Tasting: JUNE 21

TASTING JUNE 21: REY CAMPERO

For those of you unfamiliar with Rey Campero, these are the self-proclaimed “Kings of the Countryside,” a family run operation overseeing one of the most diverse and productive agave nurseries in Oaxaca. Helmed by Romulo Sanchez Parada, they have an extensive portfolio showcasing their impressive array of agave varietals including familiar Espadin and Cuishe, to more rare Tepextate and Jabali.

Having such a wealth to choose provides the opportunity to start mixing some of these varietals together to create Ensembles (on-SAHM-blays) which are blends of multiple agave types in one batch. Thus is our theme for this month. While mezcaleros and their marketers and exporters have played into the single varietal promotion that is more readable by our American palates, the Ensemble method was the more traditional way of doing things. Instead of a jimador (agave farmer) growing just one type of agave to produce a focused expression, mezcaleros and their families would just harvest whatever happened to come out of the ground naturally.

Ensembles arguably require more expertise, as you’re dealing with agave types that are all different shapes and sizes, at different ages, with different sugar levels that all require different roasting times. Loading the oven to be able to do this is an art form, and one that takes many years to master.

For this month’s class we are trying our hand at a cheaters method of blending. We’re featuring one of Rey Campero’s Ensembles that combines Espadin, Cuishe, and Tepextate, but then including those single varietal bottles that compose that blend. That way you can taste the individual ingredients on their own, then try your hand at blending them together!

Mezcal #1: Rey Campero Cuishe

Maestro: Romulo Sanchez Parada

Origen: Candelaria Yegole, OAX

Agave: Karwinskii

Notes: For those who need a refresher, Cuishe aka Karwinskii agaves are those that look kinda like palm trees. Longer and leaner, they don’t have as big a bulb as say an Espadin, so they naturally don’t have as much sugar within them to distill into precious mezcal. This usually translates to a leaner style that has a dryer profile, that more sharply exhibits the minerality of the soil where they grow. Not so in this case! We found this Cuishe to have a richer viscosity, and soooo much flavor. Bouncing all over from leather to tobacco to vanilla to phenol. Super tasty.

Mezcal #2: Rey Campero Espadin

Maestro: Romulo Sanchez Parada

Origen: Candelaria Yegole, OAX

Agave: Angustifolia

Notes: We just love when an Espadin defies the norm. This one has such depth and complexity, but definitely has some pronounced smoke that doesn’t overwhelm the good good grassy banana sweetness that’s goin on here.

Mezcal #3: Rey Campero Tepextate

Maestro: Romulo Sanchez Parada

Origen: Candelaria Yegole, OAX

Agave: Marmorata

Notes: We typically expect Tepes to be some of the richer, creamier, buttery varietals out there, but in this case it ends up being much more green. We were tasting all the peppers, and not to say it lacks body, but it’s definitely a leaner version of the form. We’re curious to see how these three support each other when all combined together.

Mezcal #4: Rey Campero Ensemble

Maestro: Romulo Sanchez Parada

Origen: Candelaria Yegole, OAX

Agave: Cuishe + Espadin + Tepextate

Notes: Soooooo sometimes combining forces can lead to Optimus Prime, other times it can be a car crash. This lies somewhere in between for us. Tasting this at the end of the other 3, it felt a little cacophonous. Like the strengths of each were battling it out with each other instead of achieving sweet agave harmony. Not that it’s bad in anyway, it’s just interesting to taste the phenol notes become more pronounced, resulting in a much hotter sipper than each of the individual expressions were on their own. There are some cool chocolate-y notes that make it more interesting, but if all 4 of these bottles were on the table together, we might be reaching for this one last.

ENSEMBLE ASSEMBLY

I, I’m so in love with you. Whatever you want to do… is alright with meee eeee eee eee eeeeeeee.

Hola mezcal clubbers! For the June edition of the Mezcal Mews, we’re focusing on the wonderful world of Ensembles, (ON-sahm-blay) which literally translates to, “assemble.” They’re essentially blends of different varietals in one bottle, kind of like how a Meritage is a blend of different varietals of wine grapes. While it might seem like these are some promotional gimmick, they’re actually more traditional than the single varietal expressions that many of us were first introduced to in this modern mezcal market.

Back in The Beforetime, farmers or jimadores would just find whatever types of agave were growing in their fields and use those to roast, then distill. People weren’t in the practice of cultivating only Jabalí to make sweet juicy juice. They’d use whatever the earth provided.

Ensembles take a lot of skill to produce, and our master Maestro for this series is Rómulo Sånchez Parada, from the beloved brand, Rey Campero. For our shipment this month, we’re able to mix and match the single expressions to create our own version of a blend, but Rómulo does things the old school way. Instead of loading just a single type of agave into the horno (earthen oven) he’s loading the 3 different types at the same time. Imagine putting sweet potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms on a sheet tray in your oven at the same time. They’ll all cook at different rates. The same is true of these agave. They have to be cut and loaded into the oven with great precision to ensure they all cook evenly and produce the yield Rómulo is looking for.

Three varietals is a challenge for sure, though you may remember in our April shipment from Melate, there was an Ensemble from Artemio in Ocotepec that had SEVEN varietals in one. The skill involved here is mind blowing.

So don’t sleep on Ensembles! While you feel like the cool kids might all be sipping Sierra Negra these days, these blends represent tradition and craft in a way that embodies the true spirit of these spirits.

Salúd.

Tasting: MAY 21

OMMMGGGGGGG have you had The Rock’s new tequila?! How bout Kendal Jenner’s? Nick Jonas’s? The Breaking Bad hombres?

Seems like every time you turn around there’s some new celebrity fronting the next hot shit brand that’s supposed to be the best agave spirit to cross your palate. This is not surprising as the agave division is the fastest growing spirits category in the US, seeing a 65% sales increase in 2020 alone.

While this could have net positive impact on the state of Oaxaca, (which is the 2nd poorest state in Mexico) as consumers, we should be wary of how this increased demand could stress or break the system all together. Greedy corporations looking to maximize profit might be incentivized to do so by cutting corners when it comes to things like sustainable agave farming, fair wage compensation, using additives or chemicals, etc.

While we here at Mission Mezcal Club are committed to working with such producers all the time always, we felt like it was worth exploring the topic more in depth by featuring 4 producers who don’t just walk the walk, but talk the talk.

MEZCAL #1: Macurichos

Maestro: Gonzalo Martinez Semas

Origen: Santiago Matatlan, OAX

Agave: Tobalá

Notes: Our first feature is from the young and brilliant Gonzalo Martinez, whose family took over a wild agave field in the 60s and have been producing sustainable mezcals ever since. Tobalá is an exemplary choice for the sustainability conversation because Agave Potatorum takes up to 20 years to reach maturity, and because they’re so small, it can take up to 3 mature plants to make just 1 liter of mezcal.

The brothers cultivate their own diverse fields of agave—planting from seed and reforesting the diminishing wild agave populations—and use exclusively organic farming practices with love and respect.

MEZCAL #2: La Medida

Maestro: Antonio Cortés Aragón

Agave: Arroqueño

Notes: La Medida (“The Measure”) is a co-op of 46 mezcal producers. This style enables and engages a community-based support system for shared resources and labor that helps support the mezcal-driven economy of agave rich Miahuatlán.

Arroqueño is the opposite of Tobalá in that they’re HUGE. They’re prized for how much sugar each piña has, and thereby how much mezcal each plant can produce.

Grown wild, this species was on the verge of extinction, save for the conservation efforts in Miahuatlán, led by the team at La Medida.

MEZCAL #3: Pal’Alma

Maestro: Patricio Hernandez

Agave: Salmiana

Notes: Pal’alma is the export brand for Almamezcalera, the bottling label from Mexico City’s notorious “Indiana Jones of Agave”, Erick Rodriguez.  Equal parts historian and adventurer, Erick travels to remote production sites all over Mexico.

Deeply committed to local traditions and rooted in rustic ingenuity, Erick’s collaborators are all bona fide local legends in their own right.  Working with just a single mezcalero per state, including several states (such as Nuevo León and Sonora) not currently acknowledged under the “Mezcal” Denomination of Origin, Erick bottles tiny batches of truly thrilling, uncertified agave distillates.

Featured here is the lesser known Salmiana varietal, that in this case is blended by Patricio with 30% Pulque, adding a briney complexity to this endlessly intriguing sipper that keeps you coming back for more.

MEZCAL #4: Nuestra Soledad

Maestro: Pedro Vasquez

Agave: Espadín

Notes: Nuestra Soledad is a 100% organic production, featuring single village producers that grow their own agave. This helps keep the supply chain (and the profit share) within the villages that create each mezcal.

This creates end-to-end control of the product from plant to bottle that for a master distiller like Pedro, gives him complete creative expression.

This Esapdín is exemplary. Pedro pulls tremendous complexity from just this single workhorse agave, yielding notes of caramelized banana with cedar/cigar box spice. Delicious.

Stand Up Stand Outs

For all its romance, Mezcal is sadly subjected to the same slings and arrows that any product endures once it outgrows its local roots, and starts circumnavigating the globe. Not sure if you’ve noticed this, but corporations tend to like moneyyyy. So if a company can make more profit by cutting out non-scalable artisanal methods, they’re typically willing to make such short cuts in the name of the almighty dollar, or peso as the case may be. Things like environment impacts, employee health-effects, fair-treatment to suppliers, etc. can all get de-prioritized if it means a few more coins in the coffers.

In the world of mezcal, this can manifest in ways that dilute (sometimes literally) the product so much, that it undoes much of the ancestral process that arguably makes mezcal mezcal. Things like using a pressurized oven instead of an earth oven pit, substituting artificial flavor additives in an attempt to compensate for the natural smoky flavor lost, adding fermentation chemicals to cut down on lead time, diluting bottles to the 30% ABV minimum, pressuring small producers into unfavorable long-term contracts, and desecrating the local ecosystem to save on costs, etc. etc. The atrocities can quickly compound.

With these fiscal priorities at odds with this ancient art form, Mezcal as we know is at risk of eroding around the edges, compromise by compromise, as was the case with a lot of tequila decades before.

That brings us to the theme for this month’s Mission Mezcal Club shipment. We wanted to feature four producers who are endeavoring to keep mezcal miraculously unique and artisanal.

That’s part of our aim with this club as well. We believe if mezcal can be understood and appreciated at its full potential, people will show their preference for quality artisanal mezcal that is sustainably and fairly sourced. Then we can hopefully reverse this erosion, as big businesses will be forced to supply offer truly artisanal mezcal that meets the demands of the consumers and the traditions behind mezcal will be preserved. With clubs like these, we hope to raise consumer consciousness, and we, the informed and grateful recipients of such wondrous elixir will be empowered to ensure the future of mezcal for generations to come.

Tasting: APR 21

Photo courtesy of Crisman Photography

The philosophy behind Maguey Melate is founded on their 2 self-declared principles:

1. Artisinal agave spirits are amazing and should be shared with the world.

2. The faster-cheaper economy is a harmful force for people, the environment, and now agave spirits.

These two credos might seem at odds with each other at first read. How do you try to share these amazing spirits with the world without playing into the faster-cheaper economy as a mezcal delivery service.

Enter Melate.

The beauty of mezcal (as we hope you’re learning) is that by sharing in the education about the traditions behind this spirit, you’re able to support and sustain the system. This is something Melate excels at, by featuring their producers and ensuring they get fair compensation for their precious elixir, all while sharing it with an audience that’s thirsty for more.

We feature 4 of those producers with our shipment this month. Let’s meet the family, shall we?

MEZCAL #1: Artemio

Maestro: Artemio Garcia Cruz

Origen: San Dionisio Ocotepec, OAX

Agaves: Jabali, Madre Cuixe, Pulquero, Cuixe, Espadin, Tepextate, & Tobala

Notes: We haven’t touched on “ensambles” yet in our MMC coursework, as we’ve been trying to educate you about individual varietals, but they represent a more traditional method of production. Instead of growing or sourcing one specific species, palenqueros would roast whatever happened to come out of the ground. Blending them together is certainly an art form as different species contain different sugar content, shapes, roasting times, etc. Artemio has done exhibited true mastery here by blending 7 varietals at once! (I’ll pause for minds to be blown) Flavors here run all over but fo real it’s like sweet ocean water infused with grilled banana and grassy vanilla extract.

MEZCAL #2: Carlos

Maestro: Carlos Angulo Rios

Origen: El Platanar Topia, Durango

Agave: Chacaleño Espadín

Notes: So apparently Carlos went to Sinaloa to have his car mechanic make him a custom still! It’s kiiinda like a refrescador but has a wooden board that the vapors condensate against kinda like a filipino still? Curious to know more here…

Anyway, this is one of the deepest darkest Espadíns I’ve ever tasted. It’s super earthy and bitter. There’s that salty agave flavor underneath it all but Carlos is super proud to showcase the unique qualities that come with Espadín from Chacaleño, and we can see why. :)

MEZCAL #3: Luis

Maestro: Luis Enrique Juarez

Origen: San Augustin Amatengo, OAX

Agave: Espadín

Notes: That hot hot HEAT. 50.9% yeehaww. It does have red hot notes though—like the candy. Cinnamon up front. Definitely dips boozey, but then cools down with a minty afterburn. One unexpected side effect of wearing masks is you really get to resample your sip with each trapped exhale. Delicioso.

MEZCAL #4: Antonio

Maestro: Antonio Carlos Martinez

Origen: Santa Catarina Minas, OAX

Agave: Largo

Notes: These large (largo) wild karwinskiis agaves used here are left to naturally ferment for 20 days before crushing, acquiring a blue yeast on the agave that ultimately mitigates foaming during the distillation process. It does impart this wild cheesiness to the brew though, and when you sip you get a creamy sharpness, but it’s beautifully balanced with sweet mineral meringue.

Maguey Melate

Photo Courtesy of Crisman Photography

Feliz primavera a todos. ;) It’s so nice to feel some warmth return to our air and our energy as we emerge from our pandemic winter. It feels like there’s suddenly so many little corners of life to discover joy in this new season, and we hope your April shipment for this month’s MMC bundle will be one of them.

This month we’re featuring spirits from our friends at Maguey Melate. We’ve mentioned them before on the floor of the club as the grown up older sibling to our humble little mezcal club. I think with this shipment you’ll see why.

Melate is dedicated to featuring the Mezcalero/as who are the backbone of the entire body of agave spirits. They also make the important distinction of labeling their products as “agave spirits” instead of “mezcal,” a topic at the heart of the fight these jimadores face, and one we’ll cover at length during our virtual tasting this Monday, April 26th at 7:00.

Joining us on the call this month will be Dalton Kreiss, the founder of Melate. He’ll be representing the spirits and stories of Carlos, Luis, Antonio & Artemio, who’s precious nectar is in your hands right now. We’re truly honored to have them help foster our nascent club, and connect us to these maestros—not to mention getting this product into the states, then into your copitas.

Can’t wait to toast you all! Talk soon. MMC

Tasting: MAR 21

One of the reasons that I find the topic of mezcal so endlessly fascinating, is because it touches on so many layers of life. From the modern, to the ancient; the biological, to the medicinal; the poetic, to the political.

For this month’s class, we’re featuring a co-op of growers and maestros who all produce under the label Banhez. With us on this month’s call will be Brand Ambassador, Alex Jandernoa, and author of Understanding Mezcal, Jay Schroeder.

We’ll be featuring 4 single varietal expressions from their portfolio, and all are agave species we haven’t featured in the club so far: Tepeztate, Tobala, Arroqueno, and a first taste for anyone in PA of their Mexicano.

Our call will focus on the co-op style set up behind Banhez, and why this arrangement creates a fairer system for mezcaleros to work within, and ensures sustainability for producers and their families.

MEZCAL #1: Banhez Arroqueno

Maestro: Apolonio Patricio

Origen: Sam Agustin Amatengo, Oaxaca

Agave: Americana

ABV: 47%

Notes: Banhez Arroqueño is comprised of 100% arroqueño agave, an enormous species taking up to 25 years to reach full maturity and found only in rural regions of Oaxaca. This delightful mezcal is earthy and dark, with subtle smoke and underlying sweetness.

MEZCAL #2: Banhez Tepeztate

Maestro: Apolonio Patricio

Origen: Sam Agustin Amatengo, Oaxaca

Agave: Marmorata

ABV: 47%

Notes: Comprised of 100% Tepeztate agave (which can take up to 25 years to mature), this rare bottling of this unique agave species yields a flavor rich in smoke and terroir driven earthiness, with a green pepper vegetal nose, soft green apple fruitiness, and notes of citrus zest.

MEZCAL #3: Banhez Tobala

Maestro: Luis Pacheco

Origen: Ejutla, Oaxaca

Agave: Potatorum

ABV: 47%

Notes: One of the most revered of all agave species due to its scarcity and relatively small physical size, Tobalá agave has a growing period of up to 30 years. Banhez Tobalá is known for its intense aromatics and smooth flavor profile with tasting notes consisting of green mango, leather, and fresh green herbs.

MEZCAL #3: Banhez Tobala

Maestro: Luis Pacheco

Origen: Ejutla, Oaxaca

Agave: Potatorum

ABV: 47%

Notes: An exclusive for those of us in Pennsylvania. This mezcal is made from 100% semi-wild Mexicano agave, this mezcal is soft and sweet from beginning to end. Tasting notes include lemon zest, iron, and honeydew. Mexicano agaves in the Ejutla Valley can take anywhere from 10-15 years to fully mature.

Behold: Banhez

March! We made it through our long, lonely winter, and have arrived one year after the whole world changed at a much anticipated spring. Salud!

The theme for March is featuring a single brand, but is more accurately revolving around a specific collective of mezcal producers, that exemplifies responsible agave production and sustainability: Banhez. I swear that Mission Mezcal Club isn’t selling out, and featuring single brands because we’re getting some sort of kickback. Banhez has a personal connection for us, as it is partially responsible for exposing us to the multi-layered world of mezcal, but also for deepening our knowledge of how the mezcal world works.

This month’s virtual tasting is with Alex Jandernoa, the US Brand Ambassador for Banhez, who was our tour guide in Oaxaca a few years back. He showed us around Ejutla, and introduced us to Don Gonzalo Hernandez, one of the maestros who is part of the co-op of growers and producers that is in the Banhez family. Walking the agave fields with Alex, and drinking from the still with Gonzalo and his family, was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and communicated the pride and provenance that goes into every bottle Banhez produces, and embodies the spirit of mezcal itself.

A note on the history of Banhez, and how their co-op came to be, in their own words:

Raised in Oaxaca, Francisco Javier Perez Cruz saw the hardship that followed families making mezcal. This was part of their heritage but the life was hard and unsustainable, forcing families to separate.

Knowing first-hand what it meant to leave family behind in search of work, he thought that if he could keep the hard-working families together and devise a way for them to work towards a common goal, they could be successful.

After retuning to Ejutla with his own family, Francisco was appointed Treasurer of Ejutla in 1996 and Mayor in 1999. He learned how to grow and harvest Espadín working with his brother Bertoldo’s farm.

His mother, who had started an agave nursery with neighboring women, taught him about the best conditions for growing strong plants. Both mother and brother passed away soon after, but Francisco Javier continued with the work his family started.

In 2004 he was elected president of the National Mezcal Council, and later received federal funding to establish nurseries and reopen distilleries around Ejutla. He founded the Consejo Oaxaqueño del Maguey Mezcal (Oaxaca Mezcal Maguey Council) as a platform for local mezcaleros and members of the industry to organize.

His work, inspired by his own family, has changed the tradition of making mezcal into a community, one committed to the quality of their craft, and raising one another other up. Today, the Banhez Cooperative of farmers and producers, unified by Francisco Javier, form the Unión Productores de Agropecuarios del Distrito de Ejutla de Crespo (UPADEC) and is run by his son, Luis.

The life of a mezcalero once meant inconsistent work, low wages and an uncertain future. The 36 farming families behind the Banhez Cooperative are changing this, improving lives now and for generations to come.

Tasting: FEB 21

When you think of Mezcal, you obviously think of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Or you do if you know David Suro, the man, the myth, the legend behind the spirits we’re featuring in our February tasting for Mission Mezcal Club. David has done so much to advocate for these spirits, and we’re lucky to have him in Philly, and even more lucky to have him as our special guest for this month’s virtual tasting.

Our conversation with David will surely lean more toward the experiential than the technical, so we’re gonna cover those details here for you as a reference. Salud!

MEZCAL #1: SIEMBRA METL CUPREATA

Maestro: Jose Emilio Vieyra Rangel

Origen: Michoacan, Mex

Agave: Cupreata

ABV: 46%

Notes: Michoacan is a state within Mexico that has a terrain more like that of the Blue Ridge Mountains, than the arid fields you might imagine agave growing in. These Cupreata varietal agave grow on high-altitude peaks among pine trees and moss. These neighboring species most definitely have an effect on the flavor of this particular agave and the mezcal it created. Notes of herbaceous pine, and wet earth abound.

MEZCAL #2: DON MATEO SILVESTRE

Maestro: Jose Emilio Vieyra Rangel

Origen: Michoacan, Mex

Agave: Wild Cupreata

ABV: 50%

Notes: “Silvestre” is a word you’ll come across on mezcal labels, and it indicates that the agave that were used to make it were harvested in the wild. In this case, they are wild Cupreata from the mountainside of El Limon in Michoacan, where they thrive with the help of cows and chickens, herbicide and pesticide free. You really get that pine scent and flavor with this one, all complemented by gentle cedar notes.

MEZCAL #3: DON MATEO MANSO DE SAHUAYO

Maestro: Jose Emilio Vieyra Rangel

Origen: Michoacan, Mex

Agave: Manso de Sahuayo

ABV: 48%

Notes: Manso de Sahuayo is the agave formerly known as Cenizo, which translates to “ashen,” because of it’s dusty, grayish appearance. True to form it has flavors of roasted agave, baking spice and clay.

MEZCAL #4: MEZONTE JORGE PEREZ

Maestro: Jorge Perez

Origen: Michoacan, Mex

Agave: Alto

ABV: 49%

Notes: Mezonte is a noprofit organization that promotes, supports, and preserves the production and practices of traditional agave spirits. They feature agave spirits from all over Mexico, with an emphasis on Jalisco and Michoacán. When Mezonte buys a batch from a producer, they only buy 60% of the batch because they want the community and the culture of the community to continue to consume and enjoy as they have for hundreds of years. Mezonte Michoacan is made with maguey Alto (agave Inaequidens) and the agave are cooked in a shallow brick oven (if you dig too deep, you hit water), fermented in brick with about 6 liters of pulque, and distilled in a hollowed out tree trunk that has a copper top. Master distiller Jorge Perez is described as “the alchemist,” and when you taste this beautiful mezcal you can see why.

MEX => PHL

I’ve heard David Suro described as a “man with tequila in his veins and Mexico in his heart.” Having had the pleasure to meet him many times, I couldn’t think of a more apt descriptor. David is truly a living legend in the realm of agave spirits. Not only has he helped create incredible tequila and mezcal brands (Siembra Azul, Don Mateo, Mezonte) he has done more than just produce the product. He’s worked with these spirits from every level imaginable: Repping growers to advocate for fair wages, helping producers navigate the process of being legally certified as “mezcal,” working with anthropologists to date ancient tools to trace back the origins of distillation. Not to mention, he has helped educate the American consumer about the beauty of agave spirits from his tenured perch here in Philadelphia.

We’re so honored to have David as part of our Mission Mezcal Club series for this month. His mezcals truly are incredible, and he’s one of the most knowledgeable and gracious people you can ever have the pleasure of chatting with.

Join us for our virtual Zoom chat with David, while tasting his delicious spirits this Monday, February 22nd!

Tasting: JAN 21

For our very first tasting, we’ve picked 4 entry level Espadín to compare and contrast. We’ve purposely selected brands that are a little more readily available so that when you see them on the shelf at your local liquor store (or hopefully someday soon on the back bar at your favorite haunt) you’ll know what you like.

If you’ve never gone through a formal liquor tasting before, let me point out a few things: 1) This is not formal in any way. 2) When tasting a collection of the same thing, it can be hard to find the words to differentiate them. 3) There are no wrong answers.

I remember one of my first ever wine tastings, we all took sips from the current pour being passed around the room. The teacher asked the class what we tasted. There was the usual moment of silence as no one wants to say something completely ridiculous... Then someone spoke up: “It tastes like grapes.” And it did! Wine is just grape juice after all. While we’ll use descriptors that border on the ridiculous like blueberry sharpie, fresh cut garden hose, watermelon sour patch kid—that is just what your brain is telling you based on all the sensory memories its ever had. Who cares what it tastes like ultimately—that you enjoy it is what matters.

In our world where food scientists create chemical compounds that we label as “natural flavor,” Mezcal is as elemental as it gets. Someone essentially grew vegetables, roasted them in the ground, then fermented them in the open air to get the beguiling elixir you hold in your glass. While Mezcal is all at once mythical, medicinal and magical, it is just plant juice. ;)

MEZCAL #1: VICIO

This one has a bit of a local tie in for us in the Philadelphia area. Vicio was founded by Rosemarie Certo and Marilyn Candeloro who have the Philly-famous Dock Street Brewery. There’s follows a theme that you’ll notice in a lot of the backstories we discuss behind the brands and producers we feature: They traveled to Oaxaca, they drank from the Mezcal still, and became slightly obsessed (possessed?) by this intoxicating spirit.

Maestro: Salvador Gonzalez

Origen: Oaxaca, MEX

Agave: Espadín

Fermentation: Open air. 5 days. Natural Yeast.

ABV: 48%

Notes: Vicio is a good place to start for any Mezcal newbie. It’s neutral, easy drinking, and not super smokey. It has that general roasted agave flavor to it, with a little bit of that roasted rubberiness to the smoke profile. It’s good for mixing, but watch out at 48% proof. The little friend on the label is an Axolotl, or a salamander, which is from a short story that inspired the founders, but we just think it arrived to them in a vision after finishing a bottle. :)

mezcal #2: vida

“You don’t find Mezcal, it finds you.” Or so says Del Maguey founder Ron Cooper. Cooper was one of the first enthusiast turned exporter to bring Mezcal to the American market (at least one without a worm in the bottom) way back in 1995. In the years since, they’ve done so much to educate American palates about the beauty of Mezcal, all while honoring and sustaining single villages throughout Mexico. Vida was marketed specifically at an entry level price point, and with enough versatility to be mixed into cocktails. They work with 12 families total to produce their Single Village Mezcals, and you’ll see rows of their iconic green glass bottles with their striking labels designed by Ken Price on the shelves of pretty much any bar that carries Mezcal in the US. Not to say that’s a bad thing. Their pervasiveness has done a lot to open the market here in the states for other growers to be able to sell their product, and their methods and practices have remained tried and true.

Maestros: Paciano & Marcos Cruz Nolasco

Origen: San Luis del Rio, Oaxaca

Agave: Espadín

Fermentation: 8-10 days. Copper still.

ABV: 42%

Notes: Vida has kind of a sweet nose with a lot of citrus notes. The chemical fuminess is less like sharpie markers and more like a watermelon sour patch kid. Definitely softer at 42% it can easily be mixed into a nice Paloma.

All of Del Maguey’s labels were designed by Ron Cooper’s friend and neighbor, Ken Price, an artist in LA.

mezcal #3: vago

Yet another tale of love and Mezcal when co-founder/surfer Judah Kuper got an ear infection, and while getting treated at the hospital, fell in love with his nurse, Valentina. Her father, Aquilino García López, happened to be a master mezcalero! The courtship led to Kuper starting Vago to showcase López’s joven Mezcals to the world. True romance.

This Espadín is gorgeous. There are multiple Espadín expressions available from Vago, but this is an opportunity to explore how the maestro plays such an important role in the final product. Vago color codes their labels according to the maestro that makes them, and this case the blue label is from Emigdio Jarquin, who won the gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition—twice.

Maestro: Emigdio Jarquin

Origen: Miahuatlan, Oaxaca

Agave: Espadín

Fermentation: Refrescador still.

ABV: 50%

Notes: So much going on. Blueberry, citrus, but with a sweetie meaty peaty smoke, and a creamy texture. Delish.

I love that their labels are all printed on recycled mash that remains from the spent agave after distillation.

mezcal #4: NOble Coyote capón

We tried to get a fourth Mezcal that starts with a “V” but were unsuccessful. Noble Coyote has many different expressions that you’ll see on back bars with their striking sugar skull style coyote labels. We chose the Capón to illustrate a choice in harvesting. When Espadín are ready to flower, they send up a huuuuge flowering stalk (that resembles a stalk of asparagus). Much like a Capon chicken, the maguey farmers choose to cut off this stalk, castrating the plant, and thus preserving that mating energy (read: sugar) in the bulb, leaving more to convert into delicious Mezcal.

Maestros: Eleazar & Marcos Brena

Origen: Santiago Matatlan, Oaxaca

Agave: Espadín

Fermentation: Copper still.

ABV: 48%

Notes: For all the effort in preserving the sugars in the plant, this is a surprisingly dry Mezcal. It’s quite savory actually with a very floral profile, backed by woody smoke, and baking spice/anise notes.

The Mighty Espadin

Espadín (eh-spa-DEEN) aka Agave Angustifolia is the most common varietal of maguey in the world. It goes by many aliases (Espadílla, Bacanora, Castilla, Pacifica) but the nickname you might know best is Blue Weber Agave. This is the varietal that anything called “Tequila” must be made from, and is one of the most basic distinctions for what sets Mezcal and Tequila apart. While “Mezcal” can be made from many different types of agave, to earn the moniker “Tequila,” it can only be made from that specific plant. Remember, all Tequila is Mezcal, but not all Mezcal is Tequila.

When it comes to the world of Mezcal though, Espadín is most commonly employed for good reason: It’s super adaptable and can take well to various soil types and conditions. At full maturity they’re between 5’-7’ in height making for a pretty large bulb, and a bigger berry means more juice for the squeeze. It also has one of the shortest maturity rates of it’s prickly family, reaching harvestable age at a speedy 7-8 years. Yes. Years.

It’s of the reasons Mezcal is expensive, because the product necessary to make it takes soooo long to cultivate. We’re not using grapes or wheat or potatoes that pop out of the ground with ease. It’s also one of the reasons Mezcal is so beautiful. With age comes distinction. Like an old vines zinfandel. There’s just more complexity and chemical structure that carries over to the final distillation. Espadín is a game day player, if the Super Bowl was played every seven years. This is quick though! There are some wild varietals that are up to 30 years old. Put that precious maguey in the hands of the right maestro though and your patience will be well rewarded.

We discussed in our last post that while Agave plants might look more like cactus, they are actually in the Asparagaceae or asparagus family. They’re packed with chemical compounds like terpenes, saponins, esters, and essential oils, that evolutionarily speaking have helped keep would-be predators from snacking on them. When making Mezcal though, those not so tasty treats get transformed once roasted, creating pronounced vegetal, herbaceous, even vanilla notes.

When trying to come up with a flavor profile for Espadín, it’s much more general than specific. It’s tough to generalize, and flavor is subjective, but Espadín often have flavors of roasted squash, mineral notes (like you just put a stone in your mouth), and baking spices (think cinnamon/clove).

We’ll be exploring 4 different Espadíns in our first class to compare them side by side, but also to introduce you to the friend you’ll meet the most along your journey. If you’re further along on your Mezcal path, you might already know these brands and makers, but we chose these exactly because you’ll see them around. We wanted to start with some options that are more readily available on bar shelves in the Philly area and around the country. As this is a 101 course, it’d be crazy to start anywhere else but Planet Espadin. It’s a vast world though, and if you’re new here, this course will hopefully give you a lay of the land for that one day soon when you might be able to belly up to a bar (indoors!) and choose with confidence.

Vamos Empezar

Here we go friends. The very first Mezcals from the Mission Mezcal Club! (cue trumpets)

We’re starting with friends of ours, from Banhez Mezcal, a co-op of mezcaleros based in Ejutla, a region within Oaxaca, MEX. Let’s zoom out:

That’s Oaxaca.

Here are some quick fire facts:

• Mexico has 32 states.

• One of them is called Oaxaca, and Xs are tricky so phonetically it’s: wah-HA-cah.

• Oaxaca is the red one in the picture above.

• Agave grows there.

• There are 200+ species of agave, they grown on every continent (except Antarctica)

• 140 of them grow in Mexico, and 30-40 types get used to make Mezcal.

• Oaxaca is one of 8 states in Mexico that’s certified to produce Mezcal, but that gets into a political/existential conversation that we’ll save for another post.

• The regional word for the agave plant is Maguey. (MAH-gay) You’ll see this word a lot.

• Maguey/Agave might look like cactus, but it is more closely related to asparagus. (You’ll see it when we get into their mating rituals ;)

TASTING #1: BANHEZ

So we’re starting with Banhez as a primer, for a few reasons:

1. They’re friends of ours.

2. Their product is locally available, so if you actually wanted more of it, you could get it.

3. Their Mezcal is delicious.

4. Their business model lets us teach a lot of lessons all at once.

Building the horno (OR-no), or oven, to roast the agave.

So maybe you know about how one makes wine, or beer, or mead, or bathtub gin. Whatever you’ve done to withstand quarantine. Essentially you’re trying to convert sugar into alcohol. In the case of Mezcal, you’re trying to get the sugars within the agave plant to be amplified by roasting them in an earthen oven, (like a good pineapple upside down cake) then fermenting the juice in open-air vats. There are many more steps to this process that we will get into later, BUT the difference between grapes or wheat, is that agave doesn’t just sprout up out of the ground once a year. At minimum, the fastest growing agave takes 7 years to reach maturity. Seven. Years. Some of the wild varietals take up to 30 years!

I bring this up to point out how precious agave is. The demand for this spirit is high, and can be illustrated by the fact that this very club you’re a part of exists, or that many celebrities are suddenly clamoring to create tequila/mezcal brands, but Banhez is different. They’ve created a co-op of 36 family owned farms that each have ownership stake in the company. This not only benefits the families who maintain this generations-old practice, but it doesn’t create an incentive for mezcaleros to grow as much agave as they possibly can to make as much Mezcal as they possibly can. This prevents them from engaging in unsustainable mono-cropping practices, and rushing a product to market that doesn’t honor the traditions and methods that make this spirit so special.

MEZCAL #1: BANHEZ ENSEMBLE JOVEN: ESPADIN & BARRIL

Awwww yeahhhhh. Mezcal numero uno. Just the six words in that title give us a lot to talk about:

Mezcal: Why we’re all here.

Banhez: The brand. There will often be a brand attached to these bottles, but as we learn to read labels together, you’ll see that it’s not so much about the brand, but many more specific details: The Maestro (or teacher/master) who is the chef in this agave kitchen. The Region (just like wine, terroir and elevation play a big role here) The Maguey. (the type of agave plant or plants used) The roasting, the crushing, the distillation, the fermentation period, the date, etc. etc. It can get very specific.

Ensemble: Meaning together. A lot of Mezcals are blends. While single varietal expressions have become sought after, historically blends were more common and more sustainable because you would create from whatever the earth gave you instead of just working with one type of plant.

Joven: Meaning young. You’ll more see this with Tequila where there are jovens, reposados, and añejos, but that can be true with Mezcal too if it’s aged in oak barrels after it’s distilled.

Espadin: The most common type of agave used in Mezcal production. Mainly because it has the shortest maturity rate, and because the plants generally have higher sugar concentration.

Barril: Another type of agave. This type also has a relatively short maturity rate, but it also helps encourage biodiversity. If farmers were only motivated to grow Espadin, it would quickly deplete the soil of nutrients, and when you’re already looking at 7 years minimum to grow your next crop, you might not want to do that.

Here are the main categories we’ll address when labeling a Mezcal for MMC:

Maestro: Which means “teacher,” but in this case means distillation master, or the chef in the agave kitchen. In this case, because Banhez is a co-op, there are multiple mestros’ product that gets blended together to make one sustainable product.

Origen: Or “origin,” the specific region where the product was made. All of the agave for this ensemble was grown in Oaxaca, but because it’s sourced from different regions, it’s hard to get more specifc.

Agave: The plant itself. In this case plants plural. Espadin & Barril are the two types involved here.

Fermentacion: aka Fermentation. How the agave mash was fermented. This was fermented in open air oak vats.

ABV: Just to let you know how boozed up you’re about to get. The ensemble is just slightly overproof at 42%.

So in contrast, here is a single-varietal expression from Banhez, called Cuishe. (QUEESH)

Maestro: Luis & Donaciano Pacheco.

Origen: In this case from the town of Noria, in the county of Ejutla, in the state of Oaxaca, in the country of Mexico.

Agave: The plant here is called Cuishe, which is a Karwinskii type of agave. It’s also known as Madrecuixe, Bicuixe, Largo or Barril which was used in the previous blend. It looks more like a stout palm tree. I know Karwinskii doesn’t sound very Mexican, but it’s named after a botanist named Wilhelm Friedrich Karwinski, and genealogically the name stuck.

Fermentacion: It was fermented with natural yeast for 5-6 days.

ABV: 47%

Notes: Cuishe plants generally have a smaller bulb when harvested, that have lower sugar content, then typically result in a dryer, slightly more acidic Mezcal. This is true of the Banhez Cuishe, though it’s balanced by some slightly sweet tropical fruit notes that make it really easy drinking.

SALUD!
Enjoy these delicious Mezcals as your first tastes of life in Mission Mezcal Club. For those of you who are subscribers, you’ll be getting your next shipment the week of January 13th, and our first virtual class will be held on Monday, January 20th, at 7:00 pm. You’ll be getting more details about that as the date approaches. Very much looking forward to it.

In the meantime, a genuine note of thanks for participating in MMC, and for all the support you’ve given Mission over the last crazy year. It’s been a wild ride for sure, but we wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Enjoy whatever version of the holidays you might be able to have, and we’ll look forward to toasting you all again in the new year.

Feliz nuevo año. <3 M.T.

Welcome to Mission Mezcal Club

Hola amigos! Welcome to the clerb!

We are so excited to have you along on this journey with us. We have loved Mezcal for many years now, and it’s truly one of those things that once you get into it, you’re quick to drink the agave kool-aid, and want to share in the wonder with anyone who’ll clink a copita with you.

It truly is a beautiful spirit. One that is steeped in tradition, has medicinal value, mythical value, and truly sustainable value to the families and regions that have produced this beguiling elixir for generations.

We are treating Mission Mezcal Club like a 101 course. We are by no means as learned as the palenqueros who put their hands on the earth to make this precious spirit. So we’re starting with the basics. Like what is a “palenquero?”

We want to get everyone a base vocabulary to start, then evolve your understanding and your palates along the way. There’s so much to know, but as is is best with Mezcal, so it will be with Mission Mezcal Club: It’s best to sip, not guzzle.

What is Mezcal?

A lot of people ask us, “What’s the difference between Mezcal and Tequila?” Here’s a simple but complex answer: All Tequila is Mezcal, but not all Mezcal is Tequila.

The word “Mezcal” itself is derived from the Nahuatl (nah-waddle) words “Metl” and “Ixcalli”, translating to “oven-cooked agave.” Nahuatl is an Aztec language that is still spoken today in central Mexico, but is as ancient as meso-America and Mezcal itself. Meaning Mezcal is a broad category of agave spirits, and Tequila is just one type of Mezcal. Make sense?

Tequila in fact is made from only one type of plant: Blue Weber Agave. Mezcal can be made from many different types of agave, and we’ll be exploring many of those varieties throughout our time together.

A lot of people just refer to Mezcal as “smokey tequila,” and that’s a rough place to start, but let’s pick that apart a bit. Tequila is “oven-cooked-agave,” as the definition requires, but the oven involved is a large scale appliance called an autoclave. For Mezcal, the process is more traditional—ancestral even—and the oven involved is a conical pit dug into the earth. That pit is then strategically stacked with stones, wood, and the agave itself, then covered with earth and left to roast for several days. This does indeed impart a smokey flavor, but in an extreme commercialized example, it’s the difference between boil in a bag rice, and your grandma’s risotto. While both serve a purpose—and it’s not to say I haven’t had boil in a bag rice that’s gotten the job done—there’s just so much more flavor extracted from that low and slow method.

There are many other differences that set the two spirits apart, but instead of addressing them all up front, we’ll take them in turn as they relate to the actual Mezcals we’re discussing.

Sip, not guzzle.

Good advice for life in general, but especially with Mezcal. One of the more popular brands of Mezcal out there that many of you may have seen on bar shelves is called Del Maguey. In their distinct green bottles with their bold, colorful labels designed by co-founder Ron Cooper, they specifically implore you: “SIP IT. DON’T SHOOT IT.” This isn’t spring break in Cancun, ripping shots of Cuervo out of a stranger’s belly button. (ahh, remember pre-Covid times?) This is a product that was produced with great care, and should be savored, and appreciated. Not to mention Mezcals aren’t watered down to meet the standard 40% ABV we’re used to here in the States. Mezcal is often full strength, and can hit high notes of up to 60% ABV or more. Taking a shot of that might literally put a hole in your chest. That’s why Mezcal is traditionally served in little cups, or “copitas,” designed for sipping.

For those of you who got our gift set, you received one of the sexy ceramic copitas our friend Domenic Frunzi made exclusively for MMC. Those of you who joined the club without the set received one of two types of vessels to sip along with us. One is a Jicara, (HEE-kah-rah) that is literally a dried gourd. The other is a Veladora (vay-lah-DOH-rah), or literally, a candle holder. They’re little fluted glasses that are the size of a shot glass, but have a little cross on the bottom. This is a nod to the olden days before the advent of major glass production, when people would actually steal the votives from churches to use as shot glasses. A grave sin indeed. ;)

My fingers just want to keep typing out each related topic as it comes stream-of-consciousness style to my brain, but I’m going to let you sip on this for a minute before we delve into our next topic: The Mezcal!

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. Salud amigos.

MMC