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Spotlight on Agave Spirits by Shawn Soole The Untapped Mexican Elixirs Tequila can bring back those memories of late nights as a young adult; your first night at the bar trying to test your drinking stamina with shot after shot of cheap tequila. Each shot burning, turning your night into a blur of beer chasers and a distinct turning in your stomach. Mezcal probably conjures up memories of dares and pressure from fellow drinkers to eat the preserved worm or scorpion after the bottle is done. These are the recollections of people all over the world when you mention the word tequila, creating a bad name for liquor with the Mexican spirit for life. But what happens when your humble tequila and mezcal gets a high-end makeover Well move over gimmicky, burning lighter fuel! The Mexicans are bringing their art of fine agave spirit-making north. Agave spirits can be broken down into a few distinctive groups that most people would have heard of, plus a few that they may not have. Everybody has heard of the famous tequila - the trendy shot to have at the hippest joints. Tequila is made in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, down the Jalisco coast to Guadalajara and then east to Arandas. Tequila and agave spirits in general are produced from - you guessed it - agave. Agave, long thought to be a cactus, now has its own classification. There are 423 species of agave in this region, not all good enough to make tequila. The best agave to use in tequila is blue agave, but with shortages in supply over the last ten years, many big names in tequila have used a blend of blue agave and other agaves. These tequilas are classified as mixto. Tequila production is a labour intensive endeavour. From the waiting period of up to 10 years for the agave to mature, to the sometimes dangerous job of slicing the leaves off with a coa de jima, a six foot pole with a paddle like, razor sharp blade attached to it. It takes a jimador less than two minutes to harvest the agave, slicing through the leaves with such precision as to not slice off his toes. The result is a piña which resembles something of a green and white pineapple that weighs anywhere up to 170 pounds. Inside this piña is the sweet nectar; to obtain the nectar the piña is baked to caramelize the juice that will soon be extracted by crushing it. Traditionally the piña is crushed using a giant mortar wheel, which is towed by a mule or an ox. The nectar is then distilled straight to create 100% agave or mixed with water to create a mixto and distilled in a traditional copper still. Once the tequila is finished, it is bottled right away to become a blanco, and aged for anywhere from 36 The Publican three weeks to five years. The periods of aging vary between tequila and mezcal. Mezcals have always been associated with the worm or the scorpion that lies in wait for you at the bottom of the bottle. To put urban legends to bed, that little creature is not there to suck out the alcohol from the liquor, only to give you a high octane kick at the end of the bottle, it’s simply a gimmick to get you to buy it. A good mezcal is great enough on its own. Mezcal is a style of agave spirit that is not for the faint of heart, produced further south in the Oaxaca region using a distillation process that is slightly different to tequila, making it a worthy adversary. Mezcal distillers have spent over 400 years perfecting the spirit, first by the indigenous locals and the Spanish conquistadores. It starts with five different types of agave being harvested in a similar manner to tequila, and then taken for the first and very different step of production. The mezcal piña is shredded of its leaves and husks. The leaves are then placed under a pit of river rocks to smoke the piña, which is covered with the husks to keep in the flavour. The pit can be any size, but its main purpose is to smoke and heat the piña to concentrate the natural sugars in the bulb. The smoking of the piña before crushing it is the key step in the production process; it can go on for as long as five days. What remains after the smoking, is a charred bulb of concentrated agave syrup, ready for crushing. The steps after this are very similar to tequila, but the final product is what differentiates mezcal from tequila. Mezcal has a distinct, obvious smoky nose to it with other aromas including tar, leather, and charcoal. It is more of a sipper similar to a Speyside Scotch, rather than a quick shot at the start of the night. Agave spirits are complex, as you can already see. There are different methods, styles, and aging. Aging any spirit can be beneficial in the way that it adds complexity and balance to liquid, adding in flavours of wood, caramel, and leather while taking out any harsher chemical flavours. There are four distinct styles of aging for agave spirits. First you have Blanco or Plata; these styles require no aging. These are clear and are used mainly in cocktails. In Mexico, people prefer to drink it as an apéritif before lunch in the classic fashion of neat with salt and lime. This style of agave spirit is beginning to get popular with the tequila fraternity, due to producers taking the time to create a great base spirit instead of letting aging do the work. This new, invigorated thinking behind Blancos and Platas has made way for drinkers who would love the aged agaves to come back and try these complex yet light spirits. These silver beauties have enlightening flavours of sweet agave nectar, tropical fruits, and refreshing citrus. Put an agave spirit in a cask for at least two months, but not longer than a year, and what do you get A Reposado. Reposados are the biggest selling agave spirits in Mexico, used to pair with food as you would wine in North America. Offering the light, refreshing flavours of a Blanco with the beginning complexity of an Añejo, this style of agave gives the drinker a step-up experience that they can’t achieve with a regular Blanco. When it comes to aging of agave spirits, there are no hard and fast rules on what they should be aged in. The last two styles can be grouped together - Añejo and the latest (available only in the last few years) Extra Añejo. Añejo is aged for a minimum of one year but less than three. This is the big daddy of all agave spirits. It’s all about the wood and the flavours the wood brings to the spirit. Caramel, vanilla, and cigar box come to mind when smelling a fine Añejo; these follow through to flavours of leather, chocolate, and sweetened agave nectar. This is the epitome of a fine sipping spirit, similar to a scotch or even-aged rum. Extra Añejo is the latest in aged agaves, aged for a minimum of five years. What does this give you A pure, smooth, woody sipper that will change your mind forever about tequilas and mezcals. With North America beginning to get more fine imported spirits, you can’t help but wonder what is in store for agave spirits. Perhaps your customer is a purist who likes her Blanco neat with some fine chicken tamales or in a classic Margarita, or maybe one of your regulars is a scotch fiend who is looking for a new conquest. Whatever the case, tequilas and mezcals have brushed off their immoral and sometimes downright evil cloaks and are now a force to be dealt with.
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Page 1 and 2: the Publican The Alliance of Bevera
Page 3 and 4: On the Cover The Spike Pub & Liquor
Page 5 and 6: Executive Director's Report by Kim
Page 7 and 8: BC HOSPITALITY & Conference INDUSTR
Page 9 and 10: open at night, right That means you
Page 11 and 12: Digital Signage by Best Buy Take yo
Page 13 and 14: Human Resources by go2 Getting New
Page 15 and 16: When retail guru Robert Spector sha
Page 17 and 18: Cultivate the Purchase Experience E
Page 19 and 20: PERIOD 02 SALES - UNAUDITED Sales f
Page 21 and 22: " Superior food service in pubs is
Page 23 and 24: Controlling food cost has never bee
Page 25 and 26: What's New by Debbie Minke RTDs Can
Page 27 and 28: your operation and the community, a
Page 29 and 30: Liquor Policy and Business Review b
Page 31 and 32: TECH TRENDS What’s Out There, Wha
Page 33 and 34: In addition to Irish cream liqueurs
Page 35: Personal Best - Record the highest
Page 39: Rolling out our newest Racer! NEW!

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