum in Dominica
Mark Orwoll wrote about his journey in Dominica (an island between Guadeloupe and Martinique) for Highbrow Magazine. I hadnāt known about bush rum, and he has a lovely way of telling the story. Here it is:
The Real Story on Dominica Is Bush Rum. Lots of Bush Rum. For, um, Medicinal Purposes
There's also a video version of the article, read by the author:
Hope you like it as much as I did ;)
Have a lovely day and see you on Wednesday!