Mezcal, the next big thing
A **small revolution in (alcoholic) habits** has been brewing for a few years in Mexico . Tequila, a drink that until now had been the international ambassador of this country, has been relegated in favor of mezcal. In La Roma, Coyoacán or Condesa, some of the alternative neighborhoods in Mexico City, the scene repeats itself: in its streets, like mushrooms, sophisticated state-of-the-art mezcalerías appear in which this drink is served at hours of young people who have rediscovered the pleasure of drinking a drink with a traditional rustic character.
Taking advantage of our visit to Fitur, we wanted to talk to two Mexican chefs who have helped us understand the secret behind the success of mezcal. On the one hand, it is a mere matter of taste . Although both drinks come from the same plant, the agave , its flavor and its character when it comes to fitting in with the food have nothing to do with it. "Tequila is more alcoholic and strong and dulls the taste; however, mezcal and its smoky flavor combine better, in general , with dishes that are also on the rise, such as ceviche or tiraditas (slices of fish with lemon), "explains Jacobo Turquia, owner of La panga restaurant, a contemporary cuisine space in San José del Cabo (in Baja California Sur). .
For Pía Quintana, a chef who has worked at El Bulli, Arzak and the Ritz in Paris before taking command of the kitchen at the Las Ventanas al Paraíso hotel in Los Cabos, the key is the "artisanal" character of the drink . "It's purer and has more magic than tequila," she says. "The tequila production process has become too industrial and has been too manipulated a drink. Mezcal is now more popular because it is associated with the healthy trend," she adds.
The love for this smoked drink has crossed the Mexican borders. Last summer, a report from the New York Times stated, following the opening of a mezcal store in Manhattan, that mezcal was already the next big thing. Our country has not remained untouched by the fever either. In the Madrid neighborhood of Malasaña, La Botica de la Condesa has been operating for two years, the first artisanal mezcalería that opened its doors in Europe.
And in Mexico, what place do you recommend to have a good mezcal? Turkey has it clear: Los Danzantes, a restaurant that has a headquarters in the southern state of Oaxaca (cradle of traditional mezcal) and a mezcalería in Mexico City (Corazón de Maguey). Under the shelter of this trend, this group, which tries to recover traditional values of Mexican culture and gastronomy, has launched its own distillery in Santiago de Matatlán, also in Oaxaca.
Although the fever comes now, the truth is that mezcal has always enjoyed a certain charisma , which has even transcended literature. The drink is one more character, for example, in Malcolm Lowry's classic ninth 'Under the Volcano': in it, Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic former British consul who has come down, wanders through the Cuernavaca canteens swollen with mezcal and suffering from his alleged hallucinogenic powers as his life falls apart. Despite the consequences that hangovers may entail, it seems that, once again, the popular wisdom that Mexican sayings always collect prevails: "For all evil, mezcal; for all good, too."
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