THE ROAD TO MEXICO
When I first stepped behind a bar, it was the glinting wall of spirits that excited me the most. Hearing the stories, learning the processes, and of course tasting the full flavour potential of spirits became my passion. The opportunity to explore my passion further by immersing in the world of Tequila and Mezcal was an unforgettable and insightful experience.
Tequila is a story-rich category where the processes and ingredients involved influence the final product. An influence you can taste. As the category gains momentum worldwide, Tequila is changing the face of premium and luxury drinking experiences. A vibrant, pioneering category rewriting the rules for spirits brands.
My culturally immersive tour was facilitated by the European Bartending School. We visited 10 x Distilleries across Jalisco and Oaxaca, exploring the process from the handcrafted, traditional, and small batch, to the rapidly expanding and premiumising.
Below, I’ve included some personal highlights of my time out in Mexico, some key learnings and hopefully some inspiration to discover the world of Tequila and Mezcal for yourself.
THE TEQUILA CRAFT
Based out of Guadalajara, we spent a lot of time in Tequila Valley: the home to several traditional Tequila Distilleries. Perhaps a particularly significant Distillery in the Valley is Fortaleza (or as it’s known locally, Los Abuelos), the original distillery of Sauza – a founder of the modern Tequila category. It was Sauza that lobbied for the regulations of Tequila, defining the Tequila producing regions of Mexico, the ingredients (Weber Blue Agave), and the right to export to the USA… and eventually the rest of the world.
And the Distilleries are all broadly still doing things the same way as Sauza. There is still an emphasis on handcrafted, slow processes, on real people and community, and staying true to traditional approach inherited from generations before.
These craft distilleries are all fighting an interesting binary: A commitment to handmade, labour intensive processes and the commercial need for growth and ultimately volumes. Added to the mix are the pressures of a raw ingredient that takes nearly 7 years to reach maturity, and the astronomical growth of Tequila globally (becoming the 2nd biggest Spirit in the USA, in 2022).
SUPER PREMIUM PIONEERS
Stepping through the gates into Hacienda Patrón is a privileged experience that very few get the opportunity to do. The Hacienda is effectively a 5* Hotel with a Distillery attached to the back and surrounded by fields of Agave. This incredible place is the home of super-premium Tequila: the pioneers of a sub-category that took Sauza’s rules and regulations and added more than just a light dusting of luxury.
The approach is still the craft process we saw in Tequila Valley, albeit on a much larger scale. Has Patrón achieved the ambitions of the craft distilleries? A process that can generate high volumes, while staying true to a handcrafted, traditional method. From the harvest, to the bottling… there are people everywhere! You definitely got the sense of family. A shared goal. And a determination at every stage to be ‘the best’.
DISCOVERING THE MAGIC OF MEZCAL
The second half of the tour took us south to the arid lands of Oaxaca. A culinary centre of Mexico with incredible meats, chocolate, honey and of course, Mezcal.
Mezcal is the somewhat lawless predecessor of Tequila. It is made across Mexico from a variety of Maguey (the wider family of Agave), and is a category that is gaining interest as more and more people start to discover the incredible range of taste experiences on offer from Mezcal. Despite popular belief, Mezcal does not have to be smoky… and there is a whole world of new flavour experiences out there to uncover.
We visited some fascinating palenque (Mezcal distilleries), some of which on a scale that didn’t even bottle their spirit. You could buy it though. If you fill up your empty plastic water bottle!
Never before have I tasted liquids like I did in Oaxaca: some of the smoothest finishes. Most complex and layered taste profiles. Vegetal. Mineral. Earthy. Bright. Spicy. Crisp. Incredible.
BEYOND THE SPIRITS
Immersing in the culture is just as much as important to getting closer to the category as learning about the processes and people involved. Tequila is so embedded within the culture of Mexico it would be an oversight not to holla from the stands of a Lucha Libre wrestling match, march alongside colourful skeletons and figurines in Dia de Muetos celebrations, or experience the colourful nightlife of the bars of Guadalajara.
This was a true cultural immersion. A way to understand the stories, the rituals and traditions that are so deeply intertwined with Tequila and Mezcal. I have developed a deep appreciation for the culture and the spirit and am hugely excited to learn more as this category continues to explode.
