mezcal

One of the great perks of working in the wine industry is world travel.

I’ve traveled to wineries and tasted wines across New York, Pennsylvania, Canada, Germany and France. Meeting the people who grow the grapes, care for the vineyards and make the wine is a valuable experience to bring back to customers, associates and friends.

Once I was flown with about two dozen retailers, restaurateurs and wholesalers to Germany for a whirlwind tour of various vineyards. We saw the vineyards, tasted the wine, and listened to history, many times through a translator. We felt the sun over the vines, saw where the slope faced a local river for radiant heat, touched the soil and sampled the traditional local cuisine. Through all that, we found a connection with local growers and families that had farmed there for more generations than anyone could count.

Could all the “information” we received have been more efficiently sent via an email, fax, or by and sending

This is a repost of a blog I do for a Mexican tourism blog called Dave Miller's Mexico (https://davemillersmexico.wordpress.com). Once a year, I travel to Mexico where I visit several Palenques (Mezcal Distilleries) and taste dozens of Mezcals. We had to drive about 2-3 hours up winding dirt roads and through a river bed to get to Rey Campero, but it was well worth the trip. On a happy note, we will be carrying most of these Mezcals by the end of this week.

Brand… Espiritu Lauro

Category… Ensamble… 70% Espadin, 30% Karwinskii… 40% Alcohol

Origin… Amatengo, Oaxaca

Tasting Notes… This has a fresh minerally nose, mild smoke with subtle floral notes. There is some nice body on entry, viscous with very strong notes of pine that give way to even more mineral on the slightly sweet, long finish. This is a nice mezcal. I’d serve it straight up or with a little pineapple juice. If you are creative, consider adding a little vanilla ice cream and some mandarin oranges. It could make a great dessert!

Legend has it that many years ago a meteor fell from the sky and hit Oaxaca, Mexico. It was then that a local mezcalero decided to use the red hot pit left from the impact to cook his magueys before distilling them into mezcal.

Category… 100% Joven Espadin, 45% Alcohol

Origin… Las Margaritas, Oaxaca

Tasting Notes… Very pretty floral, sweet nose showing mild heat. This pleasant mezcal really opens up in the glass. Upon entry there’s that heat, citrus peel and then — BAM! Lots of mineral carrying through on the finish with the citrus peel peeking through. Maybe that’s the meteor effect. Wine lovers will recall a similarity with high end bone dry Riesling,

Many of our customers know that aside from being a "wine guy" I also have a passion for Mezcal. I make a yearly pilgrimage to Oaxaca, Mexico to visit palenques (distilleries) and taste several Mezcals that cannot be found in the US. I also contribute to a well known Blog about Mexican Culture and Tourism "Dave Miller's Mexico". I recently sampled El Buho, a Mezcal purchased right off our store's shelf. Here is a copy of my review:
Tasting Notes...Pretty, floral, fresh nose showing pine forest hints. It is very delicate and pleasant. Viscous mouth coating texture with little hint of alcohol on entry. The pine character comes to the forefront followed by intense mineral and citrus flavors. A little touch of heat carries the long finish where the mineral/citrus peel flavors remain.
Additional Thoughts…

With these cool evenings, I look forward to cool nights and a nice cup of coffee on the porch or by a backyard fire. I add a little Wahaka Reposado con Gusado Mezcal to my coffee to give it a kick. The Gusado (worm) adds a neat little flavor with the smokiness of the Reposado and takes me back to Oaxaca!

At the Premier Group, one of the reasons we like to visit wineries and distilleries it to get a feel for the place our products come from as well as get to know the people and traditions of the region. This philosophy of discovery has made us a top retailer and has also lead to some relationships with great people over the years.

My meeting with Paco Garcia from Wahaka Mezcal was supposed to be a short tour and tasting. As he sensed my desire to really know his Mezcal and my love of Oaxaca, he asked if I would open my whole day to him. I jumped at the chance.

I had the opportunity to see all three types of Maguey (a type of Agave plant used for Mezcal) up close, to touch them and see where they are grown.  I would later get to taste the delicious and unique Mezcal that each plant produces.

The farmed Espadin (I think this is what most people picture when they think of Agave plants)

Fine, handcrafted Mezcal is a growing category in the Spirits industry. One of the finest Premier carries is the Wahaka Brand from San Dionisio Ocotepec, Oaxaca, Mexico.

On a recent trip to Oaxaca, I was given the opportunity to visit, taste and meet with Wahaka's Mezcal Aficionado, Francisco Garcia. Among other things, Francisco shared the methods for making fine Mezcal with me.

Francisco explained that Mezcal is made from Maguey (from the Agave Family) slowly roasted in an open, earthen pit, filled with heated (until it is molten hot!) river rock, covered with a protective layer of crushed Maguey "must" from a previous batch. The Maguey is slow roasted for a period

Through my friend Brigam, who used to manage Chautauqua’s Vetter Vineyards winery, I volunteered with a group called Adventures In Life Ministry on a Mission trip to Oaxaca Mexico (Mexico’s Culinary Capitol!). In addition to the ruins at Monte Alban, I got to visit an incredible market with fresh meats, wonderful cheeses, leather goods and crafts. Most stunning was the fantastic local Spirit, Mezcal- available for sampling!

In the mornings we would leave our base camp in the city of Tlacolula and ride through the hills and mountains in the back of a pick up truck to San Baltazar to visit local people and work on various projects. The air in some little stops along the way appeared almost foggy with the sweet smoke of the local Mezcal makers “smoking’ their Agave plants before using them to make their delicious spirit. The resulting drink was complex, delicious and had a great smokey flavor a connoisseur of fine Islay Scotch might appreciate.

If anyone