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Drinks Food & Drink

Stop confusing mezcal with tequila and no, it’s not made with mescaline

A few weeks ago, Jon Taffer, the loudmouthed, oafish host of reality TV show Bar Rescue, spewed some ignorance about mezcal being made from mescaline in a Q&A with the Huffington Post.

Despite the media coverage and premiumization of agave spirits in recent years, even “professionals” continue to disseminate idiotic myths and damaging stereotypes about mezcal. For someone who gives a shit, it’s infuriating.

Although a healthy splash of mystery contributes to mezcal’s allure, let’s focus on spreading real facts, not lies, about this unique Mexican spirit.

It’s ultra-timely that Owen Walker and Grant van Gameren are just weeks away from opening El Rey Mezcal Bar in Kensington Market.

“I like the idea of introducing mezcal and the culture surrounding it to people,” says Walker. “I think it’s important to reflect the values associated with mezcal,” he says, referring to its artisanal aspects, the length of time it takes to make it and the fact that it has a tradition. “It’s not about consumption or speed.”

While tequila has undergone extreme commercialization, to the detriment of the category’s overall quality, mezcal remains an inherently artisanal spirit even as its niche popularity grows.

“It’s divergent from commercial production,” notes Walker. “There’s really no way to produce mezcal the same way as tequila.”

Unlike tequila, which is a type of mezcal made from blue Weber’s agave under a specific denomination of origin, mezcal can be made from over 20 varieties of the agave plant, many of which grow wild. Despite what some believe, agaves are non-hallucinogenic succulents that have nothing in common with peyote cacti other than a preference for an arid climate. Over 100 varieties grow in Mexico, where the plant, also known as maguey, carries immense cultural significance.

The striking thing about agave is how long it takes to mature. Wild varietals like tepeztate might have to be 20 years old or more before they can be harvested for mezcal. Even common espadin, which accounts for most mezcal production, can take over a decade.

Forget what whisky leads us to believe: age isn’t everything, in a conventional sense, at any rate. And the best mezcals see no wood contact.

As Walker remarks, “Mezcal is aged in the earth,” not in barrels.

It’s often stylistically defined as a smokey spirit, a profile acquired from the traditional method of slow pit-roasting the agave hearts pre-fermentation, but that isn’t entirely fair. Each variety of agave expresses an individual set of characteristics, as wine grapes do. The finest mezcals are among the most nuanced of spirits, with a flavour spectrum that touches on fruit and vegetables, herbs and flowers, minerals and resins, salt and pepper, earth and fire in a single sip.

Too often perceived as moonshine (yes, illicit spirits are made in Mexico, just as they are in every other country), mezcal production has been regulated by the CRM (Consejo Regulador del Mezcal) since the mid-90s. The majority of mezcals come from Oaxaca, in the south.

And the burning question: what about the worm? Gusanos (actually the larvae of the maguey moth) can indeed be found pickling in bottles of mezcal, though never in tequila. (It’s against the law.)

While sal de gusano (aka worm salt) and heaping baskets of dehydrated and seasoned larvae are found all over Oaxacan markets, mezcal con gusano was the brainchild of some enterprising character looking to lighten the pockets of tourists.

Where there’s a worm, the spirits are likely subpar. Dropping larvae into a beautiful mezcal made from decades-old wild agave is like infusing a 25-year-old single malt with pepperettes.

Nibbling on oranges dipped in sal de gusano between sips of mezcal is, however, both traditional and delicious. It’s an experience you should treat yourself to soon, at El Rey.

drinks@nowtoronto.com | @S_Parns

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