Mezcal is to regions of Mexico as Burgundy and Bordeaux are to their respective regions of France; they’re deeply embedded aspects of the culture, not just beverages. You could no more remove the Frenchness of a fantastic Chablis than you could remove the Mexican culture and tradition of a delicious Espadin.
“Mezcal is not smoky tequila,” Eva Pelczer, director of brand education for Del Maguey, says. “And like with wine, we approach mezcal differently, so differently that we’re on a different planet from our normal understanding of premium spirits.”
Del Maguey (muh-GAY) launched the worldwide fascination with mezcal, but it took them decades to get to a place where their products were regularly appearing on cocktail menus and back bars. In fact, their first products arrived in the U.S. in 1995, but they didn’t see a profit until 2010.
“The tide turned with VIDA,” Pelczer said. “We’d had eight or nine previous expressions in the U.S. before, but VIDA was the handshake or bridge to the sipping category. It’s a little lower in alcohol at 42 percent compared to the normal 45 to 55 ABV, so it was easier to sip.”
The slow growth was intentional in some ways. The company was and is committed to treating its products like the cultural exports they are. Mezcal is not made in large batches, unlike other types of spirits. Agave takes seven to 25 years to mature in most cases, so the process can’t be rushed. It’s not like wheat or corn, where the farmer will have at least one harvest per year. After harvest, the palenqueros (or mezcaleros) make small batches for specific villages in palenques – mezcal distilleries – and each batch is traditionally consumed in the context of a special occasion or event. Traditionally, the spirit is poured into small cups, called copitas, and consumed in sips, not shots.
Pelczer said there are 200 varietals of agave, of which 40 can be distillates, and of those, Del Maguey has nine in their portfolio. The most common varietal by far is espadin, and it is the unique characteristics of each varietal, combined with soil type, terrain, climate, and the distiller’s personal touch that creates a wide variety of flavor profiles in the expressions.
“We call the personal touch ‘the hand of the maker,’” Pelczer says. “Along with that component, the cornerstone is the wild fermentation with ambient yeast.”
All four phases of production are conducted outside: harvest, roasting the piñas (hearts of the agave plants), milling, and fermentation. The fermentation process can take up to 25 days, after which the fermented mash goes through two distillations. Each palenque’s microclimate contributes ambient or wild yeast to the process, which also adds specific flavor and aroma notes.
Offering a Toast to Dia de los Muertos
VIDA was the bridge in more ways than one. It was the first to start appearing on cocktail menus with any degree of regularity, and it established the mixing mezcal category. Del Maguey has four distinct series of mezcal expressions; VIDA is the backbone of one of the four. It shares the category with VIDA de Muertos. Both come from the village of San Luis del Rio, Oaxaca, where master palenquero Paciano Cruz Nolasco oversees operations. While Nolasco crafts batches for his village’s celebration of Dia de los Muertos – batches that do not get exported – he also creates the special release VIDA de Muertos for Del Maguey.
Just as mezcal isn’t smoky tequila, Dia de los Muertos is not “Mexican Halloween.” The Day of the Dead is celebrated in many cultures, and it’s a national celebration all over Mexico, featuring colorful skulls (calaveras), Mexican marigolds (flor de muerto), and home altars (ofrendas) that contain offerings of food and drink as well as photographs of dead loved ones. Rather than a somber event, it’s a festive occasion with feasting and flowing mezcal as the living welcome the dead back for a two-day visit. Ubiquitous throughout the country at this time is the image of La Catrina, the fanciful, playful skeleton with a feathered hat first created by artist Jose Gudalupe Posada in the early 20th century.
In Closing
The Del Maguey portfolio is, according to Pelczer, set up to tell the full story of mezcal in Mexico, with various expressions from Oaxaca and Puebla. The inclusion of VIDA de Muertos is one way the company respects and shares the culture of the indigenous peoples who create mezcal. The sharing begins with a traditional toast in the Zapotec language: Stigibeu (stee-gee-BAY-oo). It’s an expression of gratitude to the earth and the ancestors.
“We’re used to spirits tailored to us,” Pelczer said, “but mezcal waits for you to come to it, to discover it. In a sense, you have to be ready for it; mezcal finds you.”
While mezcal can’t physically find you by itself, you can discover your mezcal in the Del Maguey Collection here.
Images courtesy of Del Maguey, Michael Toolen, and Greg Buda.
