Quiquiriqui Mezcal Espadin 70cl

Product Information

En route, I whizzed down the highway, past hundreds of signs offering mezcal tours and the chance to try, in situ, mezcal made at one of the roadside palenques. Mezcal tourism in Oaxaca is booming and I've become one of its tourists, determined to uncover the spirit's secrets. And, I learn, it all starts with the agave. Traditional mezcal production is sustainable – more out of economic necessity and ingenuity than by design," says Alvin Starkman, who runs Mezcal Educational Tours. Starkman, a former litigator in Toronto, initially discovered mezcal in the 1990s, eventually moving to Oaxaca and setting up his tour business. Since then, he's developed relationships with 80 or 90 mezcal producers, and what he doesn't know about the spirit isn't worth knowing. Unlike other spirits, the aging process happens when the plant is growing [that said, mezcal can be aged in oak barrels – reposado has been rested for between two months and a year, and anejo is matured for one to three years – but purists prefer to drink it joven, or young]. Most agave plants are ready after around eight years – you're drinking something which has matured and has personality and a story to tell." Taking 20 years or more to mature, Arroqueno yields mezcal with a slightly bitter, almost chocolatey taste. In the last few years, mezcal has seen an astonishing boom in the UK: where once it was impossible to find (and believe me, as a fan I had tried) there are now mezcalerias and restaurants with specific mezcal menus.

Quiquiriqui Mezcal (45% abv) is a single estate mezcal made in southern Mexico, and is billed by the retailer as being “rich in vegetal flavours” with “a distinct smokey flavour profile”.Shoppers were “looking for the latest craft spirits and unique flavours to make their drinks the talking point at parties”, said Waitrose spirits buyer John Vine. Right now, we've still got a real chance to influence the industry by guiding consumers to make the right decisions," says Darby, which is one of the reasons he ended up setting up Sin Gusano and the Mas evenings. What’s more is they have been working for many years to organise a collective of producers in their village to stop the discarding of left over liquid from distillation (vinasas) and have recently become the only palenque in the area to have their own organic disposal facility! They also work with a collective to only use dead or diseased wood for the production, as deforestation is a big problem in Oaxaca and certain wood types are dangerously over harvested. Everyone I speak to – Mexican or UK-based; bartender, producer, importer or tour guide – is utterly in love with the stuff. They're passionate about preserving mezcal's traditions and safeguarding local communities, as well as using production methods that treat the environment with respect.

Mezcal" without the qualifier is not dissimilar to tequila: there are ways the process is shortened to make it easier to make in quantity, but it contains more agave than its cousin. "Ancestral" and "artisanal", however, are what Scotch once was to whiskey: intensely antiquated, primordial beverages that tell stories as well as providing a great nightcap. While many spirits start off as artisanal labours of love, only to become mass produced for wider consumption later, mezcal is deliberately – almost inconveniently – traditional in its methods. The word "mezcal" traditionally refers to all agave-based spirits, including tequila, but in recent years has come to refer to a specific breed of agave drink. Within the new definition of mezcal there are three categories: "mezcal", "mezcal artisanal" and "mezcal ancestral".But, aside from flavour, perhaps mezcal's most entrancing quality is the chance to build an industry that's sustainable for both the local communities and the environment. The Quiquiriqui Mezcal Bag-In-Box contains five litres of the brand’s flagship Espadin mezcal – the equivalent of seven 700ml glass bottles; one more bottle than in a standard case.