Spirits: Ultimate Cocktail Challenge--Tequila

Classic Tequila/Mezcal Cocktails

Margarita
The all-important Margarita Cocktail, one of America’s favorites, was paired with Olmeca Plata 100% Agave Tequila---unfortunately not available in Oregon---with 95 points and the Grand Trophy award. Of the other finalists, only two are available in Oregon, the second-place (94 points) Herradura Silver 100% Agave Tequila and Espolòn Blanco Tequila with 93 points.

Paloma
The most popular way to drink tequila in Mexico, and gaining in popularity here in the US, is the cool and thirst quenching, tall and grapefruity Paloma. The Grand Trophy for this cocktail went to Izkali 100% Agave Tequila (not available in Oregon), with 94 points. Oregonians can take solace however with the 2nd and 3nd Place finishers, el Jimador Blanco 100% Agave Tequila (93 points, and only $18.95 ) and el Jimador Reposado 100% Agave Tequila (92 points, and only $18.95)---both of which are in great supply in liquor stores and bars throughout the state.

Tequila Sunrise
The final and most colorful cocktail in the Tequila/Mezcal category was paired with the newly-available-in-Oregon 901 Silver 100% Agave Tequila, with the Grand Trophy and 93 points. Two other finalists are available here as well, the Familia Camarena Silver 100% Agave Tequila and the Espolòn Blanco 100% Agave Tequila, each with 90 points.

(Note: The Tequila/Mezcal category was well populated, with 19 separate Tequilas vying for attention and awards. This selection of tequilas for classic cocktails is not representative of the entire category of agave spirits, however, and is limted only to those spirits entered into the Ultimate Spirits/Cocktail Challenge competition.)

My Soapbox (actually, I borrowed Tom Hill's Bully Pulpit for a few moments):

Tequila Sunrise???? They picked THAT as a classic tequila cocktail? Sweet, sticky, and I can't remember the last time I saw someone order one of those at a bar---much less drink it! Methinks they were forcing the issue here, as in, "We gotta have three cocktails, so let's add on....oh, what the hell, can we just throw in a Sunrise???" I would much rather have seen a Caballito and Sangrita, but I guess that wasn't enough of a challenge to 'mixologists'.

Yeah, I find the Tequila Sunrise to be pretty much undrinkable. A pairing with sangrita would have been far more interesting. The Chapala would have been another good one for comparisons.

The Cocktail for me, simple and neat

Clase Azul Reposado
Milagro Anejo

And when daring:
Any Mezcal w/worm

Any Mescal w/worm

Please. Anyone who actually likes agave spirits would walk away briskly from any mezcal (not mescal) that had a worm in the bottle. That's for frat kids, at best, and usually in the border towns. It's generally the cheapest stuff available (both in price and quality).

Oaxaca, the best known producing region for mezcal, just took official steps to ban the worm in the bottle so they could get past the childish idea and focus on quality.

More than that, the creature in the bottle is not a worm. Technically it is a form of a caterpiller.

Rumor has it that the creature is said to be good for male sexual performance. That story did not start in Mexico. It started in Texas. And it has been proven without any basis in reality.

Best
Rogov

More than that, the creature in the bottle is not a worm. Technically it is a form of a caterpiller.

Rumor has it that the creature is said to be good for male sexual performance. That story did not start in Mexico. It started in Texas. And it has been proven without any basis in reality.

Best
Rogov

Just so. And there are actually two types of "worm" (moth caterpillars), the Gusano Rojo and Gusano Blanco (they live in two different parts of the agave.

Here's an article about worms and Oaxacan mezcal. Even though it has a few instances of misinformation, minsunderstanding and some poor writing, it still gives a fairly good picture of what's going on with mezcal these days.

http://www.mezcal-de-oaxaca.com/mezcal.htm

As for your quip about Texas...there's not a whole lot of difference between "Texas mentality" and "juvenile frat boy mentality", Daniel.

Hoke...An apt comparison, especially when I think about the Terralingua chile competition. Dont' get me wrong, I think some of the chile cooked up there is fantabulous, but I do have a problem with at least some of the people on a five day drunk. And yes, even though it might have been considered "cute" in the 1950's, I do find a certain problem with the wet T-shirt competition for women held at the event.

But then again, vulgarity has something akin to kitsch. Kitsch that is aware of itself is no longer kitsch. Perhaps the same holds true for wet T-shirt competitions?

While I've never been philosophically opposed to wet t-shirt contests, I understand what you're saying in the greater sense. And having been a judge at chili contests while in Texas (the best one was sponsored by a federal prison----but for the guards, not the inmates, I hasten to add), I can certainly testify to strange directions and flights of culinary disaster.

And I'd say that vulgarity not only is akin to kitsch, it IS kitsch. But that's using vulgarity more in its original sense of the word, rather than the current.

Be that as it may, I believe you and I are never likely to share the delights of caterpillars, or worms, in our agave spirits.

(On a more serious note, Daniel: as I learn more and more of the intricacies of agave spirits, I am fascinated by the compelling fact that agave is, like the wine grape, extremely sensitive to and reflective of terroir in all its manifestations. And the differences can be clearly noted when the different spirits are available.

All tequila is based on the blue agave, of course. But mezcal and their cousins (sotol, bacanora, comiteca, raicilla. etc.) allow many different kinds of agave, as well as thriving in many different types of soil...so the journey of discovery never ends. (And that's the way I like it, uh huh, uh huh. )

There actually was a time when I "did the worm". More than a decade ago I was appearing with fair regularity on an Israeli television program hosted by the affable Amnon Levy. One week, following a discussion on what many might consider "odd" foods, he asked if there was anything I would not eat. My response was that I couldn't think of anything at the moment.

A week later, on the same program he brought up my comment and asked if I were willing to stand by it. I said that of course I would. Out came a bottle of Mezcal with the caterpiller. The drink was poured and the caterpillar was manipulated into my glass. The glass was handed to me. It should go without saying that I did not chew the caterpillar but simply belted it down together with the liquor. Absolutely painless. Amnon commented that I was a brave man. I in turn shot back that it is said that the caterpillar is good for the sex life. Amnon quickly turned to his stage hands and inquired "dammit man, don't you have another caterpillar for me"?

A fun night was had by all.

The worm in the bottle, a fairly recent non-traditional thing, has always made me wonder if there wasn't a conversation between a couple of Mexican distillers about how they could put over a joke on the stupid gringos.

Reminds me of this video on sushi!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2565348297167870042#

Hi Hoke,
Besides the fact that tequila is produced from 100% blue agave aren’t the production methods slightly different? Is the “fermented” agave juice still referred to as Mezcal wine?

Salute

Victor, the differences in Tequila and non-tequila are that Tequila can be made only from the Tequila Weber Agave Azul (Blue Agave) plant, whereas Oaxaca mezcal is allowed to be made from different types of agave.

Technically, tequila is a type of mezcal, which is the broad category over all of Mexico. ("All tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila.") So yes, the original name for the agave spirit was 'mezcal wine'. Tequila simply established and codified their official regulations, demarcated their area, and instituted specific rules of production. (I was at Herradura when the NOM rep. came by and thoroughly inspected the facilities, then took copious samples for lab analysis. Among other things, he was checking for levels of cellulose, since the agave heart is very fibrous and tends to impart a lot of cellulose into the shredded and pulped and hydrolized wash necessary for fermentation and distillation.

As to differences in production....I think what you may be referring to is that in Oaxacan Mezcal one of the traditional and still allowed methods of processing was to cook the agave pinas over an open fire or in a smoke pit, thereby imparting a distinct smokiness to the finished mexcal. (That came about, honestly, because the Oaxacans were so poor that that's the best they could do, so a tradition of necessity became a tradition of choice---a la retsina in Greece.) Tequila never really developed that tradition.

So in a sense, Oaxacan---well some Oaxacan Mezcal---can be loosely compared to peat smoking in Scotch. But there are lots of types of mezcals, since it's all over Mexico.

As this progresses and matures and is further codified (the Oaxacans have figured out how important and profitable this is, so they're following what Tequila did; in the link I provided, they discussed the new rule in Oaxaca to not allow the gusano at all to help spiff up the image.), I think we'll have to refer to the entire category as "Agave Spirits". Right now people are making agave spirits in the US (and not allowed to call it Tequila or Mezcal).

Thanks Hoke!
Is the “agave nectar wine” safe to drink? How much alcohol is present? Did you every try it (prior to the distillation)?

Salute

I may have poorly answered your original question, Victor.

Do you mean the 'agave nectar' syrup---which is the 'first run' of juice during the baking of the pinas, and is separately collected, then filtered as a syrup. (Good because it is inulin rather than glucose, and thus high on the glycemic scale, very sweet but good for diabetics.)

The fermented form of the agave is pulque, a milky, silty and to me not very appealing low grade beer from the agave wash.

"Mezcal wine", however, is what the original spirit was called by the Spanish...when it was distilled out to relatively low proof. The name sorta stuck. But it's not wine; it's full-on spirits now. The only thing that's still close to the old mezcal wine is a curiousity, hard to find these days, called 'mezcal de ollo', and old-style traditional agave spirit in earthenware jugs. Never had that.

Nowadays modern tequila, even in the artisanal boutiques, is at least double distilled, going from mosto to 'ordinario' to full strength tequila. Very rarely tequila will be made 'to proof', but most of it is made at high proof and then cut to proof with water.

Thanks again Hoke!
For a minute there I thought it was possible to press the heck out of the pinas, extract he juice or syrup and get yeast to “work” on it. So basically the agave juice or syrup has to be prepared like “wort” (where a “technique” must be applied to concentrate the sugars in a form that the yeast can work on.). Once the “wort” is fermented I would call this a “wash” for distillation. (Technically IMHO, a “wort” that has fermented (beer or wine) could be considered a type of “wash” for distillation. The “first” Mezcal wine the early Spaniards drank was just that- a “wash”).

Salute

Thanks again Hoke!
For a minute there I thought it was possible to press the heck out of the pinas, extract he juice or syrup and get yeast to “work” on it. So basically the agave juice or syrup has to be prepared like “wort” (where a “technique” must be applied to concentrate the sugars in a form that the yeast can work on.). Once the “wort” is fermented I would call this a “wash” for distillation. (Technically IMHO, a “wort” that has fermented (beer or wine) could be considered a type of “wash” for distillation. The “first” Mezcal wine the early Spaniards drank was just that- a “wash”).

Salute

As usual, you nailed it, Victor.

Inulin has to be converted into a fermentable sugar, so they use pyrolisis (cooking it) and hydrolysis (washing it) to do so.

I would imagine that early 'mezcal wine' was actually a once-distilled, low temperature distillation that came up with an 'ordinario' that came in at...maybe...a weak 20 to 30% alcohol. Probably wasn't very good---but cheaper than what had to be imported, and readily available. Which is how all spirits begin, really.