2012

Archives for 2012.

The Worm and How It Set Mezcal Back 50 Years

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I curse the worm!  Well, OK, that may be a bit dramatic, but I am definitely not a fan of the worm.  The only good place for a worm is in the mouth of a fish.The worm I am going to talk about today is more correctly referred to as a larvae (a gusano in Spanish), and can be frequently found in the bottom of a bottle of mostly BAD mezcal.   There are two types of maguey worms that infest (that’s right, infest) agave plants:  white maguey worms and red maguey worms.

The white maguey worms, known as meocuiles, are caterpillars of a butterfly.  The butterflies deposit their eggs at the heart of the leaves of the agave.  The larvae then eat the flesh of the agave stems and roots, sometimes boring out the agave completely.

The red maguey worms are known as chilocuiles, chinicuiles or tecoles, and are the larvae of a moth.  These infest the core and roots of the maguey plant, often in a glutenous mass.  Who wouldn’t want to eat a glutenous mass??  Let’s celebrate these majestic creatures by putting them in the fine spirit known as mezcal! (more…)

Mezcal Stones?

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Whenever people ask me how I like to drink mezcal, I say “often”.  But usually they are wondering if I like to drink it on the rocks, neat, chilled, in cocktails, or whatever.  My first response is that you should drink it however you like and not worry about whether there is a “right way” to drink mezcal.  It is an awesome, fun, festive spirit, so enjoy it in a way that you appreciate.

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Is Wild Shot the Cuervo Gold of Mezcal?

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I know you are well aware of Cuervo Gold, and I am also guessing that you have heard about Wild Shot Mezcal.  I will come back to Cuervo, but first let’s discuss Wild Shot.  It was launched in early 2011 by country singer Toby Keith, who apparently is very

popular, though I don’t think I run with his crowd.  Keith is going for the mass market in terms of branding, marketing, packaging, but strangely, not really pricing at $40 a bottle or so.  Maybe his slogan should be, “Don’t buy that 12 pack of wife beaters at Walmart.  Buy mezcal!”  He also sells this, uh, ahh, mezcal, at his 11 or so Bar and Grill’s that he owns around the country.

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Daddy, Tell Me About the 400 Rabbits

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Well son, the 400 Rabbits are a bunch of cute, fuzzy, cuddly little bunny rabbits that are always getting crazy drunk on mezcal and tequila!  Now that’s a great bedtime story, isn’t it?

Really.  Here is the myth of the 400 rabbits.  In Aztec mythology, first there was Mayahuel, the goddess of the agave plant and of fertility (if you are going to be a goddess, those are two great things to rule!).  As you can see from the photo, she was quite a looker in her day.  Mayahuel got hammered one night and hooked up with Patecatl, who is also a pulque god.  (more…)

The Two Greatest Mezcal Cocktails Known to Mankind

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Now that may sound like a bold claim, but I believe it.  I have gone through a massive mezcal cocktail discovery process, and have made many, tried many, and therefore, consumed many.  It has been hard, as you might imagine.  But through this process, I have not found any that can top these two.  Yes, a few try to approach the pantheon, but they too fall back to just being damn good, not completely awesome.

Both of these drinks take a bit of effort, but I assure you it is worth it.  You will literally amaze your friends.  Some of them actually think I know what I am doing!  I just make these drinks and the people follow.  They become instant mezcal converts.  So here they are: (more…)

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Master Mezcalier Classes

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So here is a cool thing I came across.  In August of 2011, COMERCAM, among a few other sponsoring bodies, officially passed into Mexican Law a certification program to become a Master Mezcalier.

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Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2012 Results

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The results of the Ultimate Spirits Challenge 2012 are out, and I must say they are a bit puzzling to me.  I am, of course focusing on the mezcal results, but click the full results if you care to review them.  http://www.ultimate-beverage.com/the-results/2012-spirits-results/#category_6

To me, the surprising result is that the top rated mezcal is Del Maguey Vida.  Now this is no doubt a fine mezcal but I am guessing that even Ron Cooper at Del Maguey would not see this as Del Maguey’s top rated mezcal.  Though I can happily sip it, there are many more that I think are better sipping mezcals, and I view this as great product with which to make mezcal cocktails.  Even though I don’t get it, congrats to Vida.

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Welcome to Mezcal PhD. Have a Drink.

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Calling myself Mezcal PhD is really more of an aspirational title than one based in fact.  On the other hand, who is to really say?  Can you really get a PhD in spirits, and more specifically Mezcal?  And who would award such a degree?  Would you really want to have THAT alma mater on your resume? (more…)

My Favorite Mezcal Sayings

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As you probably know, mezcal has a cult-like following.  Perhaps these sayings have emerged as a result of that, or maybe people are trying to further the education of mezcal, or maybe they are trying to capture the cultural and spiritual heritage of this spirit.  Or maybe they were just bombed when they came up with them!  Whatever it is, I don’t know of any other spirit that actually has a growing body of descriptive phrases surrounding it.  Or maybe I have not been paying attention!  That said, here are a few of my favorites:

  • Mezcal is an acquired taste, but a taste worth acquiring.
  • If you drink too much mezcal, they don’t say you are drunk; they say you are “closer to god”.
  • For everything bad, mezcal.  For everything good, mezcal.
  • Based on the long growth period (8-12 years) for an agave plant to reach the age of harvest, they say that mezcal represents “drops of time”.
  • You don’t find mezcal, mezcal finds you!
  • Tequila is to wake the living.  Mezcal is to wake the dead.

More later….