MAGIC OF MEZCAL
Spirit’s smoky allure
Three shots of mezcal are lined up in front of me on the bar at Native Tongues Taqueria. There’s Marca Negra Ensemble, a blend that hits my palate like a peated whisky; El Jolgorio, which has been twice distilled and carries a rich vanilla sweetness; and Pierde Almas Conejo, a mezcal that’s produced with a skinned and gutted rabbit carcass hanging in the still. It’s fruity, nutty, smoky and — yes — gamey; in a word: delicious.
I sample each one, and then chase it with an orange wedge sprinkled in sal de chapulin ( grasshopper salt), which is a traditional way to try mezcal in Mexico.
The flight is meant to showcase unique mezcals from small producers. Another sampler highlights a trio of mezcals made from espadin, a species of agave. The mezcal flights are a new offering at Native Tongues, which prides itself on having one of the best selections of the Mexican agave spirit in Canada.
“It’s a great way to get an introduction to mezcal,” says bar manager Dylan Macleod. “It opens people up to the idea of it. A lot of people still think it’s that worm-in-the-bottle, super-harsh stuff that’s not made that well — and that it gives you a horrendous hangover.”
As I can attest — after sipping my way through two flights, plus numerous mezcal cocktails at Native Tongues, Anejo and Off Cut Bar at The Nash — mezcal is the new (and improved) tequila.
It’s smoky, complex and versatile — it can be sipped on its own or mixed into a cocktail such as Love’s Labour’s Lost (see recipe), a spritz that combines mezcal with peach syrup and Prosecco. It also has a diverse range. Unlike tequila, which must use the blue agave species, mezcal distillers are free to use many different kinds of agave, much of it wild and foraged. As a result, there’s a lot of variation from one palenque (distiller) to the next.
“When you’re harvesting wild agave, terroir means everything,” says Jay MacRaild, operating partner at Anejo. The Fourth Street restaurant has curated a list of over 35 kinds of mezcal that represents different Mexican states and their unique landscapes.
What really sets mezcal apart though is its smokiness. During production, the agave pinas ( hearts) are usually pit-roasted (although some producers use brick ovens) prior to fermentation and distillation. Like your clothes the morning after a campfire, that crucial step imbues mezcal with its characteristic smoky flavour.
Some find it off-putting, but judging from the rise in the spirit’s popularity, I’d say they’re getting over it. And anyway, smoking everything from meats to cocktails is super hot right now.
“Mezcal on its own can be so smoky and in your face,” says Anejo bartender Adam Duri. “Once you can see through the smoke, it’s so amazing and there are so many flavours you can pull out.”
He sets to work behind the bar and in the space of about 20 minutes whips up five cocktails that demonstrate mezcal’s range. The crowd-pleasing Suffering Bastardo is a mezcal twist on a Dark & Stormy that highlights its ability to work with spicy ginger beer. The Yellow Jacket plays to its tequila similarities in a drink that reminds me of an herbaceous margarita. My favourite, the Burning Plane (see recipe), showcases the spirit in a strong, short drink that’s a spin on a classic Paper Plane. Duri’s mouth-puckering version marries Peloton de la Muerte mezcal with sweet vermouth, cherry liqueur and grapefruit juice.
Over at Off Cut Bar inside The Nash in Inglewood, they’ve been pouring mezcal into the Vice Royalty (see recipe) for over two years. The popular drink is the perfect patio companion. It combines mezcal and tequila with lime and a house made herbal syrup, and lengthens it with Cold Garden IPA to make it slightly hoppy and super crushable.
“If Pancho Villa was making margaritas, he’d make the Vice Royalty,” jokes Off Cut bartender Conor McGrath.
In that same spirit of revolution, he’s noticed that customers’ tastes have evolved and veered toward adventurous over the years, from sweet to herbal, sour, bitter and now smoky.
“More and more, they want something a little bit out there,” says McGrath. “And mezcal is bringing a whole new taste to people’s palates.”