A Tasting at the End of Vacation

On his travels this summer my son Travis discovered an unsold cache of Ardbeg's legendary Airigh Nam Beistie. The 'beastie' was a blend of barrels of old Ardbeg whisky distilled in 1990 before the distillery was mothballed. The first release in 2006 was followed by bottlings which were produced and released in 2007 and 2008. Sadly, there is no more whisky to be released. So when Travis found some for sale, it was the latest, the 2008 release. And he bought. At least one.

Back in Dallas, I had the remains of a bottle of the 2007 release and one of the goals of the last couple weeks of vacation has been to do a serious comparative tasting. And tonight we finally did.

The evening started with a couple of beers and hamburgers as we watched the packaged Olympics. Even though we knew the result, the watching was better then the Texas Rangers baseball game. The Rangers were down 4-0 to the Angels and Jarod Weaver was pictching. So the results were known there as well.

One of the beers was BRUX, a limited release collaboration between the renowned Russian River Brewing and the well known Sierra Nevada. It was a "domesticated Wild Ale. A dry and complex Belgian style ale refermented in the bottle with Brettanomyces Bruxellensis." 'Brett' is considered by many to be a flaw in table wines, as it imparts an earthy, barnyard flavor. The beer was reminiscent a of red Scotch Ale, but had the perfumed aromatics of the Belgian yeast. The gaminess of the 'Brett' was subdued and in the background, though that could change if the beer is aged as recommended by the brewers.

For a nightcap we turned to whisky. 2007 and 2008 Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beistie, to be precise.

Initially the two whiskies seemed quite different. The 2008 was yeasty, peaty, tarry and smokey with grace notes of honey, with a long dry finish. The 2007 was much more waxy and floral, with much louder notes of spicy, rich honey and a sweeter finish. The complex smokiness of the peat was a common bond between the two whiskies.

Both bottles of Ardbeg had yeasty floral notes similar to the beer. Which makes sense. The Ardbeg stills are  famous for their low, fat columns which let the flavor of the fermented beer come through the distillation process. They both had a salty, mineral flavor that spoke of  bog myrtle, pounded for centuries by the Atlantic Ocean.

Next I pulled out a bottle of Lagavullin. It was the 12 year old limited release bottled in 2009. My memory of it had been of the peat and honey, similar to the 2007 Beastie, but the younger whisky was characterized by white pepper and yeasty floral notes of freshly cut aloe. The honey seemed sweeter than the Ardbegs  and floated on top of the dark peaty flavors which were there in ample supply.

The Lagavulin made the Ardbeg whiskies taste more similar, althought all three bottles were easily differentiated in the glass.

The combination of white pepper, smoke and honey led me to throw a couple of bottles of Mezcal into the tasting arena. First was El Senorio Reposado. My wife had sourced from a bookseller in Oaxaca who bought it from a friend who produced it. While it had the flavors I was looking for, it was much too smooth and refined to join the conversation.

So next I brought out a bottle of Del Maguey Minero Mezcal. Minero is an artisanal mezcal produced in a small village high up in the mountains outside of Oaxaca. The wild, indigneous, local agave is smoked by hot stones in dugout pits, crushed by giant milling stones pulled by donkeys and fermented in clay pots with bamboo piping.

Amazingly complex and powerful, here was a spirit that could converse with the Scotch whiskies. Except that where the Scotch spoke English, the Mezcal spoke a completely foreign language. The Mezcal was complex and smoky with vague suggestions of agave, the salty minerality spoke of sweat and dirt, where the whiskies spoke of peat bogs. The Mezcal spoke of desert sands, the Scotch spoke of the ocean.

Yet, in many ways they were very, very similar.

Two Mezcals: Minero and Pechuga

Wow, it seems like forever I've been trying to get this post written. Every time I start it just gets too long, too involved, with way too much information. So I'm going to take a direct method. I've poured myself a touch of both Minero and Pechuga. I started to say, "of each mezcal," but that would be incorrect. The two are both expressions of the same mezcal. They are both imported by Del Maguey Mezcal who brings a number of mezcals from different villages around Oaxaca. They are all outstanding, world class spirits.

Ok, a few basics so all readers are up to speed. Mezcal is the generic name for any distillate produced from any agave. Mezcal is produced from about 120 different varieties of agave in many different regions in Mexico. Tequila is a name-controlled region around Jalisco and must be made from the Weber 'Blue' Agave native to that region. Thus, all tequila is a mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila.

By far the most mezcal is produced from agave grown in the mountains around Oaxaca. Much of the mezcal is produced in artisanal fashion with the starchy stems (called pinas which can weigh up to 125 lbs) roasted in earthen pits over hot rocks which have been heated in oak fires. The pits are covered with moist fiber from the plants, or in some villages banana leaves. The pinas are typically roasted for 3-5 days. They are then covered and allowed to sit to absorb yeasts before being crushed by large stones turned by mules or tractors. The pulp is mixed with water and allowed to ferment. It is then slowly distilled. The resulting mezcal has a characteristic smoky flavor.

Minero is made is the true artisenal fashion. The mezcal is double distilled in clay pots with bamboo tubing.  Pechuga is a third distillation that takes place when the fruits ripen on the trees. 75 liters of Minero is placed in the still along with 25 pounds of wild mountain apples and plums, red plaintains, pineapple, a handful of almonds and a few pounds of rice. Over the liquid is hung a washed and skinned (but still on the carcass) chicken breast. The vapors pass over the chicken breast before condensation. They say the chicken serves to take the edge off the fruit flavors. Production is exremely limited. Just 350 bottles of the current 2007 vintage was released in February 2008.

Late one Saturday night (Sunday morning), after a long day at the State Fair of Texas, I sat down with my son Travis to do some serious analytic tasting. The mezcals were accompanied by toasted pine nuts dusted with heirloom Chimayo red chile.

The Minero shows an initial aromatic hit of smokiness which is followed by complex notes of banana, honey, citrus, some weird alkaloid herbal shit with refined 'jet fuel' aromatics providing a long finish with a steely minerality. It is very difficult to find words for the complex set of flavors encountered when the thick, viscous liquid coats the tongue. A kaleidoscope of flavors emerge from the initial smokiness as the mezcal is rolled around the mouth. Bitter lemon zest, resin, herbs and alkaloids are followed by smoky honey with hard rocks and pepper on the long desolate finish.

My sister Mary is a professional food writer. When she first encountered Minero she wrote the following:  "This mezcal was a whole new kind of tasting experience for me: it was almost entirely olfactory. Maybe this is how a lizard “tastes,” by just flicking its tongue. As well as savoring a sip every few minutes, I stuck my nose in the glass and just inhaled every few minutes. The aroma was a lot more complex than anything my tongue’s taste bud receptors were designed to recognize. It had a "flavor" designed more for the limbic brain than the mouth. Other extremely volatile drinks (armagnac, cognac, old whiskey) have at least one or two comfortingly identifiable taste connections--sweet, acid, bitter. This mezcal had cut all the kite strings attached to the usual contents of the sensory memory bank. And I tend to think that’s part of the enchantment."

I had to look up limbic. "The limbic system includes the areas in the brain involved in emotion, motivation and emotional association with memory. It influences formation of memory by integrating emotions with stored memories of physical sensations." The limbic system is descended from the olfactory bulb of the brain and provides an evolutionary basis for the union of emotion, smell and memory.

So, to make Pechuga they take the intense complex flavors of Minero, add all the fruit, nuts and rice, and run the vapors over a chicken. What the hell do you get from that?

The aroma features a much milder smokiness followed by buttery, yeasty, liquified bananas reminiscent of the 'Elvis fried PBJ + Banana Sandwich' we had eaten earlier at the Fair. Fine fruity alcoholic aromatics reminiscent of a super-refined European Eau de Vie float to the forefront. The complex herbal aromas that dominated the Minero are still present, but are lurking beneath the fruit and cool refreshing notes of fresh aloe vera. One has the sensation of being very lost in a very rich and complex thing. Navigation is difficult.

Amazing viscous textures coat the palate like a lip balm. Notes of honey, complex fruits and smoke emerge in that order. The overall impression is that of the finest, cleanest, richest silver agave you could imagine. The rich spirit is tender and delicious like the best roast chicken. The finish is extremely long and complex with dark, bitter undercurrents of raw chocolate and black pepper intertwined with smoky honey.

In conclusion:  Where the Minero leaves you alone on a desolate but contemplative metaphysical plain, Pechuga wraps you in a safe, warm spiritual place, safe from any storm

Difficult to find, but worth the search. We occasionally have them at Sigel's, but they don't last long!