Cocktail 101 »  All the basics of the bar.  The Serious Eats
Guide to Mezcal   So you're out with one of your favorite
drinking buddies, a good-time guy who's always quick with a
laugh, a great story, and, if you're really lucky, a round. One
day he brings along his older brother, who's in town for a few
days. The older brother broods a lot; sits in the corner and
tells dark, mordant jokes; insults other members of the party;
and manages to hit on the bartender in a way that's somehow both
creepy and oddly funny at the same time. You sit there thinking,
"What am I supposed to make of this guy? And did he really just
get out of jail, like he says?"  Sometimes I think that's the
image Americans have of mezcal, tequila's older, mysterious, and
poorly understood brother. People have a lot of misconceptions
about mezcal, but it's worth taking a minute to see what it's
really all about.  Mezcal Etymology  The word mezcal comes from
the Nahuatl words metl and ixcalli, which taken together mean
"oven cooked agave." L