Does all mezcal come from oaxaca
Mezcal is to be kissed , meaning sip it slowly and in small drip-like doses that merely coat your tongue. It brought entirely new dimension to the drink for me, especially now that I know it takes upwards of seven years for that baby agave to even be ready for the multi-week production process.
A Guide to Drinking Mezcal in Oaxaca
A true mezcalero will know exactly when to transfer the fermented maguey to the distillation still. Before I knew it a large swig of throat-burning alcohol was streaming down my throat and pushing tears out of my eyes. The mezcal is often distilled at least twice before its ready to be enjoyed.
El Conejo uses a clay-pot still to distill his mezcal, though copper is also common in the region. His land is teeming with both wild, semi-wild, and cultivated agave of all varieties. Though mezcal is commonly served with a side of orange slices and worm salt, any true mezcal afficionado would urge you to not mix the flavors. On average, the maguey maturation process from hijo to ready-for-harvest can take about 7 years, while some agave can take as long as 25 years to mature.
This step right here is what gives mezcal its beloved smoky notes. This was by far my favorite way to experience mezcal. This means if you click a link on my blog and make a purchase, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Before I attempt to provide a snapshot of the extensive mezcal production process, I highly recommend you witness it with your own two eyes while in Oaxaca.
After roasting, the agave hearts, or piñas , are left to cool and, once cool, pressed by hand with a giant wooden mallet until the maguey is nothing more than a heap of agave fibers and wet syrupy pulp. The fermented mash is then transferred to the distillation still, fibers and all. While in deep conversation and a bit distracted, I reached for the one on the desk by mistake.
Notice the shift in profile as you move from the alcohol-heavy first kiss to the third and fourth, when new notes begin to come through. His orange-capped Bonafont water bottle sitting on the desk perfectly matched my Bonafont water-filled water bottle sitting by my bed. How is mezcal made? Follow that intuitive hit and go on your version of the best mezcal experience in Oaxaca.
Palenques mezcal farms dot the landscape all over the Oaxaca valley, making for an easy access and truly multi-dimensional mezcal drinking experience you can rewardingly reflect on with every future sip. What is mezcal? When harvest day finally arrives, the agave are uprooted and then roasted for days in a pit oven in the ground. Mezcal is a smokey liquor that packs a guttaral punch, often likened to scotch in its smokiness and flavor profile.
Far too shocked and embarrassed to admit what I had just done and experienced, I very casually walked back over to my orange-capped water bottle, recovering discreetly and chugging the correct clear liquid. The maguey ferment naturally with the support of ambient yeast and microbes present in the environment. As I mentioned before, I did my tour with Where Sidewalks End , but there are of course many other options out there.
The now macerated maguey hearts are thrown into a wooden fermentation tank where they are left for one to four weeks to ferment. The mezcal production process begins with the planting of the baby agave plants , called hijos or sons. This article may contain affiliate links. How to drink mezcal correctly?
The mezcal consuming menu real estate and poking out from behind bars all over Oaxaca is made from every other variety, the most common of which is Espadin. After the shishe is distilled once more, sometimes twice more, the mezcal is ready for drinking.
Where to Buy Mezcal in Oaxaca City. No yeast is added. However, tequila is strictly made with just one type of agave varietal - the Blue Weber. My personal introduction to the mezcal production process was during a very special sacred mezcal experience with Where Sidewalks End , a local Oaxaca tour company that prides itself on connecting travelers to off-the-beaten-path and authentic cultural experiences.
A Mezcal Guide to Oaxaca
Focus on the mezcal, and if you need a palate cleanse between sips, grab your glass of water instead of reaching for the salted orange slice. On this tour, we had the chance to literally follow in the footsteps of a mezcalero named Don Conejo, shadowing him through every step of the ancestral mezcal-making process, from planting agave also known as maguey in his fields to bottling the final product.
The Best Mezcal Experiences in Oaxaca. Long story short, beware of the mismarked mezcal bottles that may be lingering around or you just might receive the same rude awakening I did to the world of Oaxacan mezcal. The first distillation yields a hard-to-drink liquid called shishe. Where to Drink Mezcal in Oaxaca City.