A Case for "Joven" Agave Spirits
11/8/19 -
I'm not a fan of barrel-aged spirits in general, and maybe I'll never understand the appeal. I just don't draw the sensation of complexity from that side of the spectrum. I find a spirit far more complex and compelling when you have a base material that holds the age. (Think old vines vs new.) I'm far more interested in the agave plant that weathered eighteen years jutting out from the side of a mountain before being distilled, than the annual crop of corn or barley that is distilled, and over a number of years in barrel gains a patina of smoke and vanillin and now tastes like alcoholic caramel (broadest of broad strokes here). And even though the age of the agave is often given as a point of pride by mezcaleros/as and sales reps and sometimes is even listed on the bottle, I think (at least in the US market), many people haven't been conditioned to process that information as an important measure of quality. If we care about the influence and importance of vintage and terroir, how better to experience this than through a plant that has had its roots in the soils anywhere from six to twenty+ years, seen the good weather and the bad, outlasted the odds, may have even been around since you were in a totally different stage in your life? Old plants aside, it also definitely matters how the material is processed. The mezcaleros/as that we support at Chambers Street are stewards of their land, taking great care to keep planting for sustainability of future generations, and processing the agave with respect. Respect not just to tradition, but to produce a final spirit that is not only their livelihood, but is, in its most basic essence, a distillation of the land and plants and people and history all in one product. We are honored and delighted to have a vast collection of agave-based spirits available at the shop, and hope that if you have never taken the time to consider why these are such special bottles, that you read on for a very brief note on process, or if you're already familiar, do continue on to the tasting notes to learn more!
Whether or not the agave (maguey) plants are wild (silvestre) or cultivated, they come down the same way: liberated from the earth, the leaves (pencas) are cut away from the precious center of the plant, known as the piña due to its resemblance to the fruit. There is no mechanization here, this is all done by hand. The traditional way to translate the potential sugars in the piñas to fermentable sugar is to roast in an earthen pit. Each mezcalero/a has their own methodology and recipe of mix of hardwoods, type of stone, how they stack the piñas, what they prefer to use to cover the pit-oven to keep the heat for the many days needed to cook through the tons of piñas. Each type of maguey has its own distinct flavor and sugar level, some will be destined to be distilled alone, others to join blends. Offered a taste cut from the heart of a roasted Espadín piña alongside the same cut from a maguey known locally (in Minas) as Cuishe, the difference is striking: one juicy with heady sweet flavors of fire-roasted pumpkin and maple syrup, the other bitter with bright acidity. Even just touching the pieces felt drastically different: their stickiness, the texture of the fibers, the variation of color...
Roasting takes until it's done, which can be over a week. After this the mezcalero/a decides if and how long the roasted piñas need to rest before being broken down, some waiting long enough for mold to begin populating the stacks. Some mezcaleros/as still crush their piñas by hand, with large heavy mallets or axes, others prefer animal-driven stone wheels (tahonas). Milling machines can also be used, but you won't see that much with this collection of producers. Each milling method brings a different final product to the fermentation, which is done with ambient yeast in a range of vessels including (but not limited to) stone tank, cowhide, wooden open-topped tina. The smell of fermenting agave fibers is at once delicate and intense, and hangs in the air. When fermentation is finished the liquid and fibers are distilled in (most commonly) a copper pot still or clay pot still which can be vastly different in size and style and have far more nuances than is pertinent to write about right now. Using a clay pot, it can take 8 days to finish a double distillation. During the distillation time the wood fires under the still must be tended and the distillate separated into parts taken to be blended into the final spirit. Two distillations are quite common, and most spirits are proofed with heads (puntas) and tails (colas). Sometimes a palenque has space and time to rest the spirits before bottling, in really unique conditions sometimes part of a batch can be saved for years (but not in barrel!), for later release.
These are spirits to be savored and sipped to truly enjoy the complexity and to appreciate the time and handwork required. I never tire of sitting alone or with friends, marveling over the different expressions of these incredible plants, and toast to the future of the people and the land that make them possible!
-Cari Bernard
