We had been forced dry for 2 days as the Mexican government banned the sale of alcohol during the weekend of the presidential elections. So as Monday dawned we felt detoxed and ready to sample Mexico's poison.
We are currently residing in Oaxaca where you can't go down a street without seeing at least 7 different signs advertising Mezcal. This popular liquor is worshipped among locals who derive the alcohol from the Agave plants which grow the region.
After a full day of sightseeing we finally stop off at a the El Rey de Matatlan distillery where we are shown some of the varieties of Agave which they use to make Mezcal. This is followed by a short tour outlining the process. The first step is to harvest the plant when it reaches maturity (6-8 year), the root, or Pinas (named because it looks like a pineaple), are then baked in kilns dug into the ground lined with hot rocks and covered in soil to absorb the flavours of the earth.
After baking for 3 days the Agave are placed in a stone mill where they are ground. The pulp is then transferred to wooden vats where water is added. This allows it to ferment naturally for 3-15 days before being distilled.
Next we get to taste.
We are initially given 4 bottles to try ranging from the Joven Mescal, which is young and unaged,to Mescal Anejo, which has been aged for 8 years. It is the latter which we try first. They say this is the smoothest but it tastes like a cheep smoky whiskey to me. I'm not a fan but willing to try more to see how the other lesser aged variety's taste. Unfortunately they don't differ too much from the first.
The shots are served with some side dishes to help balance the taste. The options are; Lime, Nuts, Chilli Powder or a Worm. The worm is actually a Gusano, a moth caterpillar which feeds on the Agave. One of these is placed in each bottle of aged Mezcal. The tradition is that whoever gets the worm in their shot glass has to drink it. I don't think this is a forfeit as we see many Mexicans munching these down voluntarily from the side plates.
We find out later that the 'Chilli' powder is actually called Sal de Gusano, or 'Worm Salt' in English. This powder is made up of chilli, salt and dried worms. They really do love these little fellows!
For the purpose of research we buy a bottle of the Roposado [40%], which is aged for 6 months in American white oak barrels giving it a amber colour. We also go for and a much more a palatable drink, Pistachio Crema [19%], which uses the young distilled liquor, sweetened with honey and then flavoured.
Two shots into the Reposado and we are grabbing at the bag of Sal de Gusano. It really does say something about the drink if we are using dried worms to get rid of the taste of the Mezcal.
