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Quiquiriqui Mezcal Espadin 70cl

£9.9£99Clearance
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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. 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 dream scenario is that traditional methods are preserved, producers are supported, treated fairly and paid properly; brands consider ways to integrate into the local communities; and more responsible production methods as well as agave regrowth programmes are put into place."Everyone I speak to – Mexican or UK-based; bartender, producer, importer or tour guide – is utterly in love with the stuff. They're passionate about preserving mezcal's traditions and safeguarding local communities, as well as using production methods that treat the environment with respect.

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. Shoppers were “looking for the latest craft spirits and unique flavours to make their drinks the talking point at parties”, said Waitrose spirits buyer John Vine.verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ This single estate Mezcal brand was established in 2011 and partnered with families who have been producing traditional mezcal for generations. Honouring traditions their mezcal is distilled in small batches using 350l stills and produced using artisan methods. While many spirits start off as artisanal labours of love, only to become mass produced for wider consumption later, mezcal is deliberately – almost inconveniently – traditional in its methods. The word "mezcal" traditionally refers to all agave-based spirits, including tequila, but in recent years has come to refer to a specific breed of agave drink. Within the new definition of mezcal there are three categories: "mezcal", "mezcal artisanal" and "mezcal ancestral".

Quiquiriqui Mezcal (45% abv) is a single estate mezcal made in southern Mexico, and is billed by the retailer as being “rich in vegetal flavours” with “a distinct smokey flavour profile”. 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.

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.

He offers several reasons why traditionally made mezcal is as sustainable an industry as they come: "Mezcal made with wild agave is the most highly coveted, which has sparked concerns that in a few decades there'll be none left. Some brand owners run an annual program in which small agave are planted and left to mature, and some communities only permit residents to harvest wild agave from communal land if the palenquero agrees to plant two small agave for every mature one harvested." By following these guidelines, says Dangerous Don's Cumming, you're much more likely to find a "true representation of the magic of mezcal" – just don't blame us if you fall under its spell.This process is where mezcal differs to tequila. Confusingly, the term 'mezcal' can broadly be used to refer to any agave spirit, so it covers tequila, mezcal and more – and mezcal sits in its own category under the same name, just to make things complicated. Taking 20 years or more to mature, Arroqueno yields mezcal with a slightly bitter, almost chocolatey taste. 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."

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