Two coordinates to learn to drink mezcal in Madrid
** POINT MX (CALLE GENERAL PARDIÑAS 40) **
Just a few months ago Martin Eccius he walks with his cart between the tables of the considered best Mexican restaurant in Europe . It is not a search for minutes of fame seasoned with that anecdote with wheels, no. It is rather the last step of a process, of a dream. Because Martín, since he decided to set up this gastro-barrack together with Roberto Ruiz in defense of 100% Mexican food anti topicazos, he always had mezcal on his mind.
The first initiative to 'educate' the Madrid public and teach them a little about the truth of Mexican distillates was the MezcalLab . Located on the top floor of the establishment, this space invites you to chat, carefree and snack accompanied by cocktails that have a few fingers of this drink. And the invention went perfectly . Well, phase A passed. Now it's time for the next step, that of lowering the shiny bar above to the tables below. Come on, risk it all to one and open a little hole for the mezcal jícaras between the wine glasses.
The best Mexican outside of Mexico?
How? "You have to know how to read each person," he says. For this reason, when he sees a group or a couple with adventurous taste buds, he approaches them with his wooden appendage and his collection of distillates to encourage them to try it. "Most of them accept and love it." The trick isn't just a good smile and mind-reading. Martín likes to be a teacher, an initiator and a counselor. That's why he has no qualms about showing a video he edited about how, where this distillate is made and about all the legends and curiosities that surround the process.
Martín Eccius and his inseparable mezcal cart
But in what really se luce is pairing, proposing and helping you choose between the mezcals and tequilas that complete your selection (one of the most complete in the world) while he explains what the liturgy is to mix properly. You learn, among other things, that It is a drink that is enjoyed with little kisses , which must be preceded by a citrus fruit with worm salt and that the first drink must be spread well throughout the mouth to get used to the volcano. Then come the retronasals, the memories of Oaxaca and the bite of the right taco . A pairing suggestion? Well, a good jícara of a smoked mezcal (such as Tobalá) accompanied by a steaming grilled marrow. Perfect.
But the cart goes a long way. It even gives to refresh those mythical Spanish after-meals where they talk about the little unimportant things that mark a life. For those moments there are many tips, many jícaras and tastings . That yes, above all, from his extensive collection stands out a mezcal finished off by shamans and surrounded by myths, peyote and superstitions: God eye. To taste it is to 'kiss' one of the five bottles that are sold in the world of each vintage and that are covered with a decoration designed by said spiritual leaders...
Jícara of a smoked mezcal (such as Tobalá) accompanying a steaming grilled marrow.
** BARAVACA (WHITE STREET OF CASTILLA 5) **
The once residential neighborhood of Aravaca is gradually convincing its neighbors to stay within its limits to procrastinate and mingle slightly. One of the culprits is being this bar, its terrace and its nice menu . Flipping through its pages, a tribute to Mexican distillates suddenly appears, but not as the catalog of smugglers, but as the pride of some 'professors' responsible for sophistication. And it is that the bAravaca has gone from being a cool bar to being a reference in cocktails and Mexican drinks.
It's her fault Alicia Barcos, the Bar Manager and responsible for In this bar, gin and tonics are served as it should be and not with fruit salad. Encouraged by Javier (responsible for the establishment) and by her Mexican roots, Alicia has sought to complete her practical classes on how to drink mixed drinks properly with one of the pending subjects of Europeans: the distillates of Jalisco, Oaxaca and Chiapas . Or what is the same: quality mezcal, tequila and sotol. For this reason, in the complete drinks menu they have a special section, always accompanied by the corresponding explanation that serves to deflower the undecided.
Alicia Barcos, the Bar Manager of bAravaca
The first of his lessons is that **they should be drunk in shots, the standard measure (something more than a shot) ** which inherits its name from the glasses that the master distillers wore around their necks and from the expression: “give me the last one for the little horse” before continuing their march. The second, that you should not give up the homemade sangrita to accompany each shot of tequila . From the third the master class begins to be tastier if possible. And it is that in bAravaca they are aware that earning a place among the wide drinking possibilities of a Spaniard is a difficult task and that, if these three drinks are presented as the perfect companions to a dish, they will have more possibilities.
The mezcal terrace of Aravaca
That is why they suggest pairings of contemporary food with fun bottles as companions. Thus, an explosive tuna tartare is offset by a good shot of tequila (an En vos confio or a white Excelia). Or a fiery grilled octopus is mixed with the ashes of a Mezcal Espadín like Coyote or Koch. A different way of dining without knowing very well where the tasting begins and the tasting ends (or vice versa) .
For dessert there are Agave Cocktails and some other surprise for those who behave well prepared by Alicia. Do not give up on it, you may discover that sotol is a sensual drink and that a margarita can win an Oscar for sophistication.
*** You may also be interested in...**
- Why mezcal is the drink of the summer
- Mezcal is the new tequila
- Chilanga night: plans not to sleep in Mexico D.F.
- Bars, what places
- All articles by Javier Zori del Amo
The perfect place to 'mezcalear' in Madrid