Quiquiriqui Mezcal Espadin 70cl

Product Information

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. After eight hours of crushing, the mashed agave hearts and the juices are transferred to a wooden fermenting tank, ambient-temperature water is added, and the mixture is fermented for about five days, depending on the time of year, and then the liquid goes through an alembic still. That said, Starkman suggests importers do have alternative options to meet demand. "A brand called Vago started less than five years ago and became very successful. They had two people producing for them. Eventually they couldn't meet demand, and had the choice of industrialising production; hiring more people from outside their family to help them produce this mezcal; or, the route they went down, finding two more producers in other villages who were making mezcal with the nuances and quality they like. That's the way to maintain the quality of product." It's preserving the traditions that is of utmost importance for responsible producers and importers. "What larger companies don't do is support small producers or work towards the preservation of traditional methods, but what they're much better at doing is dealing with issues like waste management because they have the money and the resource to do so," continues Cumming.

In the wilderness of the dusty, gently undulating hills in Oaxaca, Mexico, rows and rows of blue-green agave plants appear to march militantly into the horizon, their spikes stretching up towards the bright sun like grasping fingers. Here, in a field just outside Santiago Matatlan – a village about an hour's drive from the brightly painted buildings of Oaxaca City – I'm seeing the incredible plants that are used to make mezcal, the mysterious Mexican spirit that's currently driving drinks aficionados to the point of obsession. 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. Mezcal, tequila's more interesting older sibling, is experiencing a boom in the UK. Archaically made and impossibly smoky, if you want to engage in the best new booze trend out there these are the bottles to buy

Currently in residence at Curio Cabal on Kingsland Road, Sin Gusano is part business, part passion project, part social enterprise. Darby wants to teach people about good mezcal, and focuses on buying small amounts of traditionally made mezcals at local prices, importing tiny batches. The project has committed 5% of profits from this trading activity to sustainable growth programs and charitable causes in Oaxaca. We only use wood that is diseased or has fallen in our palenque and plant a higher ratio of agave than we use," says Symonds, who produces Quiquiriqui mezcal with Blas and several other small producers whose palenque and agave fields I visit. Oaxaca is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. This means it's also home to hundreds of species of agave, which is why it's become known as the home of mezcal. Espadin The mezcal industry has changed dramatically in the seven years since I started, and you just need to look at tequila to see where we're currently headed." This agave takes a mere 30 years to mature – resulting in an intensely flavourful, aromatic mezcal and making it understandably popular. Tobaziche

Those making mezcal in an artisanal way adhere to the ethos of 'permaculture' as much as you'll find in Mexico," says Starkman. "For me, permaculture is the weaving together of what nature can provide in a microclimate, with material goods and human needs and aspirations, in an ethical manner that sustains the complete system." Like most palenqueros, Blas and his family have been producing mezcal for generations, with few adjustments to the process. Once mature, the agaves are harvested by hand, the spikes ( pencas) cut off to leave just the pineapple-shaped heart, or piña, which is then taken to the palenque (distillery) to be turned into mezcal.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. Botanicals can be added; some traditional mezcals are distilled with turkey breasts. The fermentation and distillation vessels vary from palenque to palenque, too – distillation can take place in anything from copper to clay, while some producers even ferment their agave in cow hide. 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. Before it's used to make mezcal, the agave plant matures for around seven years, depending on the species," mezcal producer, or palenquero, Carlos Mendez Blas tells me.