noun

1. a colorless alcoholic liquor of Mexico made from pulque or other fermented agave juice: it is lower in quality and rougher in taste than tequila
2. any plant from which this liquor is made
3. a small, spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii) of N Mexico and the SW U.S., with rounded stems, whose buttonlike tops (mescal buttons) are chewed, specif., in religious ceremonies by Mexican Indians, for their hallucinogenic effects

Etymology: Sp mezcal < Nahuatl mexcalli