After a long, uphill battle, it seems that my beloved Tequila is starting to gain a little respect up here in the Scotch-and-Vodka-lovin’ Pacific North-West. While still in miserably short supply, there seems to be a growing awareness of the wonder that is offered in the form of a good 100% Agave Tequila. Hopefully before too long the LDB will begin to offer us some of the truly good stuff coming out of Jalisco State. The Milagro single barrel is a good start (as of this printing there are 133 bottles left in the province). C’mon guys, there’s like, 700 brands of Tequila being produced right now, surely we can do better than 20? We’ve been deprived of the good stuff for far too long. Jose Cuervo’s Familia de la Reserva might be a gesture of good faith to start, waddya say?
If Tequila is transitioning from being the wasted, drooling frat boy to the young, good-looking intern who’s got himself a good haircut and a nice suit, then his country cousin Mezcal might soon be able to shed its image as the inbred gimp chained up in the basement. There is not a spirit on Earth that has a worse reputation than Mezcal, and it’s both unwarranted and unfair.
True, there are Mezcals that will turn you inside out and leave you praying for death, but there are shameful variations of every spirit. Made in much the same manner as Tequila, a good Mezcal is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted before. By law Tequila is made from only one of 47 different varieties of the Agave succulent: the Agave Tequiliana Weber. Made from any of the other species it’s Mezcal. Production varies too, Mezcal Agave roots are usually baked with wood charcoal before distillation of the sap, imparting a delicate smokiness to the end product, not unlike a good Scotch.
Again, when considering a Mezcal, look for the ‘100% Agave’ notation on the bottle. Legally theses spirits only have to contain 51% Agave to be labeled Tequila or Mezcal, God only knows what else they stick in there to stretch the profits. A lovely Mezcal has just shown up in the liquor stores here, which is a rare event indeed: the Jaral de Berrio (pictured above) is a great introduction into the world of Mezcal, with a nose of garden-fresh peppery salsa, it has a pleasant bite on the way down that belies a rather tame alcohol content of 36%. And no, it doesn’t have a worm in it. As bad-ass as that sounds, the truth is that little legend was just a marketing ploy by some smart Mexican hooch dealer. Don’t believe the hype about hallucinogenic mescalin trips, or that the worm was added as some kind of alcohol content-o-meter, the maggot in the bottle is there to make it look tough. You can buy some Mezcals down in Mexico with scorpions in them, but I wouldn’t drink them to save my life.
It’s time to shed the bad-boy image and put these beauties where they belong: on the shelf next to the good Scotch. We’ve been deprived of their deliciousness for far too long.
To your health…
Simon Ogden | Urban Diner
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
The ironic part of this Tequila promotion is that for the most part Mexicans prefer Brandy on the rocks with Coca Cola when drinking hard liquor.
I suppose if the author ever drank with Mexicans he’d know that.
Right on Sam Salmon, thanks for your comment. I must admit that I’m not sure where the ‘irony’ comes in here, as I reference neither the Mexican citizenry nor their drinking habits in the post.
And the largest selling spirit in Mexico is rum.
And it’s more of a Mezcal promotion.
Lived in Mexico for two years and rarely saw anyone under 40 drinking brandy.
im 26 years , lived in mexico half my life , and mezcal is one of my favorites drinks , more then tequila now a days….. , it is common to find people drinking rum/brandy and coke in mexico , like any other drink , in any other place , but i can assure all mexicans are tequila lovers . might not drink it all the time but when they do its fiesta ~ cheers
where can you buy mezcal in Vancouver ?
Thank you very much for the comments to our product Simon, Bie is true that the culture of mezcal was unknown but now is one of the most requested drinks because of the diversity of flavors, textures, olfactory perception
In order to speak of mezcal is a never-ending fear, we are glad that we know as the brand itself so we invite you to follow us on facebook