Agave is the new miracle food.  The nectar is a natural way to sweeten anything from cakes to tea. Health food stores sell it. Trendy juice bars add it to their smoothies. You can hardly read a recipe without Agave being the “unique” ingredient.

I enjoy Agave in its original manifestation- tequila.

I grew up in Texas. I was raised on jalapenos and tequila with lime, sugar and salt. As much as I like tequila, I was uncertain about a recent Oxford Alcademics Mezcal tasting. I always considered Mezcal the unrefined cousin of tequila. Extremely strong and better known for the worm at the bottom of the bottle than the flavour.

It did not take long to realize that the Mezcal sampled over the border during spring break was nothing like the boutique spirits of today. Eduardo Gomez, a brand manager for Amathus Drinks, explains how Mezcal is different from tequila.

 

"They roast Agave with hot rocks buried in the earth. When the Maguey or Agave is cooked it is ground by a horse pulling a stone mill. If they don't have a horse or a donkey, they use wooden mallets." Once the resulting mash is fermented, it is distilled. Eduardo continues, "They are very industrious. They use anything- copper, clay, petrol tank, old oil drums. When a still breaks they fix it, or build a new one with the things they have."

One key attribute of Mezcal is that it is not diluted with water. The ABV (alcohol by volume) that comes out of the still is the final percentage and that percentage must not be lower than 42%. Most batches have an ABV between 46 - 58%. Each batch produces about 1,000 bottles. Similar to terroir of small vineyards, the resulting product can vary dramatically between batches depending on the distilleries methods, location and specific type of agave used.

 

One of the great things about your first sip of Mezcal is that you can smell the smoke, taste the Earth. Ordinary families create this spirit. One of my favourites is the Los Danzantes Joven (£55.60). It has the typical smoky aroma with nutty savoury flavours yet is light enough to mix in a cocktail. For something a bit different try the Alipús San Baltazar (£51.90). It is full of pepper, coriander and orange flavours, a perfect accompaniment for Ahi Tuna.

Enjoy it neat- Mezcal is the new Whisky.

  • Mezcal can be purchased through amathusdrinks.com.