*AD – this experience in this article was gifted to our household for this post. All opinions, as always, are our own.
Earlier in the year, we got invited along to mezcal event as apart of London Cocktail Week. Mezcal have very different processes when they are made, meaning that unlike tequila, they have a wider variety of aspects that comes when making them. They are made with many different agave, meaning there is more age, soil density, growing conditions, etc that are all taken into account to make different mezcals.
In England, we tend to just drink it fast, chase it with lime and move on. Mezcals are very often lumped straight in with tequila – but they are an entirely different drink. As apart of the event, we got to try 4 different cocktails and then taste each of the three types of mezcal in sipping glasses, taking on the notes and flavors of the drink on it’s own. Unlike tequila, we found the drink on it’s own to be far more sipp-able, instead of having to be downed like a shot. Though drinking the alcohol neat gave each one a different flavor, we felt we preferred them in a cocktail setting, personally.
Our favorite cocktail was the Lavender Sour, made with Sanata Pedrera Mezcal, homemade lavender syrup, egg white and lime juice. There was also a bunch of lavender sprinkled on top, which hit your nose first, giving you a great smell to go with the taste. This drink is also very sweet, which is something we both enjoy very much in our cocktails! This mezcal is made with only Espadin agave, which changes the taste quite a bit.
After the lavendar, our next favorite was the Cucumber Mezcal Spritz, a very refreshing drink made with Espintu Lauro Mezcal, cucumber, ginger syrup, and prosecco. As previously mentioned, this was a very refreshing drink that felt like summertime. The ginger really came through, as did the bite of cucumber, making for a well rounded complement to the mezcal. Espiritu Lauro Mezcal is a 120 year old recipe, made with a blend of Espadin and wild Karwinski agave, so it had some notes of the previous mezcal but was a far different experience.
We enjoyed the Molecular Mezcal Negroni, which was made with the same Espintu Lauro Mezcal, but this time mixed with campari, sweet vermouth, and had a jelly-orb garnish that was aperol and passionfruit. This garnish was very cool, as you could pop it with your mouth and drink the sweet drink inside, but we did agree that it needed more of this to balance out the vermouth, which neither of us are big fans of. It’s a more bitter drink, with just a touch of sweetness, but is very impressive to look at!
Lastly, we had the very simply named Pina, made with BuenBicho, pineapple juice, agave, and fresh chili. This drink was bitter, not very sweet, and had quite the kick to it! We felt we had more of a taste for sweeter drinks, but in this tasting, it showed great range for the Mezcals ability to be a mixer, as we did try quite a range from sweet to bitter. The BuenBicho is an easy drinking mezcal, meaning it’s good for sipping as it’s more subtle in taste, which worked well to take on the taste of the chili.
During the event, we spoke to the creators of these mezcals, learning about the process behind creating each drink. Many of the creators felt the best way to have serve mezcals, is just straight from a glass, sipping away at it. Though that’s a bit too harsh for us at times, seeing the range and hearing from the creators was a wonderful experience. We also got to try loads of tasty nibbles to go along with our drinks.
You can check out our other Days Out to see what else we’ve been up too!