Real Minero

Buy Mezcal Futures – A Great Cause (Updated)

Mezcal PhD / April 25, 2020

We all know these are weird times we are living in. I live in NYC, and there is an unsettling calm to our lives; no traffic, relatively few people out and about, everything closed, no Naked Cowboy in Times Square, and a million other oddities. Yes, this is largely true everywhere, but perhaps the contrast to our normal cacophony is more striking here. This is the epicenter and IT is swirling all around us, yet when you walk out the door, you simply feel out of sorts and know something’s just not right.

In this environment, there are many great causes to support and my wife and I and our friends have been doing just that. We are all doing what we can for the healthcare workers, the restaurants and bars, the local businesses, the essential workers, plenty of charities and many more. So when an effort popped up on FaceBook the other night with a plan to help mezcaleros in Santa Catarina Minas (SCM), I thought, “Now that’s a great idea too!”.

SCM is a storied mezcal making town less than an hour south of Oaxaca, and I go there with great enthusiasm every year! As soon as my plane lands, I’m like Trump running for a Big Mac. I can’t wait to get there! SCM is known for their handcrafted, very small batch, clay pot distilled mezcals. A few well-known brands like Real Minero and Lalocura are there, but so are dozens of others who have no brand. I’ve bought many AMAZING mezcals in that town! Most of the producers in SCM make a living by selling mezcal to the tourists, and with no tourists, guess what? They are suffering economically. Again, they are not alone – a lot of people all over the world are. But if you love mezcal, and love Oaxaca, this is a fantastic way to support this community.

Lou Bank, founder of S.A.C.R.E.D. put this together. What is SACRED? From their website:

SACRED is a USA-based, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation that helps improve lives in the rural Mexican communities where heirloom agave spirits are made. We host educational tastings and develop other forms of fundraising to underwrite programs that help replant agave, build libraries, ensure water security, and repair damage done by earthquakes.

However, if you want to buy some mezcal, do not go to the SACRED site. You need to go to THIS SITE.

UPDATE: Lou has added another set of mezcaleros and you can buy mezcal from them on THIS SITE.

The second site has my main man Felix Angeles on it. Anyone who follows me knows I worship him (though not in a weird way).

Lou is a great guy and a mezcal evangelist. So he found a creative way to support this community, and he calls it Mezcal Futures. In a nutshell (or perhaps, small copita), you buy mezcal today and pick it up later in Oaxaca. Certainly, for those of us who are lucky enough to go to Oaxaca regularly, this is an easy trade – great mezcal at prices that are 50%-75% less than what you would pay in the U.S. for something similar. And maybe if you have never been to Oaxaca and are aspiring to go, this will be an impetus to book that flight. But yes, the trick here is they cannot ship it, so you have to go get it.

Right now, Lou has four producers selling mezcal on his SITE. He put it up quickly, and it is not the prettiest website you’ve ever seen, but it gets the job done. And you can pay with PayPal. I’ve been to two of the featured palenques: Lalocura and that of Don Pablo Arellanes Ramirez, and their mezcals are incredible. I do not know the other producers, but I trust Lou not to lead me, or you, astray.

Of course, I bought too many bottles – I am very enthusiastic about mezcal (did you know?). I actually bought more bottles than I can realistically bring back in one trip. And I look forward to my SCM scavenger hunt, showing up with my PayPal receipt in hand, and asking these mezcaleros to unearth my bottles (apparently 3 of the 4 producers are going to bury the purchased bottles, which is supposed to help the mellowing process of the mezcal). Will they look at me like I am fucking nuts, or embrace me and appreciate that I chipped in? I am betting on the latter. As they say in Philly, “Trust the Process.”

I know of another storied mezcal family that is trying to put together something similar to what Lou has done with this effort, and there are probably others too. They are all likely to be “pick up in Oaxaca” type offers, but don’t let that discourage you! If you know of other efforts, let me know and I can add them to this post. In the meantime, be safe out there, and Drink Mezcal!

Mezcal Brands Found in the U.S.

Mezcal PhD / October 1, 2016

Updated October 2016

Bottle Shot Sadly, it has been a few years since I did a deep dive and thorough update to this list. Yes, I have added a brand here and there, but I have not scoured the web in a few years to see what is really out there. And man have times changed!

When I last took a hard look, there were about 70 mezcal brands to be found in the U.S. Now I count 120+! Wow. Further, a few years ago there were around 50 brands that were traveling in the upper end of the market, and that has now risen to almost 90 brands in what I consider to be in the premium sector.

I used to have them all, and I can no longer say that. In my recent research, I found many brands I had never even heard of at premium prices and occasionally at premium packaging. A lot of these are definitely under the radar, which means they are not active on social media or apparently in the active promotion of their brand. I know because I follow this stuff. Also, when new brands are coming to the market they often issue press releases, and many contact me and are generous enough to send me a bottle – I am grateful every time! But many of the new brands below have done nothing to announce their presence in the U.S. market, so that is why I say under the radar. And if that is what they want to do, no problem! But I am curious about a good number of them and will be making some new purchases for sure.

You will find a lot of these brands if you read MY BOOK (shameless self-promotion perhaps, but hey, the blog is free so this is my form of selling ad space!). I talk about all these brands in greater depth, plus I take a detailed look at how the many varieties of agave impact the flavor of a mezcal – much like grapes are to wine, agave is to mezcal. The book is Holy Smoke! It’s Mezcal! and it is on Amazon. Notice the cool cover shot to the right. Buy a copy – I promise you won’t be disappointed! Now back to our regularly scheduled program…

So here is my currently assembled list of the brands that can be found in the U.S. The list is organized from top to bottom by the brands I am most familiar with, which means among other things, I can find them and drink them regularly, I read about them, and/or they are actively promoting their brands through social media, etc. As the list progresses, many of these I have never tried and never seen other than on a website. So they are mainly pretty obscure but some of them look quite interesting with a price point to match.

Toward the bottom of the list, there is a bunch of crap (that usually stirs up some controversy) – a bunch of industrial mezcals and some random stuff, many of which I have tried, hence that is what I call this part of the list crap. If you are looking for something good, stay higher on the list and do some research. When you see a mezcal for under $30, it is rarely good (though there are exceptions). Comments like that usually draw out some criticism that I am being elitist or worse, but it is simply a reality. It is VERY EXPENSIVE to produce a good, artisanal mezcal. Just a fact.

But if you think something toward the back of the pack is good, first you should drink it, and then let me know. I am always happy to learn and reassess. With that, here is what I have….

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The Real (Minero) Deal: Oaxaca Edition (Round 2)

Mezcal PhD / August 25, 2016

Oaxaca is a special place, and there is no better way to enjoy it than to journey out to a palenque (distillery) to see how mezcal is made first hand. Many years ago, when I first began touring palenques I was under the illusion that I was going out there just to see how mezcal was made. I thought I was going to see the agave fields, the earthen roasting pits, the horse drawn stone grinding mill, the fermentation tanks, the copper or clay pot stills, and the many other things that are involved in the ultimate arrival of this magical elixir. Basically, I thought it was all about the mechanics of making mezcal.

**The collecting tray inside a clay pot still**

It took me awhile to figure it out, but now I know that the mechanics of making mezcal are only one slice of a palenque tour. What am I talking about? What else could there be? Well, as I said it did not hit me right away. But the more time I spent with mezcaleros and mezcaleras (female mezcaleros as I recently learned), I began to understand that they were not just sharing the process of mezcal production, but they were sharing their family history, their culture, their generational passion, their life.

Mezcal is so much more to these traditional producers. From the time most of them were small children, they have been around the palenque, sat with their fathers, mothers, aunts, cousins, uncles and grandparents, and absorbed all there is to know about making mezcal. For these producers, mezcal is the center of their world – it is their past, present and future. Mezcal is revered and core to who they are. It is present at every major milestone of their lives: births, communions, weddings, funerals, and everything in between.

So when you are lucky enough to be invited into their world, you eventually understand that mezcal is so much more than cutting, baking, fermenting and distilling. It is with an immense source of pride, passion and knowledge that they bring you into their inner circle.

**The Family Name on the Wall at Real Minero**

And so it was on my recent trip to Oaxaca that my friends and I were invited into the sanctuary of the palenque at Real Minero. William Scanlan of Heavy Metl Premium Imports, who imports Real Minero in the U.S., knew I was dying to see this highly regarded producer for myself so he generously arranged our visit.

We arrived at the well-kept little town of Santa Catarina Minas, the heart of a historic mezcal making region. I’ve been told that all mezcal is made in clay pots in Santa Catarina Minas, as this is their tradition. I cannot verify if this is 100% true (maybe there is a copper pot rebel up in their hills), but if so, it’s awesome that this tradition has been kept so vibrant.

Real Minero is a storied mezcal brand from a 4th generation mezcal family. These days, the brand is being run by Graciela Angeles Carreño, the great granddaughter of the brand’s founder, or it could be the great great granddaughter, or the great great great granddaughter…the thing is they really don’t know how far back it goes. Many of these longtime mezcal-making families lose the trail as they backtrack the family tree into the 1800’s, and so it is with Real Minero. All they know is that there is 100+ years of mezcal making in their family. Love it!

While Graciella is a “Master Mezcalera” herself, her father Lorenzo Angeles Mendoza is also at the heart of their mezcal making these days. I put the term “Master Mezcalera” (same thing with “Master Mezcalero”) in quotes because Graciella explained that this term is all marketing. She said it did not really even exist until about 10yrs ago when mezcal started gaining popularity. Before that, you just made mezcal. Now you are labeled a “master” for simply doing what you have always done – making great mezcal in her case!

Graciella gave us a full tour of the Real Minero palenque. We started at their very modern warehouse which had surrounding agave fields with various varietals at different stages of development. The warehouse was quite large and spotless with an office and a conference room up the stairs at one end. I have never seen such modern facilities at a palenque – Real Minero is clearly planning for the future.

**The entrance to the Real Minero palenque**

An agave field and various varietals in staggered states of maturity could be found throughout the property. There were a handful of A. karwinskii var. tripon – Real Minero makes the only mezcal I have seen with the tripon varietal. The one expression they have had in the states for years is an ensemble of four agaves, though now Metl is bringing in their whole amazing line of varietals. I asked Graciella if they made a single expression tripon, and she said they did and that the might have a few for purchase (but good luck finding it in the U.S.!). Now, I would just have to beat my buddies to it….

The agave fields held some beauties (if you like this kind of thing, which clearly I do) with huge towering arroquenos and quite a few varieties of Agave karwinskii nearing maturity. There was also an Agave rhodacantha, best known for the varietal mexicano (also known as dobadaan). Graciella explained that this rhodacantha was a cuixe varietal. I have only known a cuixe as an A. karwinskii, so this was a new agave varietal for me. Yes, I was truly psyched! As we walked the property, Graciella provided other little tidbits.

**You are not likely to see a more spotless palenque**

For example, she said that sometimes you will find rocks in the middle of a mature agave. Why? Because as the quiote starts to sprout, and if the agave is large enough (like an arroqueno), one cannot get to the middle of the agave to cut off the quiote. The quiote is cut off to keep the sugars and energy of the agave concentrated in the pina. So if an agave farmer cannot reach the quiote to cut it off, they throw rocks at it to break it! I thought she was pulling our leg, but no, it is true. More cool stuff for a mezcal nerd!

We left the fields and the warehouse and made our way to where the Real Minero distills their mezcal. Again, it was the cleanest, most well-organized palenque I have seen. Nothing was out of place. No stray equipment or tools. You could practically eat off the brick and cement floor. But it was not an industrial setting. Just a great looking, well kept gorgeous palenque. They not were roasting or crushing agave at this time, but they were distilling. They had eight clay pot stills, of which four were in the midst of distillation. My mouth started watering as Graciella pulled out a large gourd bowl and began filling it from one of the stills. Still warm from the still, she passed around a scrumptious 50% ABV tobala.

I am not sure there is anything better on the planet than tasting a great artisanal mezcal, right off the still, from one of the world’s renowned agave spirits producers. And we tasted. And tasted. And tasted some more. Not that is wasn’t already, but soon enough, everything was REALLY right with the world.

In a room adjacent to the stills, Graciella showed us a room with perhaps 50 huge glass containers in which they have been aging mezcal for over ten years! With the coming changes to the mezcal NOM, “aged in glass” will be a category unto itself. You may ask if aging in glass actually does anything to the mezcal? I have not tasted many so I am by no means an expert, but people in the mezcal world absolutely revere mezcals that have been aged in glass for many years. It smooths and mellows the mezcal. You will find it to be richer with greater depth and character. That certainly has been my experience, and though Graciella could not tell us when her glass-aged mezcal would hit the market, I would like to be first in line when it does.

**Graciella explaining the fine points of clay pot distillation**

After my friends stopped me from asking even more questions (were a few hundred too many?), we made our way back to the warehouse and Graciella treated us to a grand tasting of all Real Minero offerings. OMG! Find them. Buy them. Drink them. Happily, as I mentioned, most of these can now be found in the U.S., and they are amazing. The mezcal-y wizardry of the many generations of the Angeles family is poured into every bottle. These are truly great mezcals by any measure, all clay pot distilled, and each one lives up to the family’s reputation. Naturally, my friend’s and I bought as much as we could carry (and then some).

By now it was after 3pm, we were feeling good, and we were starving – which by the way, is almost what always happens when you are touring palenques in Oaxaca. Important safety tip: eat a big breakfast and bring protein bars! Graciella invited us to lunch at her local. As we drank beer and ate great food, I reflected on a special day at one of the more amazing palenques I am likely to ever see.

Graciella, thanks for a fantastic experience! Until next time, drink mezcal!

How Do You Know A Quality Mezcal? What is Traditional Mezcal? What is Artisanal Mezcal? Do the Distinctions Matter?

Mezcal PhD / August 13, 2013

There is a debate going around in the mezcal community (yes, there is a community for pretty much everything – are you a member of the A-Rod’s Homeopathic Treatments Club?) about what the definition is of Traditional Mezcal. I think I know where this started, and I am certain it will not end here, but I wanted to throw my hat in the ring on this debate.

For the most part, I think this whole debate is a problem of nomenclature. The nomenclature part is simple: as soon as you say one thing is “traditional”, that means everything else is not. The problem is that many news outlets, websites, and blogs picked up a recent piece of literature on traditional mezcal, and they are publishing it as gospel. I think there is more to the story. Let’s see if we can sort it out. (more…)