MezcaL
among fans spurred Doug French, maker
of Scorpion Mezcal since 1996, to tour
the U.S. leading a four-step master
mezcalier certification program (www.
mastermezcalier.com) in cooperation
with the Mexican government.
“
The long road has just begun with
education and awareness of this world-
class, ancient spirit,” says Barbara Sweet-
man, VP and sales manager at Scorpion
and Mezcals de Oaxaca. “We’re taking
the time to promote this program in order
to give the real movers and shakers in the
industry the tools and information they
need to recommend, sell, taste and edu-
cate in turn.”
Carving a Niche On-Premise
Bars and restaurants showcasing mezcal
are blooming in many cities—New York,
Los Angeles, Chicago, San Diego, and
Austin, among others. Take the back room
bar of popular Austin spot Takoba, where
Cantina El Milamores now offers more
mezcals than tequilas, plus a flight menu
that features and contrasts various agave
varieties and villages. Following Ward’s
lead, mezcal, tequila and sotol (another
legally defined Mexican agave spirit) get
the Old-Fashioned treatment there.
Meanwhile, San Diego’s El Take It
Easy features as many cocktails based on
mezcal as tequila. In Los Angeles, an ex-
tensive array of about 50 mezcals are the
attraction at the bar Mezcaleria, repre-
senting the category in a new light. New
York City’s Viktor & Spoils, like the Mez-
caleria, helped pioneer menuing mezcals
by agave species (espadin, tobala, ma-
drecuixe, dobadaan, others).
The changes have been dramatic, and
in general, Ron Cooper is pretty pleased.
“
I got so used to owning the category, I was
almost insulted,” he says. “But I’ve been
convinced that all the new energy go-
ing into mezcal actually helps us all.” In
addition, since joining up with supplier
Gemini Wine and Spirits (a division of
Sazerac), Del Maguey has been getting
national promotional support.
Lately, the mezcaleros received a
little help from some deep-pocketed
friends. William Grant has just intro-
duced Montelobos. Zignum entered
the U.S. market last year with financial
backing of Mexican Coca-Cola bot-
tlers; as did Wild Shot, a brand owned
by country star Toby Keith, whose three
units of I Love This Bar & Grill are serv-
ing plenty of the brand, according to
his spokesperson.
Richard Betts, head of Sombra,
thinks the entry of Toby Keith and Wil-
liam Grant will only benefit the smaller
guys. “Keith will bring in a whole group
of people who wouldn’t otherwise be in
the category, who might trade up to us or
other brands,” he says.
se l ec t i on
Mezcal
Mezcal can be made from a variety of
about 30 agave species. The piñas are
slowly roasted in an underground pit,
then crushed under a large stone wheel
before being fermented and then distilled
twice in alembic stills.
Del Maguey
Single Village
Mezcal
El Buho
Mezcal
Los Danzantes
Mezcal
Ilegal
Mezcal Joven
Montelobos
Mezcal Joven
Scorpion
Mezcal Añejo
Sombra
Mezcal
Wild Shot
Silver Mezcal
El Buho
El Buho
Montelobos
