We introduce a selection of unique best mezcals you should bring back from Mexico and a mezcal-based cocktail recipe to enjoy this spirit!

But what is mezcal? The treatment of the agave is totally different between tequila and mezcal production: the distillation process and the region of origin are very important.

While tequila is made from one variety of agave, mezcal, more diversified, can be produced from eleven varieties.

The latter is more pronounced in flavor. It is very smoky and vegetal to the taste buds, while tequila is creamy, herbaceous and fresh.

Ricardo Muñoz Zurita an unofficial chef, food historian and “anthropologist of Mexican cuisine”, passionate about Mezcal, has travelled all over Mexico to find the best bottles. Here is a selection of those mezclas you should add to your cupboard.

 

5 best mezcals to enjoy

Real Minero Largo

Real Minero is one of the few brands that still uses clay to distill, which gives the spirit an intense earthy and sandy taste that sets it apart from the others. Of course, this also means that they produce much less mezcal because of the way clay pots absorb liquid during distillation.

 

Convite Jabalí

Jabalí is one of the rarest types of agave, partly because the plant must be at least 25 years old to be harvested properly. The family brand finds only a dozen ripe jabals each year, distilled three times to create one of the best mezcals, a robust and herbaceous flavor with notes of mint and plum.

 

El Jolgorio Madrecuixe

Zurita particularly likes Madrecuixe, which is made from a rare type of agave that grows high like a palm tree and has a vegetal and floral taste. “The secret of this spirit is that the older the plant, the better,” he says.

 

Mezcales de Leyenda Guerrero

When we talk about, it all starts with the quality of the agave plant,” Zurita explains. This bottle, composed of fruity and brackish notes and a light smoke, comes exclusively from the Cupreata agave, grown in Guerrero, the state just west of Oaxaca.

 

7 Leguas Añejo Tequila

One of the best mezcals around. “This brand still does things the old-fashioned way, but with modern technology,” Zurita says. “Price, quality, tradition, smooth and silky balance, it’s a secret for people who know tequila.”

 

A mezcal-based cocktail: the Wolfgang Cocktail by Mickael Kernoa, bar manager at La Mezcaleria Paris

Ingredients

Mezcal Cuishe

Fino sherry

Suze

Mango/coriander syrup

Mixing glass – rocks with ice cube

Preparation

*Mango/coriander syrup : Cook the mango in the casserole. Add and smash the coriandre.

Add sugar and water, cook 400g mango, 400g sugar, 500g water, 15 coriander leaves.

 

Don’t drink and drive. Enjoy responsibly.

 

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