Tequila is a well-known spirit here in New Zealand. Many of us have experienced it slammed back with lemon and salt, or hidden in a margarita or paloma. The quality has improved over the years and has increased interest in the Mexican spirit. Now it’s time to make some space in the liquor cabinet for premium mezcal.
It’s the mother of tequila and is a spirit that is increasing in popularity as people go looking for something new and interesting. New Mexico artist Ron Cooper discovered farmer-producers in remote villages of Mexico making mezcal in 1995 and came up with the idea of introducing it to friends and fans of premium spirits. His Del Maguey brand is now one of the world’s most sought-after and some of the finest bottles are made using traditional recipes that are as unique as they are bizarre.
What’s the difference between tequila and mezcal?
Tequila is just a style of mezcal, made from a single variety of the agave plant and made using a largely industrialised process. Traditionally, the agaves used for mezcal are roasted in earth pits called huecos for 3-5 days, wild-fermented in open vats, and distilled by farmers in small villages.
So it’s a real farm-to-table drink?
Mezcal is made from 30 different varietals of agave; it’s like fine wine and we describe it more using the vocabulary of wine. We talk about the terroir – the soil, water and altitude of the particular villages where they grow their agave.
The farmers use primitive distilleries known as palenques and it’s a time-consuming, traditional method. It’s a spiritual and cultural beverage in Mexico. It’s used by the indigenous Zapotecas to celebrate births and weddings. They will wait for a fiesta then drink a lot of it, as it gets you closer to the gods.
How do you drink it?
How you drink your mezcal is all about personal taste. I like a Santo Domingo Albarradas and water on the rocks with a slice of lime – it’s very refreshing. Once you start sipping mezcal you don’t go back to tequila, you become enchanted. We’ve had 70 different cocktails created by the best bartenders in the world. Our first signature drink was a called a Smokin Margarita, made with silver tequila, fresh squeezed lime juice and Grand Marnier.
Then we float our Chichicapa mezcal on top and it changes the flavour profile completely. It becomes earthier and smokier and removes the afterbite you get from most margaritas. It’s a very successful cocktail with a different kind of effect.
Tell us about your specialty Pechuga mezcal – it’s made with a chicken breast?
We put our double distilled mezcal Minero into the still, and then add over 50 pounds of wild mountain apples and plums, some pineapples and plantain bananas, a few pounds of uncooked white rice, and a handful of almonds. Then, a whole chicken breast is washed for 7 hours and hung in the air of the still. It’s like an aromatic basket for gin.
The mezcal vapours pass over the chicken and removes the essence from the chicken as well as all the other added ingredients. The leftover chicken is almost like jerky after the heating process and you end up with a well-balanced, smooth and crystal clear mezcal.
How about the Iberico mezcal?
It started with chef Jose Andreas, who owns 10 restaurants in the US and worked at El Bulli – he’s an effusive, wild and crazy man and a great chef. He sent one of his chefs down to the town in Oaxaca where they make our Pechuga.
They wondered if we could substitute the chicken for Ibérico de Bellota ham. I asked the maker, who is 85-years-old, if we can do it. He was open to the idea but wouldn’t guarantee the result, but it ended up tasting amazing. If you asked me 25 years ago what my favourite mezcal was, I’d have told you that it’s like picking your favourite child, but now I say that it is the Iberico.
