mescal

mescal — noun

1. a type of strong alcoholic drink made in Mexico from the cooked and crushed cent

1.名詞C1
釋義

a type of strong alcoholic drink made in Mexico from the cooked and crushed centre of the agave plant, which is then fermented and distilled

例句

Christopher ordered a bottle of mescal to share with his friends after dinner in Oaxaca.

countable: a bottle of mescal

Talia had never tried mescal before and was surprised by its smoky, earthy taste.

uncountable: tried mescal

同義詞
  • mezcal

    the Spanish-influenced spelling, increasingly the standard form on bottles and in restaurants

  • tequila

    a well-known type of mescal, but only made from blue agave in specific Mexican regions

文法句型

a bottle of mescal

two mescals (two servings)

用法筆記

Also spelled 'mezcal'. The spelling 'mezcal' is now common on product labels and in tourism writing, while 'mescal' is the traditional English spelling found in older texts.

常見錯誤

❌Tequila and mescal are completely different drinks.
✅Tequila is a specific type of mescal made only from blue agave.
💡Tequila is a regional variety of mescal, not a separate category of drink.

2. a desert plant native to Mexico and the southwestern United States, belonging to

2.名詞C2
釋義

a desert plant native to Mexico and the southwestern United States, belonging to the agave or cactus family, whose fleshy centre is used to make the drink mescal or which contains substances that affect the mind

例句

The mescal plant grows wild on the dry hillsides of northern Mexico.

collocation: mescal plant

Beatrix photographed a tall flowering mescal agave during her walk through the desert.

同義詞
  • agave

    the plant family most commonly called mescal in the context of drink production

  • maguey

    a Spanish term for the agave, used in Mexico and occasionally in English botanical writing

  • peyote

    refers specifically to the small psychoactive cactus (Lophophora williamsii) that is also called mescal

文法句型

the mescal plant

用法筆記

In botanical contexts, 'mescal' can refer to several species of agave (especially Agave americana) or to the small peyote cactus (Lophophora williamsii). Context usually makes the meaning clear — when discussing the drink, the agave is meant; when discussing traditional rituals, the cactus is likely.

常見錯誤

❌The mescal is a small cactus that makes you hallucinate.
✅Mescal can refer to several types of agave plants used for making the drink, or to the peyote cactus.
💡The drink-producing agave is the more common reference; the psychoactive cactus is a separate species.