Mezcal Master Class, 9.18, 6-8PM

Mezcal Master Class, 9.18, 6-8PM

On Friday, September 18, 2015, 6:00-8:00pm at Literacenter (641 W. Lake Street, Chicago), LTHForum is holding a mezcal master class, a tasting of rare mezcal guided by Lou Bank, a man who knows more about mezcal than any other person you’ve probably ever met. The title of this highly interactive presentation is “Mexico in a Bottle: Mezcals, Raicillas, and other Agave Expressions.”

Mezcal, as many of you probably already know, is distilled largely from wild agave plants; unlike tequila, it remains for the most part an artisanal product, hand-crafted by smaller mezcaleros in Oaxaca. The smoky flavor of mezcal results from cooking the hearts of the agave plant in a wood fire prior to mashing, fermenting and distilling.

Earlier this year, after I wrote two Tribune articles about tequila’s smoky brother beverage, Bank contacted me to set me straight on a few points, and he did so in the best possible way: over some obscure bottles of mezcal he brought back from Oaxaca. I covered that encounter in Newcity:http://boozemuse.com/2015/04/02/agave-adoration-the-mezcal-gospel-according-to-lou-bank/



At that meeting, Bank and I proceeded to sip through a number of mind-blowing mezcals, punctuated by equally mind-blowing Bankisms on a number of topics, for instance:
• Tequila vs. mezcal: “I’ve never tasted a high-end tequila that was as delicious as a mid-level mezcal.”
• On barrel aging mezcal: “The only reason to bury that terroir with the ‘rounded notes’ of an oak barrel is because you don’t like the taste of that terroir.”
• On buying mezcal: “My rules are, one, never buy a mezcal that has a creature in it—no gusano (worm), no scorpion, no snake, no nothing. Two, never buy any mezcal that has color—has to be clear. Three, never buy a mezcal that is lower than ninety proof, so you’re getting it as it comes out of the still.”

You know those images on Mayan and Aztec codexes of guys in feathered headdresses holding steaming cups of what most of us interpreted to be cocoa? Bank says those cups are quite possibly holding mezcal. Contrary to much wisdom about distilled spirits arriving with the Spanish, mezcal has been and remains a spirit created through open distillation, in clay pots, using technologies well known before 1492. Mind, blown.



At this Friday evening event, Bank will walk us through 5 different mezcals, sips of which will make you rethink everything you thought you knew about mezcal, tequila and probably life itself. Bank is an accomplished speaker, raconteur and good guy – he will lead a spirited presentation with audio-visual support, entertain all your questions, even the most naïve (I helped prime him for that kind of inquiry; you're welcome).

Cost of the event is $30; buy tickets here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mexico-in-a-bottle-mezcals-raicillas-and-other-agave-expressions-tickets-18045223750

Bank is passionate about mezcal and about supporting indigenous mezcal farmers. ALL proceeds from this event go to the organizers of a greenhouse in Santa Catarina Minas, Mexico, who are helping replant wild agave, the plant that makes mezcal mezcal.

Giles Schnierle of the Great American Cheese Collection -- which has been discussed on LTH several times in the past -- has graciously offered to provide some cheeses to pair with mescal. In addition, there will be light snacks of chips and mini-cemitas from Cemitas Pueblas, all included in the general admission price.

Parking is available on the street, and there are several lots nearby, but if you want to take public transit, get off Green or Pink lines at Clinton.

For the next ten days, we’re offering this event exclusively to members of LTHForum.com, and then it goes public. We are setting the audience limit at 30, so if you want to go, we encourage you to buy your tickets sooner rather than later.

As people sign up, we’ll put the names used to buy the tickets below. There are space limitations, so if this sounds like something you want to do, best buy a ticket now.

1. ronnie_suburban
2. Hammond
3. julie_suburban
4. Kman
5. David Mason
6. Pierre Francois
7. Teresa
8. laikom
9. Robert Garrison
11. David Dickson
12. Regina Shoykhet
13. Guest of Regina Shoykhet
14. Adam Haus
15. Guest of Adam Haus
16. Matt Miller
17. fropones
17. Guest of Matt Miller
18. Adam Murphy
19. Guest of Adam Murphy

Thanks, for putting this together Mr. Hammond. I think it's going to be a stellar event, especially for folks who are interested in spirits but really for all LTHers because producing artisanal mezcal is such a culinary endeavor. After meeting Mr. Bank, I'm especially excited. He's a dynamic and passionate dude, who is going to share a ton of knowledge. And, getting to try some mezcals that aren't even available commercially will just be the icing on the cake.

=R=

I would love to do this as I particularly like mezcal, sadly I have a family wedding and I can't convince the bride to change the date. Report back and I hope Mr. Bank will do this again.

Giles Schnierle of the Great American Cheese Collection -- which has been discussed on LTH several times in the past -- has graciously offered to provide some cheeses to pair with mezcal.

I just paid for myself and laikom to attend. This sounds like it is going to be a fantastic event!

Glad you two can make it, Teresa and laikom -- was hoping you'd sign up.

Man I really want to go but odds are pretty high that I'll be out of town

This event is one week from tonight. And this post is a shameless bump.

Swingbossa and I are very excited about it!

Turns out I'm in town, after all. Just bought my ticket.

There is a lot that's wild and strange about agave and mezcal. Mezcal has a reputation for being an outlaw beverage, which is only partly true. Like moonshine, mezcal is produced by many backyard distillers, but unlike moonshine, such private distillation is perfectly legal under the Mexican law. You cannot legally label what you're making "mezcal," but you can make what is essentially mezcal, and you can sell it. As Lou Bank mentioned during last Friday's mezcal master class, this freedom has led to a lot of experimentation.



We tried mezcals that had been produced from the juice of the agave plant distilled with iguana (yes, actual iguana), as well as the breast of a goose, and, most interestingly, agave juice fermented in the skin of a bull, which tasted remarkably leathery.

Though mezcal is made with parts of some strange creatures, Banks' first rule for selecting a mezcal is "If there is a worm in the bottle, leave it on the shelf. Same goes for a scorpion or any other creature." To Bank, the worm in the mezcal is a marketing ploy and, indeed, none of the handcrafted artisanal mezcals he shared with us had any eye-catching creatures in them.

Mezcal, like tequila, gets more expensive the longer it's aged, but another of Banks' rules for selecting is mezcal is that it should be unaged. It can take 45 years for the agave to grow to maturity, absorbing all the flavors of its local terroir, so "why," asks Bank "would you want to taste wood?" If mezcal is aged at all, according to Bank, it should be aged in glass or clay, which imparts no flavor at all (to confer other magical earthly elements to the sip, mescaleros sometimes bury the glass or clay jar containing mezcal in the earth).

Because Bank feels it's important to savor the unique qualities of each mezcal, you want your mezcal "cut" with as little water as possible. Almost all distilled beverages are mixed with water before they're sold (when the liquor comes direct from the still, it's usually way too high in alcohol for most mortals to consume comfortably). However, mixing the distillate with water dilutes the all-important flavor, so Bank also suggests selecting a mezcal that's no less than 45% alcohol (90 proof), and he points out that "Because the rural farmers I work with use wood-fired stills, they are inefficient, and therefore do not always have to be cut with water."

Mezcal at 90 proof is powerful stuff, but tasting with Bank involves sipping, very slowly and thoughtfully, from "copitas" that contain something like a tablespoon of mezcal each. "Small sips yield more flavors" says Bank, and indeed when one consumes just a little mezcal, one is able to discern flavors more readily.

If you'd like to attend a mezcal tasting led by Bank, as well as a workshop on fermenting your own hot sauce, he'll be at Fermentation Festival in October. Click the link to find out more: http://fermentationfest.com/class-feature-parties-hot-sauce-and-mezcal

This was an absolutely stellar event. I feel like I went up at least a couple of levels in my knowledge of Agave-based spirits. Lou is so knowledgeable and passionate about this subject, I'm truly grateful for the illumination he provided. Learning about these spirits while getting to try so many different expressions was invaluable. And rounding out the event fantastically were generous contributions from Giles Schnierle, proprietor of the Great American Cheese Collection (he brought 10 different cheeses!) and the folks at Cemitas Puebla, who provided a variety of mini cemitas, plus chips, guacamole, rice, beans and salsas.

Here are a few shots from the tasting . . .


Mexico In A Bottle



Getting Ready for the tasting at the Literacenter



Some Of The Evening's Selections



Giles Schnierle, of Great American Cheese Collection, lays out some approaches to tastings and pairings



Lou Bank in full evangelist mode



Knowledgeable



Passionate



Enthusiastic



Empty Copitas

As was mentioned in advance, all proceeds from the evening went to support the greenhouse in Santa Catarina Minas, which is Lou's main focus and a truly worthy cause.

Per Lou, here are some of the agaves we tasted . . .

The first (espadin) - http://mezcalreycampero.com/
The second (espadin) - http://realminero.com.mx/
The third (blue weber -- true tequila) - http://lapierdealmas.com/?lang=en
The fourth and fifth (arroqueno) - http://mezcalcuish.blogspot.com/ and http://www.origenoaxaca.com/home.html
The sixth and seventh (pechugas with inguana and goose) - https://www.facebook.com/Mezcalito-Pala ... /timeline/
The one fermented in bull skin was made by this guy: https://www.facebook.com/alvarado.alvarez2?fref=ts
The ninth and tenth (ensemble and puntas de tepextate) - https://www.facebook.com/Mezcal-Lalocur ... /timeline/

And then, the last 4 bonus pours . . .

Sotol - http://flordeldesierto.com.mx/portada/f ... o-sotol-4/
Raicilla - http://mezonte.com/
From Guerrero - http://www.sanzekan.org/
And one made by a young man named Rafael Jimenez

A tiny part of me is now concerned that it's going to be harder to enjoy the agave spirits that are commercially available (in our area) because they're not made with the same the level of craftsmanship or care that the ones Lou shared with us are. That said, I've gained such an advanced appreciation of these spirits that I'm way better off for it. Whenever you get a chance to have a true maven share his or her knowledge with you, it's a great thing. Thanks, Hammond, for getting us all together and thanks, Lou, for all your great work.

=R=

I was very bummed not to be able to make this and the reports suggest I am absolutely right to be completely bummed.

On the other hand, we did attend ModMex at Topolobampo a couple weeks ago (report and pics to come) and got a taste of some wonderful stuff there. My question to all is: is there anywhere one can find nice selection of mezcals here? I asked Jill Gubesch (the Topo sommelier) and her recommendation was Lush. I've never seen a great selection anywhere but, admittedly, have not made it to Lush before. Is she right? (I can't imagine she's not.) Anywhere else? (Short of Mexico, that is.)

Gypsy Boy wrote:I was very bummed not to be able to make this and the reports suggest I am absolutely right to be completely bummed.

On the other hand, we did attend ModMex at Topolobampo a couple weeks ago (report and pics to come) and got a taste of some wonderful stuff there. My question to all is: is there anywhere one can find nice selection of mezcals here? I asked Jill Gubesch (the Topo sommelier) and her recommendation was Lush. I've never seen a great selection anywhere but, admittedly, have not made it to Lush before. Is she right? (I can't imagine she's not.) Anywhere else? (Short of Mexico, that is.)

Not retail bottles but Masa Azul (thread) has a great bar for agave spirits. I know that Jason, the owner, is friends with Lou and he's also a huge fan of agave-based spirits.

=R=

Masa Azul (website)
2901 W Diversey Ave
Chicago, IL 60647
(773) 687-0300

Edited to add: I also suggest contacting Lou since he conducts similar tastings throughout the year.

Gypsy Boy wrote: is there anywhere one can find nice selection of mezcals here? I asked Jill Gubesch (the Topo sommelier) and her recommendation was Lush. I've never seen a great selection anywhere but, admittedly, have not made it to Lush before. Is she right? (I can't imagine she's not.) Anywhere else? (Short of Mexico, that is.)

If they are distributed in the area, a good retailer should be able to order them. I would call Binnys, Perman's, or In Fine Spirits to inquiry (or Lush, though I haven't been there in years).

I'd add Que Syrah to that list if that's closer than any of the others mentioned--they were always really good about ordering even single bottles of things that I wanted.

Gypsy Boy wrote:My question to all is: is there anywhere one can find nice selection of mezcals here?

I had an interesting flight of mezcals at That Little Mexican Café recently.

That Little Mexican Café
1010 Church St
Evanston, IL 60201

First, thanks to David and Ron for putting this together ... to Giles at Great American Cheese Collection for providing amazing accompaniment ... to Alex at 18th Street Development Corp. and my wife Connie for pouring ... and to the Literacenter for offering such great space. And thanks to everyone for attending -- your money will go far in helping to sustain the greenhouse, which helps to sustain the agave in the wild.

Ron's right: best place to drink agave spirits in Chicago is Jason's Masa Azul, hands down. No one else has the selection he has.

But there are great agave spirits available for sale here, Ron. In fact, I think the Venenosa line that the Fidencio guys bring in are among the best spirits I've had, here or in Mexico. I also like most everything imported under the Mezcalero label, the Peirde Almas label, Fidencio, and Alipus. And Real Minero and Rey Campero should be here any day now, thanks to the folks at http://www.heavymetl.com

Best selection and prices I've found to purchase at retail is

Moreno’s Liquors
3724 W 26th St
Chicago, IL 60623

Look beyond their shelves -- in the standalone glass cases you'll find the good stuff.

Warehouse Liquors in the South Loop also has a good selection.

And I'm happy to do another tasting, if there's interest.

Thanks!

Thanks, all, for the great suggestions. I'm looking forward to this and, fwiw, I would absolutely be interested in a reprise of the class.

Lou recently sent me this photo and message.



"Those are nine-year-old plants that were purchased and moved to Eduardo’s farm. So the binding is actually just until they settle into the ground. The Arroqueno is one of the species that is at risk of extinction — he used the money from the October LTH tasting to buy a field of them. He’ll let ⅓ of them go to seed, to ensure the varietal continues."