I’m fascinated by spirits and cocktails with a story to tell.
Though I’ve heard of mezcal described as “rustic and traditional,” until recently I never really understood what that meant.
Mezcal is a spirit born from the rural villages in Mexico. It’s a deeply rooted part of local culture there, where family producers have been artisans in their craft for many generations. The maestro mezcalero (distiller) works day and night in the labor-intensive, literally hands-on production of the spirit, mostly in the same fashion as their ancestors with little usage of modern technology and machinery. It really wasn’t until the past decade or so that the market for this very traditional Mexican spirit found the eyes (and mouths) of the world.
Unlike spirit producers where a single company manages their full operations from sourcing the materials to distilling it, blending/aging, and then bottling under their line, many artisan mezcal “brands” don’t quite work that way. Instead, these companies often curate a portfolio of mezcales discovered from different villages, produced by different mezcaleros each with their own traditions. This provides a way for small producers focused on their craft to take advantage of a brand’s business expertise to bring their product to an international market. Thus, different products within a brand’s portfolio may vary widely, with little in common in terms of production ingredients, materials, and methods.
The mezcal world is truly fascinating, and I’ve only tipped the top of the iceberg. Just wanted to explicitly thank Emma Janzen for writing the amazing Mezcal book that jumpstarted my explorations, and @yannickvd for fielding my endless lists of questions and being an invaluable resource for agave knowledge. There will be plenty more to come, so, join me for the ride?
Explore more of the magic world of mezcal.
Recommended reading:
Web Resources
- MezcalPhD.com : an incredible wealth of knowledge and information on agave spirits from John McEvoy
- MezcalReviews.com : hundred of community-sourced reviews on all sorts of obscure bottles of mezcal