Ruined temples just outside the city of Oaxaca.

If Guadalajara, the base city of tequila, is modern and alive, then Oaxaca, the city of Mezcal, is ancient and preserved. Walking between its graph like streets and its monumental plazas is a very different experience to seeing the open, rolling boulevards of Guadalajara. In Oaxaca everything reeks of the ancient, the architecture, the trees the land. It is a city seemingly devoid of modern industry, one that has come to rest on the great laurels of tourism in order to survive. It is here, on the outskirts of this ancient and beautiful town that mezcal is made. If we imagine that tequila is Mexico’s Cognac region, a traditional but refined drink, one associated with noble intent and respectable apreciation, then it is easy to see mezcal as Mexico’s Armagnac. That is, a rustic and simple drink, often boisterous and dangerous, a drink made by peasants for peasants. now obviously these associations are incredibly loose and based on some outdated historical notions about the various regions and styles. However, it remains true that mezcal is indeed, tequila’s dirty and more unruly distant sibling. Perhaps a word or two on production is needed here.

Like tequila it all begins with the agave, but not the blue agave, in Mezcal they use a sibling variety know as the ‘Maguey’ agave. Its process is similar, this agave once fully mature at around ten years of age, is stripped down to pineapple form than baked to concentrate its moisture and sugars. However, this is where the most crucial difference is born. In Mezcal they bake the agaves underground using smoke rather than steam. This is how they do things as the ‘El Rey’ distillery that we were fortunate enough to visit.

The agave is baked and smoked in a small underground oven for at least three days.

This enlongated process using the smoke from the wood that is burned slowly, results in a base product with a whole host of phenolic compounds and flavour elements that will give the mezcal its distinction. These baked pineapples are then crushed using an old stone wheel, a process that is about as old school as it’s possible to get. At El Rey this is what the milling wheel looks like…

After the baked agave plant is suitably crushed and macerated, the flesh is placed into a wooden fermentation vessel where it is left to ferment naturally, all that is added is boiling water to make up the liquid content…

The fermentation process at El Rey takes at least 15 days, a length of time that whisky production hasn’t seen since before the second world war at least. After this is complete the alcoholic liquid is drianed off and fermented in either copper or clay pot stills, at El Rey a very small copper pot is used. in fact the resemblance to the various old illicit stills once common in Scotland that I’ve seen is uncanny…

The still is tiny, the pot is set into the concrete slab below.

The liquid is distilled only once but very slowly and barely reaches above 55% alcohol, most mezcals don’t go above 55%. The still is wood fired and the condenser is a small copper worm running through surprisingly warm water. The resulting distillate is hot and powerful stuff, full of oily, smoky and richly medicinal flavours.

After distillation the spirit is either put into cask or diluted and bottled at Blanco. However, unlike tequila, there are many other variations and definitions of mezcal. Different types like Minero and Gusano, amongs many others, are achieved by variations in the sub species of agave used and the relative proportions thereof, you might call it a ‘mashbill’. Also the fermentation can be infused with different fruits and spices to lend other flavours to the fermenting juices. All these variations are accounted for in the names of the various types of mezcal. Although they also share the same basic definitions of Blanco, Reposado and Anejo as tequila.

Our guide doing his best to get us smashed.

One thing that the representatives of both tequila and mezcal share, is a deep rooted desire to get all of their visitors absolutely gubbed (to use a Glasgow expression). As we approached the tasting room/shop, it’s funny how all the shops in mezcal and tequila so closely resemble bars, it was clear we weren’t going away clear headed. They were keen that we drink, not taste but drink, at least a single hefty measure of each of their various products. Not only the range of mezcals from the Blanco to Anjo Gran Reserva but also the multitude of sickly sweet flavoured mezcal liqueurs. I did my best to be sensible but lunch was definitely required immediately after departing the distillery. We were fortunate enough to be offered more mezcal tastings at the buffet restaurant we went to. For various reasons that I can’t be bothered to explain here I managed to write proper tasting notes for these ones before I got around to writing the notes for the official El Rey bottlings. So to finish this post here are my notes for three assorted and interesting mezcals…

El Famoso. ‘Minero’ Blanco. 100% Agave. 40%. 1 litre.

Colour: None

Nose: Immediate strong notes of plastascene, brunt wash, acrylic, some very earth agave qualities, fresh tar and masses of medicinal hospital aromas. Gauze, floor cleaner, Listerine, antiseptic, mercurochrome, all kinds of medicinal aspects. I wouldn’t say that it’s complex, just intense and focused. It’s also very earthy and farmy, it doesn’t seem to have any of the saline coastal notes that can be found in the tequilas. Mashed potatoes, mustard seeds, motor oil and camphor. This has many similarities to peated new make Scottish spirit.

Palate: Sweet and earthy with more antiseptic notes. Also Euthymol Toothpaste, some green banana skins, burnt brown sugar and a very farmy style, cloying smokiness that sticks to the roof of your mouth. Big notes of gentian root, some mint and more thick oiliness.

Finish: The sweetness is short but the smoke and medicine flavours linger warmly for a long time.

Comments: A fascinating drink and definitely one to try if you like Gentian Eau De Vie. It would also be fascinating to compare to most peated new makes from Scotland.

Score: 70/100

Don Lucio Reposado. 100% agave. 38%. 75cl.

Colour: Pale straw

Nose: Imagine if you took a farm with all its manure, machinery and stables, smoked it for a few days and then mixed it into a smoothy, you might get something that smelled a little like this. This is extraordinarily rustic, stinky, oily, farmy, incredibly smoky and medicinal. A real earthbomb as it were, some green notes in there as well, quite vegetal and thick with aromas of salt, sandalwood, black pepper, peat oils and some curiously yeasty, autolytic notes at the back. This smells like it could be a very young but very good Islay malt. Further notes of margherita, cucmber and lime juice.

Palate: On the palate it is curiously subdued, it doesn’t live up to the intensity and character of the nose. The palate is thin and bland by comparison with some disappointing notes of butyric, cardboard, stale malt (???) and mushy peas. Not particularly inspiring and lacking much complexity. Given time it improves a little with some nice notes of mint but otherwise it is still a bit disappointing.

Finish: Decent length but unfortunately on the same flavours.

Comments: This was a bit unfortunate. The nose was fantastically exciting but the palate just didn’t deliver. Maybe Mezcal is better without age?

Score: 60/100

El Famoso Gusano. 100% agave. 40%. 1litre.

Colour: White wine

Nose: This is completely different, it smells more like a tequila with a huge initial saltiness, bags of preserved lemons, citrus oils, lemon wax, chocolate limes and thick vegetal cactus notes. It must have something to do with a mix of different species of agave in the mash which is the definition of a ‘Gusano’ mescal. Very earthy and rustic this one, a big departure from the others in that it is not as intensely smoky or medicinal. Those elements are still there but they play a more background role.

Palate: Big notes of soap and lime, literally like chewing a bar of citrus soap, but not in a bad way if that’s possible to imagine. Very oily and earthy still but also surprisingly fragrant. Some notes of creosote and tar begin to come through making it more classical in style. Camphor, hessian, grassy, green smoke notes, very unusual all round really. Quite a ‘difficult’ mescal I’d say, not that I’d really know mind you.

Finish: Long, lemony, grassy and even slightly mineraled. Fascinating.

Comments: It’s difficult to know what to say about a spirit like this let alone what to score it. It has some fascinating characteristics and seems to be quite different from other mescals I’ve tried, almost a perfect combo of tequila and mescal. It’s tricky to know what to say about a spirit that clearly flaunts characteristics that in a Scotch would be major flaws, I’m thinking the big soapiness for instance. Yet here it seems to work. I think most whisky drinkers won’t like things like this, you kind of need to recalibrate you taste buds to accept a different drink profile entirely. I think it’s good but, more importantly, I think it’s a fascinating drinking experience. They probably don’t make more rustic, old style spirit anywhere else in the world. (with the possible exception of certain Alsatian Eau De Vies).

Score: 75/100 (please take this with a massive spoonful of salt)

This being a whisky blog there will be a short descriptive prelude to the main article, just in case.

Tequila is a distilled drink made from the fermented juice of the Blue Agave plant in Mexico. The best are produced from 100 percent Agave while the inferior ‘Mixtos’ are made from a minimum of 51% Agave with other sugars making up the fermentation. The Tequilas are usually distilled twice (triple is rare but not unheard of) and then bottled either as a Tequila Blanco (unaged, diluted raw distillate) or aged in oak. Other designations are ‘Resposado’, this means ‘rested’ and is a Tequila aged for anywhere between 2-12 months in any kind of oak cask. The next level is ‘Añejo’,  meaning ‘aged’ this is Tequila aged from one to three years in oak. The final type is ‘Extra Añejo’, this is any Tequila aged more than three years. Strengths usually vary from 35-40% although there are some bottled at higher proofs. If you don’t like Tequila it is a coarse and vile drink that tastes of raw cactus juice and is injected into the mouths of students via shot glasses in order to enable sloppy and noisy procreation and general party shenanigans, chances are you probably haven’t tried any nice Tequilas either. However, if you do like Tequila it is a fascinating, rustic and often complex spirit that retains startlingly traditional production methods and speaks of artisanal practice and the land from which it originates. If you’re still reading I’m guessing your in the latter school of thought.

I arrived in Mexico City on thursday and took a bus to the city of Guadalajara the next morning. After a lazy nine hour drive through the dusty flatlands of north western Mexico I was ready for a shower, a beer and some proper Mexican grub. I’ll probably talk more about the food here in due course, suffice to say I have for a long time, and always will, adore Mexican food. The next morning I was straight on a tour to the nearby city of Tequila and two of its many distilleries. Jesus, my guide for the day, spoke excellent English as we drove out to Tequila. He urged me to ask questions, I suspect this was standard patter for English speaking visitors and he probably later regretted saying this to an overly keen drinks writer, for ask questions I did.

As we neared the city we passed through endless fields of Agave, their spines bristling from the red earth like aquamarine fangs. Jesus tells me that the soil around Tequila is the best, volcanic, it grows the best Agave in the region. I immediately begin asking him about comparisons with winemaking, attempting to explain the principles of terroir. His response is simple and affirmative, Tequila very much has a taste of the land, the location of the Agave plant can have a bearing on quality and style. Generally speaking Agave grown in the Highlands give a richer, sweeter style and those from the Lowlands have more aromatic, herbaceous qualities. Where we are around the outskirts of Tequila is apparently the best location for Agave.

As we drive on I am informed that the Agave craves water and that water can be the worst thing for them. They gain moisture at night from pores on the skin of their spines that open nocturnally and absorb moisture from the air. Excess water can overfeed them, thus diluting potential sugars in the ‘pineapple’, the heart of the plant that is later baked, pressed and fermented. It is also better to harvest them during the months April-May, this is the hot spell before the wet season kicks in a round June. If Agave are harvested during excessive rain the water will clog the plants and again reduce the potential sugar extraction. It seems like the similarities to grapes and wine production are getting deeper. Just like vines, Agave crave water and the best ones are reliant upon soil, good growing conditions, good harvest conditions and generally are better if they struggle rather than have an easy time of it. It seems that terroir is alive in Tequila. I wondered if anyone would produce a ‘single field’ Tequila sometime but I discover this is somewhat unlikely as the best Agave take 8-10 years to reach full maturity, funnily the inferior ones take as long as 15 years sometimes. So, longer is not always better apparently.

The first distillery we arrived at was Tres Mujeres, a modern and artisanal distillery that obviously took great pride in charming its tourist visitors. First up was a demonstration of the preparation of the Agave plant, this was done by one of the ‘jimadores’, the professional Agave harvesters who toil away in the heat in the same fashion as they have done for several centuries. It is fascinating to see how such a simple agricultural process had not be bested by machines and has remained genuinely unchanged, there are few areas of wine or whisky production that could claim the same. First the Agave is severed with the ‘Coa’, a long, heavy tool with a lunar edged and incredibly sharp blade. Then the spines are shredded revealing the Pineapple inside, this is then split to expose the sugary, starchy parts at its core.

Here Rodriguez shaves the spines off an Agave using his lethal looking Coa with impressive dexterity. The white sinewy orb beneath is the Pineapple.

After being 'shaved' the Pineapple is finally split to reveal white, stringy innards.

Occasionally they are forced to use unskilled labour.

Once the Pineapples are prepared they are put into a large oven and baked using steam for two days. This sweats them and concentrates the sugars and starches. Once this is complete they are pressed and the juice is extracted. Some distilleries still use the only stone grinders, like ancient flour mills but here at Tres Mujeres the press is more modern. We were given some of the raw Agave to chew on and some baked pieces to compare. The difference is quite incredible, before it is a hard, inedible, dry, starchy root. After it is juicy, sweet and fibrous, evidently ripe for fermenting.

Slices of the baked Agave. It turns naturally from white to the colour of fudge and takes on an intense sweetness.

Jesus took us inside at this point to look at the fermentation tanks. Here they were using stainless steel, although wood is not uncommon at smaller distilleries as well I’m told. Most Tequila distilleries are quite precious about what yeast strains they use, although Jesus took great pride in loudly exclaiming that they didn’t add any yeast and that the fermentation was allowed to take its course naturally, a process that takes up to five days. I can’t blame him for being proud of it, such things are a real rarity at distilleries these days, maybe in some smaller Cognac or Armagnac distilleries but as far as the whisky industry goes, they all but abandoned natural and lighter yeast strains decades ago. A natural fermentation allows more esters and acidic compounds to build up, as they are the chemical reactions that take time and need more delicate ferments. It is these esters that give more overt fruit flavours and complexity to a spirit while acids tend to cling more to copper thus aiding reflux during distillation, a process that in itself is essential for fruity precursors and complexity in any spirit. So I was very happy to see such a practice in use at this modern little Tequila distillery.

The 'wash' nearing the end of its long, five day fermentation.

Next came distillation. Similarly to Scottish malt distilleries the fermented liquid is distilled twice through pot stills, the first run produces ‘ordinario’ (read low wines) and the second produces ‘producto terminado’, or Tequila Blanco. the only thing is that, at Tres Mujeres, the stills look like this…

Two of the six stainless steel pot stills at Tres Mujeres.

…stainless steel. I asked if there was copper inside but it seems like these are simply all stainless alamique stills. It would be interesting to taste the same distillate through copper but that isn’t possible and I wasn’t about to try and get into a conversation with Jesus about the chemical merits of copper versus stainless steel for distilling purposes. In the end the Tequila was excellent so it evidently works. They have six different size stills at the distillery all working in pairs and between them they produce over twenty different brands of Tequila. Loch Lomond distillery would be proud, especially considering the fact that the stills here look not unlike Lomond stills themselves. Space age Lomond stills that is.

Here you can see stills five and six, both of which are tiny compared to the much larger number 4. You can also see the stainless steel shell condensers that are used on all stills.

The spirit is at around 70% alcohol when it comes off the still, I couldn’t get much info about the cuts that are used, if any, out of Jesus as he was too enthusiastic about getting us to drink 70% alcohol Tequila. 70% is very high for new make Tequila, most barely make it to 55%. That is part of Tequila’s general rustic character, the earthiness and oily nature inherent in spirit that has undergone a shorter distillation process is one of the unique hallmarks of Mexico’s national drink. Some distilleries even produce Tequilas that are only distilled as high as 40%. To taste, the new distillate is surprisingly close to Scottish new make, the same grainy and raw, grassy qualities with similar notes of green citrus and sweet sherbet, only the faint vegetal hint gave it away as Tequila. This is probably not indicative of all Tequilas, it may have something to do with the higher strength here or that it was isolated from near the top of the run. But you do get the feeling that the vast majority of flavour in aged spirits is all about a combination of the wood and precursors created during fermentation and distillation. The character of so many new make malts is often near indistinguishable from one another, and yet give them twelve-fifteen years in refill wood and they can be incredibly different. New distillate really does hide an enormous amount of potential ‘flavours in waiting’ as it were. The same can be seen with the way the Tequila of Tres Mujeres progresses through the various ages, from the unaged Blanco that has had water added to bring out the subtleties, all the way up to the Extra Añejo that has aged in oak for five years and displays a vastly more complex flavour spectrum, and not only from the wood but the natural vegetal and spice aspects as well.

Megaphones are mandatory at all Tequila tastings these days. Probably due to some dreadful accident involving aurally administered slammers.

By the end of the tour the ‘tasting’ table had been set up (and set upon) and most questions had faded into extreme revelry. Blanca, the other tour guide (in black top above) did a wonderful job of getting everyone absolutely smashed. Appreciation was encouraged but so too was necking vast quantities of the stuff chased by salt dabbed cucumber chunks and lime wedges. Anyone worried by the cucumber should be aware that there was enough alcohol sloshing about it to kill a legion of smallpox, let alone some limp-wristed ecoli. There was probably a clause in her contract that if anyone entered the gift shop sober it meant a reduction in her christmas bonus or something. Thankfully I had my trusty sample bottles with me so I was able to take some away for proper olfactory judgement at a later date. Although after filling 3cl sample bottles to the brim there was still at least a double measure left in my glass, if I had consumed all the tequila I was given that day I would probably not be writing this now. Their shots seemed to be very busy impersonating half pints. When it was revealed I would be writing about the stuff they were also very keen for me to taste their liqueur and ‘flavoured’ tequila products as well. They were pretty horrible if I’m honest, these things have never been my cup of tea. Although there was an interesting one that had been infused with some obscure flower. I was informed by Blanca that this flower was a very powerful aphrodisiac and that I should not take it unless I had a girlfriend in close proximity lest I become a ‘nuisance’ to the community. I reminded her that Scottish people lose all reproductive powers above 18 degrees centigrade and was inevitably allowed a taste. Thankfully any form of sexual/cultural disaster has yet to befall me or any passing strangers/wildlife.

Anyway we got away in the end alright. It was a fantastic introduction to the world of Tequila and a joyous start to what was a great day. Tomorrow we’ll have the second part of the day which was to take place at the very different, and very famous, Jose Cuervo. Expect that report tomorrow, or maybe I’ll do the tasting tomorrow, or maybe I’ll just shack up in a hammock and drink very cold beer all day… it’s Mexico, who knows what will happen.

Bowmore Distillery

Location: Islay
Founded: 1779
Current capacity: 2 million litres
Stills: 4. 2 wash and 2 spirit.
Water Source: Laggan River
Washbacks: wood
Peating levels: Varied through the years but currently around 35ppm

Bowmore is undoubtedly one of the most famous, collectable, drinkable and fascinating distilleries operating in the world today. It is exactly the sort of distillery that delights collectors and drinkers alike because its whisky has been bottled both officially and independently for several decades now and it has gone through several distinct eras of production during this time. As an Islay whisky it obviously betrays its location quite distinctly, but as we will see, its differences can be vast. There have been several historical examples of Bowmore from the 19th and early 20th century appear at auction over the years but as with all these old bottlings we should always be cautious of their authenticity. Bottlings of Bowmore generally start in the fifties and sixties and range right though to the present day, it is one of a handful of distilleries from which it is possible to find literally hundreds of different expressions.

1950s-1972: The great years. Peat, oiliness, complexity, dryness and (famously) immense tropical fruit character.
For Bowmore fans this is THE era. Production at Bowmore during these years was characterized by old school methods such as coal fired stills (until conversion in 1964 to steam) use of worm condensers, fermentations that would often last in excess of a week, use of old refill casks and stunning quality sherry casks. The malting of the barley was also all carried out by hand at the distillery burning local peat by hand. This helped to create a stunningly beautiful house style that was intensely laden with tropical fruit. It is this character in particular that sets these old Bowmores apart from almost all other whiskies, there are no other distillates that display fruit character in quite the same way. The oily, phenolic peat was also crucial as it provided body to the whisky and helped balance the intensity of the fruit. Examples of Bowmore bottled during these years are available if you have the pocket for them and they are often particularly beautiful. Leaving aside bottle maturation they often display less intense fruit than the aged bottlings and more minerally, coastal dryness. There are many aged bottlings available from the sixties and and some from the fifties, both official and independent and they are more often than not stunning (although as with all distilleries there are some notable bad exceptions). Famous examples are the official ‘Black Bowmores’ and ‘Bicentenary’ bottlings from the 1964 vintage. Also the 1955 40yo and many other 68s and 64s can be utterly stunning. There are also very famous Italian bottlings done in the 80s from 1965 and other years, and famously the Samaroli ‘Bouquet’ series. If you enjoy intensely fruity expressive whisky then this era at Bowmore will knock you out.

1973-1976: A gentle change. Still very fruity but less oily with a softening of the peat character.
During these years the whisky produced at Bowmore was still of a high standard but was characterized by a noticeable ‘taming’ of its previous qualities. As with all distilleries modernization played a part but, crucially at Bowmore, it was the dramatic increase in production levels that would contribute to what some might argue was a compromise between quality and quantity. Curiously there are remarkably fewer bottlings from this era than any other for some reason, although this may change as older stock is depleted and stock from these years ages further.

1977-1991: FWP (French Whore’s Perfume). Complete change, lavender, violets, less peat, more medicine, perfumed and fragrant.
These years represent a complete change at Bowmore and the subsequent product is one of the best examples of love it or loathe it whisky. During the late seventies as modernization took hold there were shorter more intense fermentations, coupled with new, quicker distillation regimes that brought a new lightness to the Bowmore style. There were also new ‘energy saving’ condensers installed on the stills which had a tendency to scald the spirit vapors by being too hot. Many people loathe this style of Bowmore, it is often characterized by intensely floral, lavender and perfume notes with the peat often taking a background role. There are exceptions to this but they are not the norm, you really need to enjoy this particular style of whisky to enjoy Bowmore from these years. There are many examples from this time available and more bottlings will continue to arise from these years for quite some time so age may tame these flavours but so far it hasn’t yet.

1992-present: Rebirth. Dryer, very coastal, much heavier peat, aromatic, some fruit and very fresh.
During the early nineties they experimented with peating levels and also ways of burning peat in the kilns at the distillery, they continue to produce up to 40% of their own malt. This led to an increase in peating levels and to a process of crumbling the peat bricks before burning them, this greatly enhances the phenol levels released during drying. These changes have seemingly eradicated many of the qualities that defined 80s style Bowmore. The spirit is subsequently much heavier and back to a very traditional Islay style. It is also very aromatic and coastal with a real Atlantic freshness about it. Examples from refill wood display a minerality driven dryness that is very in keeping with a much older style of Bowmore. There are many bottlings of younger Bowmore from this era available today at excellent prices and they are almost always excellent quality too, the whisky is very consistent. Hopefully this quality will be maintained for the foreseeable future.