They’re losing the traditions and I hope it will not happen. We want eventually to add pieces of Huichol into our bottles, to promote and to help them because they live very humbly. The way they live is just making these pieces of art. Huichol art it’s called. If you Google it, you will find some beautiful art, I’m sure that you have seen them. Eduardo: Exactly. I think, in my opinion, that’s one of the biggest problems of mezcal right now in the UK, which for many, or for those that don’t know about mezcal is too much money. A Gold medal was awarded to Tequila Exotico Reposado, which had “good length” to its finish, while a Silver medal was given to Corralejo Reposado. Eduardo: If you look up the bottle, it comes from the Huichol which is an indigenous group in Mexico. Ojo de Dios or God’s Eye is a ritual tool that was used to protect those people while they are praying, some magical object. It’s an ancient cultural symbol. The Huichol art is super strong and beautiful. The idea of calling it Ojo de Dios is to encase and to promote this beautiful culture. Ojo de Dios is basically these little dots in the front. These people were there praying they have this symbol in different objects.

Susan: How do you even get your head around that? If I were going to start today? Okay. I want to learn everything about mezcal. What is the first type or first area? Where do you start?The agave fibers & juices are then naturally fermented & finallydouble distilledin our 250 liters copper still pots where its transformed to deliciousOjode DiosMezcal That plant can be cultivated the same as tequila or the tequila blue weber. It’s easy for producers to cultivate espadin. If you go to Oaxaca, you go to Jalisco, you will see fields of agave espadin across the land, right. The blue agave for tequila – the plan is between five to seven years to mature. Eduardo: I had everything in my mind, you know, so I went first to meet with four different producers. After that trip, I had chosen one. Then we started talking about exactly what I wanted. But the category is growing fast. IWSR figures show an increase of 38% in global mezcal volumes from 2020 to 2021, and it forecasts a compound annual growth rate increase of 13% from 2021 to 2026.

There’s cause for optimism embedded in mezcal’s regulations, believes Eduardo Gomez, sales director of Mexican food retailer Mexgrocer, and founder of Ojo de Dios mezcal. “There will definitely be more industrialisation in the process as a consequence of demand, but the good news is that if mezcal is artisanal or ancestral by DO [denomination of origin], producers must follow the process in the regulations that have been established by the NOM [official Mexican standard],” he says. Chambers said: “This feels like a category where producers are trying to experiment and push the limits a little bit within the rules. It was a pretty great flight.” Tanner remained equally enthused about agave‐based spirits. He added: “I think we’ll see, perhaps like gin, in a year or two there will be a more ‘contemporary’ Tequila category with different barrel finishes and a more experimental level. El Mayor Tequila Blanco also won a Gold medal for complex aromas of “ripe stone fruits and dried florals”, leading to “chilli, pepper and citrus” on the palate. Among the five Gold winners in this flight was Calirosa Tequila Añejo, with its “dessert‐like” palate and “dry” finish, with “some marzipan and nuttiness”.Mezcal is a great ingredient on its own to be served over ice with an orange wedge dipped in chilli salt. It has a lot of depth and gravitas to it, almost similar to a smoky whiskey. Eduardo: Excuse me. Yes. All different agave plants. Whereas tequila is only made with one type of agave, which is called blue weber. With mezcal, you can use any type. And in Mexico, we have around 150 different varieties. Plus, mezcal is made in nine different states in Mexico. So, all the way from Oaxaca, up North to Durango. Eduardo: All right. Well, almost 90%, maybe 85 to 90% of mezcal is produced in the state of Oaxaca in the South of Mexico. Out of that, 80% or 85%, maybe half of that is made from espadin agave. Espadin agave is the cousin or brother of the tequila blue weber, so a very similar looking type of agave. It’s called espadin because the leaves look like swords. Espada in Spanish is sword, this espadin. So, each leaf looks like a big sword.