23rd
an agave affair
I’ve spilled the beans, err cactus, err lily on this one! Yes, that is correct; I’ve recently fallen in love with mezcal! To get everyone properly grounded, I’ll start with some basics: Mezcal is made from the type of plant Tequila comes from. All tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila. 100% agave tequila must come solely from the Blue Weber Agave, while mezcal can come from a variety of other regions and varieties of agave plants. Since I’m a fan of avoiding redundancy, you can continue to read a brief of the spirit here.
So where did we first meet? I recently took one of Josh Durr’s cocktail classes at Tonic on Fourth all about Tequila and Mezcal. (The next class is about Rum this Saturday, 1-3PM, who’s in?) Before then, I really hadn’t been exposed to the spirit besides trying some inexpensive varieties and hearing about the worm (which is another misconception that people seem to have.) Josh brought a variety of Mezcals including one from the village of San Luis Del Rio. This is Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, like all of their Mezcals was produced in the traditional method used by inhabitants of the region for the past 400 years, and certified organic by the USDA and OCIA. It even comes in these nifty woven baskets:
After loving my first experience, I decided to invest in a bottle for my family’s summer vacation to Fallen Leaf Lake (Just SW of Lake Tahoe.) I wasn’t about to find another bottle of the San Luis Del Rio at Ledger’s, but I did find a Minero.
Pouring out into stemware, and walking out on to our porch lead me to this scene - affording the time for contemplation and relaxation that I had been desiring.
You might wonder what a clear spirit like this has to offer, but trust be - looks can be deceiving. The Minero is exceptionally well balanced, slightly floral, vanilla and a hint of lemon and an amazingly smooth, smoky finish (not something I would have expected from a clear spirit.) At 49% ABV, it is a bit more potent than your average spirit but easily sip-able neat - which is good since I wouldn’t recommend tainting this treasure with anything - besides possible a view of Angora or Cathedral Peak!
Flash forward a number of weeks, and I discovered that The Party Source stocks a number of variants including one from Chichicapa. I ended up with this one knowing that it was the smokiest of the bunch. Needless to say, I somewhat underestimated how smoky these things were able to get - and the Chichicapa has slightly out-smoked me as a result. While it is still a great, sip-able spirit, I prefer something with a slightly different profile.
All in all, a relatively unknown spirit with unique history and offerings! Based on my love for the three that I have enjoyed so far, I’m sure that at some point in the future my affair will continue with a fourth village.
