MEZCAL
Tracing Its Roots To The Oaxacan Sierra
By Jimmy Yeager • Photographs by Scottie Davison

For more than 12 years Jimmy Yeager, proprietor of Jimmy’s: An American Restaurant and Bar in Aspen, has been exploring the unchanged 16th-century world of Mexican mezcal production. Travel with Jimmy as he leads his crew of uninitiated Argonauts on their quest to partake in the creation of the ultimate organic spirit, mezcal. Their journey threads through five Zapotec villages high in the Oaxacan Sierra, where the dedication to producing our hemisphere’s oldest and purist intoxicant necessitates the exclusion of the modern, mechanized world.

Their guide, Ron Cooper, troubadour and founder of Del Maguey mezcals, mystically navigates the song lines of the rugged terrain, harmonizing each twist and turn with tales of local
folklore, and all the while interjecting microclimate, geological and mezcal factoids as the hours and mountain passes roll on.

Whereas the agave tequilana (Weber blue agave) is used for producing tequila, it is the maguey espadin (sword agave) and the “wild mountain” maguey, tobalá, which are used to produce the single-village mezcals of the Oaxacan Sierra. These magueys are roasted in an earth oven where rocks are heated until red hot. The magueys are piled six-and-a half tons high, covered with mats woven from fibers of the agave plant and buried for three days, resulting in complex, earthy and smoky flavors.

The herbaceous roasted corazon de maguey (heart of the maguey) is then mashed and prepared for fermentation by a horse-drawn stone wheel. One village regards the use of animal labor as a breach of purity and, instead, beats the maguey into submission with large oak Flintstonesque clubs.

These “masters of mezcal,” who shun modern methods of speeding and abetting the process, let the mash naturally ferment for as long as three weeks. They know when the ferment is ready by putting their ears to the side of the vat and listening to the yeast as it finishes eating the sugars and producing alcohol. No additional yeasts are added other than the wild strains wafting by on the mountain breezes.

The Spanish introduced copper-pot stills in the 16^th century, and these are still primarily used in quality mezcal production. The clay stills pictured here, which originate from the Far East, may very well predate the conquistadors’ arrival. The mash is distilled twice, resulting in the most sublime marriage of art and science.

The mezcal is then pulled into an arm’s-length piece of sugarcane reed and released. Bubbles, called pearls, are produced as it splashes back into the half gourd or dish. The size, shape and duration of these delicate pearls are deftly observed, resulting in an absolute measurement of alcohol strength rivaling any hydrometer used in the 21^st century. In the end, we are left with a smile and Del Maguey’s signature green bottle, filled with the truest nectar of the gods.

View more of Jimmy's photos:
http://web.me.com/jimmyyea/Site/Edible_article.html

Mezcal producers:
http://www.mezcal.com/
http://www.sombraoaxaca.com/

LA Times article on Mezcal:
http://www.latimesmagazine.com/2009/11/mezcal.html