In Mexico’s mezcal country

Anthea Gerrie skips the tequila for the colours, craft and culture of Oaxaca, plus mezcal with a Jewish twist

As a young hippy, he came to Oaxaca in search of magic mushrooms. As a lawyer, he returned for family holidays, and in retirement Alvin Starkman has embraced the opportunities this colourful Mexican town offers expats catering to increasing numbers of Englishspeaking tourists.

“Though I can’t always help those who contact me before every major holiday to ask where to find a Seder or a synagogue,” he laughs.

Despite its handful of Jewish residents, some of whom lit 15 menorahs in a joint Chanukah celebration last year, Oaxaca is a city of churches, even if the overwhelmingly Catholic population has bemusedly enjoyed a past performance of Fiddler on the Roof.

This lovely little town, less than an hour’s flight from Mexico City, attracts Jewish and non-Jewish visitors alike because it’s a microcosm of all the country has to offer, from world-class archaeological sites to charming colonial plazas, artisanal retail therapy — the area is known for its woodcarvings, hand-loomed textiles and punched tin — and the country’s finest ethnic food. This is a land of raw chocolate, courgette flowers, tortillas made from heritage corn and above all mole, the spicy sauce made from local chillis and herbs which has become a national dish of Mexico.

And Oaxaca is also the land of mezcal, rapidly overtaking tequila in trendiness as a tipple. Starkman and his wife used to run a B&B, but now he spends all his working hours taking visitors out to the agave plantations to see how mezcal is made, a process requiring smoke, sweat and a fair measure of talent.

We sipped a choice drop with him at La Olla, one of Oaxaca’s many delightful bar-restaurants; owner-chef Pilar