Tuesday Tasting: Mexican Spirits

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we sample some spirits from south of the border.

The current issue of All About Beer magazine has a column I wrote about Mexican liquors. Tequila is a big part of the piece, but it does not stop there.

Mexico has a distilling heritage goes back hundreds of years, about 250 years before America’s native spirit – Bourbon – was born in Kentucky and not long after the earliest recorded Scotch was made. When Spanish Conquistadors arrived in what is now Mexico in the early 1500s they found the Aztecs gathering agave to make pulque, a fermented beverage used for ceremonies made from juice taken from the maguey agave shoots. Pulque – also called Octli – had been a part of the native culture for more than a thousand years. Before long the Spaniards starting distilling pulque and the early forms of Tequila emerged.

To qualify as Tequila the process must take place in the state of Jalisco around the town of Tequila, northwest of Guadalajara. Mezcal is also made from agave but does not have the same geographic restrictions. Sotol and Bacanora are close cousins of Tequila and mezcal. Sotol is made using the Dasylirion wild agave, while Bacanora, made in Sonora, uses the agave Yaquiana, also called the Pacifica agave.

Here are six of the spirits from Mexico that I tasted for the column:

Agavero Licor de Tequila: Amber color and slight herbal, medicinal nose. The flavor of this liqueur has agave notes and leans in the direction of a honey base. Coating mouth feel.

Chinaco Anejo Tequila: Light golden color with a superb earthy nose. Slightly sweet initial flavor, rounds out nicely with hints of grass and some berry notes at the finish.

Distinguido Anejo Tequila: Light amber color. Nice inviting aroma that combines earthy notes with toffee. This Tequila has been aged for three years, using some ex-Bourbon barrels in the process. The flavor is focused on peppery spice with hints of pralines around the edge.

Hacienda de Chihuahua Sotol Reposado: Slight earthy nose, light gold color. The flavor has hints of smoke, grass and green vegetable notes.

Maestro Dobel Diamond: A blend of reposado, anjeo and extra anejo Tequilas, this clear spirit has a slightly peppery nose. The flavor offers hints of oak, spice and plum skins.

Tanteo Tropical: Infused with pineapple, guanabana and mango, along with jalapeno, the aroma of the Tequila is dominated by the mango. The flavor is a mix of flavors, slightly floral with spice and heat at the finish.

Tuesday Tasting: Four Craft Spirits

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we try four spirits sent to us by Craft Distillers.

The folks at Craft Distillers in Ukiah, Calif., were nice enough to send along four small sample bottles of recent releases. These folks handle products put out by Germain-Robin and St. George Spirits, among other producers. The samples covered quite a bit of ground, but were all unique and impressive.

Maison Surrenne Ancienne Distillerie: This Cognac is 100 percent petite Champagne and aged for 10 years. Nice whiskey color. Booming nose leading with oak and vanilla. Warming flavor, upfront toffee and vanilla, with a very smooth finish.

Los Danzantes Mezcal Reposado: Straw color. Starts with a grassy, slightly medicinal nose. Firm flavor of smoke and clear agave character. Faint spice in the finish.

Aqua Perfecta Pear Liqueur: Pinot gris color, with a fresh floral aroma. Nice ripe just-picked pear flavor. Extremely light and smooth.

Hangar One Fraser River Raspberry Vodka: Pink red hue, with a distinctive fruit nose. Tart raspberry flavor notes with just a slight balancing sweetness.

Cocktail Classics: Frontera Grill Mezcal Margarita

Frontera Grill Mezcal Magarita

Frontera Grill
449 N Clark St.
Chicago, Ill. 60610
(312) 661-0381

We were in Chicago this past weekend to visit our daughter, Brhea, who is attending Loyola University. One of the joys of making a trip to the Windy City is the chance to go to one of the great restaurants in town. This time around we headed to the Frontera Grill, a creation of Mexican food expert Rick Bayless.

It had been about 15 years since my last visit to the spot. That was during the National Restaurant Show and I recall having more than a couple margaritas with a client while we enjoyed our meal. This time around my approach was a little more subdued, enjoying a classic margarita while we waited for our table and a Kalamazoo Royal Amber Ale while sampling a couple of appetizers. After looking at the drink menu one more time, I decided to try the Mezcal Margarita. It was a great change of pace.

The mezcal used in the drink was a rich smoky spirit that took control of the cocktail. Mezcal is often thought of as Tequila that just is not made in Jalisco, Mexico, but the reality is that the distilleries in small villages can turn out some pretty intense spirits. The Chichicapa Mezcal in this cocktail leans in the direction of something that at first will remind you more of Scotch than Tequila, but the smoke is different than the peat you will encounter in a whisky.

If you are looking for a refreshing drink for the deck, this is not quite it. However, it is just perfect to accompany a regional Mexican dish.

Frontera Grill Mezcal Margarita

1.5 ounces Chichicapa Mezcal
.5 ounce Gran Torres 10 Brandy
2 ounces Limonada
5 dashes Deychaud Bitters

Place all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass rimmed with salt. Garnish with lime wedge.

Tuesday Tasting: A Walk on the Odd Side of Spirits

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we try some liquor that you don't find in the average home bar.

The Drinking Buddies section that I wrote for the current issue of DRAFT magazine is titled "Free Spirits: Sipping on the Edge." As the title implies, the liquors covered in the piece were not your standard vodkas, whiskeys or rums.

The article asks a simple question: What was the strangest drink you have ever downed? Was it the tourist special mezcal in Tijuana complete with the worm? Did you encounter snake wine on a Far East trip and just could not resist the dare? Or did your adventurous side emerge on that Caribbean vacation at the exact moment that a bottle of overproof rum hit the table?

Here are six unique spirits that made the Drinking Buddies tasting notes:

Cynar Liqueur: Did someone say artichokes? That’s right, this 33 proof aperitif is distilled using artichoke leaves. It is a cola color, with a slightly sweet nose. There is a brightness to the flavor. Slightly bitter and tart, finishing with a yellow grapefruit tang. You can judge for yourself if this product has any of the rumored aphrodisiac qualities.

Etter Christmas Plum Liqueur: A real treat imported from Switzerland. Amber, pink color, you get a cinnamon and apple aroma, with hints of coriander backing up a direct plum flavor profile. The finish is sweet and tart at the same time. Quite unique.

La Mestiza Licor de Nance: Produced in the Yucatan region of Mexico from the nance fruit, this liqueur is 60 proof. A cloudy amber color, it has a sweet maple syrup nose, with berries, nuts, honey and fruit flavors throughout. Kind of a liquid baklava.

Senior Liqueur: A product of the Netherland Antilles, it is a combination of rumraisin and curacao liqueurs. Yellow and 50 proof, it has a Fruit Stripe gum aroma and a candy sweet coating flavor.

John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum: What do you say about a 22 proof liqueur from Barbados that consists of white rum cut with water, lime, sugar, almond and clove? For starters it is delicious and different. The color of straw, the aroma gives away the cloves and the flavor profile is sweet and coating. Could be the perfect secret ingredient for summer cocktails.

Tuaca Liqueur: From Tuscany, this 70 proof brandy-based liqueur is inviting and sweet. Amber color, there are hints of vanilla, cherry and almonds.

Tuesday Tasting: Mysterious Mezcal

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we head to Oaxaca, Mexico, to taste some mezcal.

Mezcal has a reputation. The college campus rumor back in my day was that it contained mescaline, a hallucinogenic drug. The reputation for being a bit wild was not helped when at least one brand decided to add a worm to each bottle in what has to be one of the strangest marketing ploys in drinks industry history. Mezcal, like Tequila, is made from the blue agave plant, which takes up to 12 years to produce a 75 to 200 pound pina ready for harvesting. Mezcal makers cannot use the Tequila name because they are not located in Jalisco. The reality is that mezcal is a much more complex drink than most give it credit for being.

Recently I had the chance to taste a group of four mezcals, each in two pairs that started in the same raw form. The blancos were fine drinks on their own that were then finished in different oaks to create a second, more refined mezcal.

Los Danzantes Blanco ($60): Clear color, yet with a smoky nose and bits of roasted pepper in the taste. A sweet grass fire of a drink.

Los Danzantes Reposado ($65): A golden color from six months in French oak this mezcal has mellow vanilla tones with hints of smoke and grass in its aftertaste. A pleasant earthiness comes through in the aging of this spirit.

Del Maguey 1995 Chichicapa Blanco ($70): Aged for 11.5 years in glass, this mezcal has a grassy, orange peel flavor profile with hints of smoke and spice.

Del Maguey 1995 Chichicapa Reposado ($300): This pours with a copper hue that is slightly pink around the edges. Aged for 11.5 years in glass and then finished for 150 days in a Cabernet Sauvignon barrel from Napa Valley’s Stag’s Leap appellation, it has a caramel and toffee nose that gives way to a slightly burnt pepper flavor.