Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Devendra Banhart @ 9:30 Club
Drink in the Details is a monthly column highlighting spirits and classic cocktails written by DC Craft Bartenders Guild members Adam Bernbach (Bar Pilar) and Chantal Tseng (Tabard Inn).
Somewhere in time, the image of mezcal has become synonymous with the liquid medium in which university campus pledges transport their worms. Not ringing a bell? What about the Mexican bar in movies? Perchance the drink of choice in the watering hole where you shouldn’t drink the water? There appears to be something bizarrely effective about this image. We can be intellectually aware that the bar from the Three Amigos does not exist, but maybe there’s a needling sense that “El Guapo” would question your choice to enjoy a sip without sporting a strapping bandolier. It‘s almost as if one need be associated with debauchery and chaos in order to sip this “filthy mezcal fire water.”
But how did it get to this point? How did our view of mezcal become so tainted? Is it the Hollywood image of the Mexican saloon that has smeared mezcal? Is it the worm swimming around our insides that has made us squeamish? Is it the product itself that has offered little in comparison to its beloved tequila cousins? Is it (D), all of the above? It might be wise to discuss these, lest we continue to dismiss artisanal mezcals before we experience them.
Alas, the worm. Few of us see the rite of passage in gulping a worm (or scorpion or viper or maggot) and its fiery liquid bath in which it has likely choked out its last spirited breath. Over half a century ago, it began as a gimmick. Jacobo Lozano Páez, self-claimed mezcal connoisseur as well as the current owner of Atlántida, S.A., a small Oaxacan alcoholic beverage bottling company, both introduced mezcal to most Americans, and simultaneously, crippled it. He discovered that when the plant was cut for cooking a lot of these wigglers remained in the heart during production. These gusanos lived and fed off the maguey, or agave plants, and provided information to the palenquero (producer) about the quality of the plant for mezcal production. Their presence directly impacted the final product’s flavor and coloring (incidentally, one type, Gusano Rojo, larvae from the Hypopta moth, are actually a traditional Mexican delicacy found on many restaurant menus). Páez’s distinctive marketing twist on this was to add a gusano to the finished beverage and include with the bottle a small salt sack, seasoned with the same larva, dehydrated and ground with chiles.
Image of agave plants courtesy of ybidau used under a creative commons license
Could it have been the product? Very possibly. What’s been stocked on U.S. shelves, more often than not, has been terrible product. The good stuff remained where it was made or was sneaked out by rare adventurous individuals. Furthermore, many of the cities and townships of the producing regions have had a history in running false labeling scams for commercial production. This often resulted in bad bottlings and unfortunately, bad mezcal, which like bad gin, bad grappa, bad wine, or bad (insert anything), can negatively color one’s view for a lifetime. That aside, methods of production are actually super strict and highly regulated even when compared on an international level.
On the sunnier side, let’s talk about the good stuff that’s starting to make its way to us. One particular producer we adore is Del Maguey. “Maguey” is the native term for agave, more commonly used in Oaxaca, Mexico. Del Maguey produces a line of single village mezcals and pride themselves on a longstanding family tradition of green and sustainable farming and production methods.
Del Maguey’s single village production is predominantly made from espadin, an agave variety that takes its name from the sword-like quality of its leaves. (A side note: there are 37 types of agave from which mezcal can be made, 28 have been D.O. legalized for production). Standing out are two highly prized bottlings, “Pechuga” and “Tobalá.” “Pechuga” translates into “breast” due to its particular method of production. Post distillation, they will add wild mountain apples and plums, large red plantains, pineapples, almonds and sometimes uncooked rice to the distillate. Then a whole chicken breast, which has been skinned & ceremoniously cleansed for three days in spring water, is suspended with strings over the vat to allow the vapors to pass through it and condense. Trust us, this results in a truly amazing product. The “Tobalá” bottling is an exception to the standard Del Maguey preference for espadin. It retrieves its name from a wild mountain agave varietal that can only flourish in the shade of the north sloping scrub oak tree of the highest altitudes (some reaching over 8,000 ft.) in the Oaxacan Mountains. Very similar to the finicky growing habits of some of Europe’s most-prized wild truffles, this rare bottling makes the effort to produce it worth the ritzy price.
2007 Del Maguey “Tobalá” (roughly 385 bottles made). 90 proof $125
Smokey, savory, fruity nose, grassy, mineral driven with hints of mango & cinnamon. White & cayenne pepper, wet mortar, raw nuts, grilled pineapple, sweet chiles. & lime.
2007 Del Maguey “Pechuga” (roughly 260 bottles made), 98.8 proof $200
Mesquite BBQ chicken nose, salty sweet, baked apple & plums, fresh bell pepper, peppery, tropical fruits, earthy clay notes, hazelnuts, basil, & lemon/lime.
These flavor profiles are unique to mezcal production even when compared to its tequila brethren. To clarify, tequila is actually a very specific type of mezcal that is made using only the blue weber agave, grown in specific micro-climates within Jalisco (further north of Oaxaca) and the surrounding regions. Unlike tequila, however, the agave hearts used for single village Oaxacan mezcals (which typically weigh between 40-80 lbs.) are roasted in earth and stone pits for 2-3 days. This traditional style of cooking contributes to their distinctive smoky and savory aromas, and what this donates to a mixed drink is incomparable to any other. While the “Pechuga” and “Tobalá” are a bit steep for mixing, Del Maguey also produces a “Crema de Mezcal” ($50), which blends 10 percent of the freshly roasted agave juice with 90 percent of the espadin mezcal from the village of San Luis del Rio. At a more toned down 80 proof, this bottling adds a honeyed sweetness to the smokey and tropical roasted fruits & vegetable undertones. The following are two original recipes that we find truly marry the beauty of mezcal to a more approachable cocktail format.
“Madre del Sur” – Chantal Tseng
1.5 oz. Del Maguey “Crema de Mezcal”
1 oz. Fino Sherry (I like the Lustau brand)
.5 oz. Pineapple Syrup*
.5 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
2 dashes Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until very cold. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a pineapple leaf spear. Food pairing ideas: fresh tortillas, grilled vegetables, seafood ceviche & chipotle sauces.
*Boil chopped fresh pineapple in simple syrup
"First Light" - Adam Bernbach
2oz. Del Maguey “Crema de Mezcal”
0.5oz Fresh Grapefruit juice
0.25oz Fresh Lemon juice
0.25oz Grade A Maple syrup
Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until very cold. Strain into a cocktail glass and top with fresh grated nutmeg. Food pairing ideas: anchovies, sardines, oysters, clams & charred fish.
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And to clarify furthermore:
Mescaline doesn't come from mezcal. There was an incorrect naming/link between mezcal and peyote, and people thereafter started thinking mescaline comes from mezcal which makes a tequila.
That explains the drunken stupor minus the dancing bunnies.
In Three Amigos, they order tequila.
What's tequila?
Ehh, it's like beer.
i feel hyper-educated now
Thank you for taking all the mystery out of getting $h!tfaced. Next week: Ergot Poisoning, the Great Vowel Shift, and Bottom Fermented Beer: The Case for Why Europeans are Total A$$holes.
See, this is exactly why I drink Sterno poured through toast and three-penis wine.
I went caving once in Mexico. We slept in a little mountain village that was shrouded in clouds the whole time we were there. The night before we left the people of the villiage cooked us a huge dinner. After dinner we sat on the stoop of a little tin roofed, dirt floored kitchen with one of the old men of the village. He produced a small bottle of mezcal and passed it around. It was amazing, and we told him we loved it and inquired about its origin. The man said it was made in the village, that they only made very small batches, and that this one was special, which was why it was so tasty, and why he had brought it out for dinner that night. When we asked what made it special, he told us that in harvesting the plant, one of the villagers had accidentally cut off one of his fingers with the machete. Since the drive out of the mountains and to the nearest hospital was well over 10 hours (and they had no car anyway) they put the finger into the fermentation process.
Be may have been b.s.ing me, but alot of those guys were missing fingers. Regardless, I can still taste that glorious mezcal if I think about it long enough.