Of Mezcals and an unexpected camaraderie

How we capped off our first day in Oaxaca with a spot of Mezcal tasting and a surprise connection..

Towards the end of our first day tour of Oaxaca we were brought to El Rey de Matatlan, a Mezcal factory which does tours for visitors to show them the process of making this liquor that seemed to be closely tied to Oaxacan culture and heritage.

We arrived at the factory a little bit just before sunset and got the customary greeting from the staff before being whisked away on a whistle stop tour of the area. Our tour guide showed us the small complex of the factory, giving explanations along the way. Mezcals are made from different types of Agave Plants. This is in contrasts with its more famous cousin Tequilla, which is only made exclusively with the Blue Agave. She was explaining to us that the different types of Agaves will yield different flavour characteristics to each Mezcal. 

The process of the Mezcal making process was quite interesting. First they have to wait for the Agave plant to mature, which could take anywhere between 2 to 12 years depending on the type of Agave they are cultivating. The mature plant was then baked in a dirt hole, ground using a stone mill operated by horsepower and the resulting liquid distilled to produce the liquor that we were about to taste.

The most expensive of Mezcals are made from the wild Agaves which are very rare and take much longer to mature, as long as  from 7 to 12 years depending on the type. She showed us the pit where they cook the mature Agaves, the milling wheel to ground the resulting cooked product and the distillation equipment. She also added that for the Mezcals made from wild Agaves, they use a different set of tools to distill the liquor, made our of Bamboo and other traditional woods, to follow the ancient technique of making the liquor used by the indigenous cultures who once resided in the area. Just another reason why there are only very few bottles of the special Mezcals that are produced every year.

Then came the long awaited part of the tour, the Mezcal tasting session. We were given an array of different Mezcals to choose from. They presented us with three of their most expensive Mezcals made of the wild Agaves. To have these special Mezcals we had to use a special cup made out of the dried shell of a fruit which turned into something akin to a small wooden bowl.  She also instructed us never to have lime with Mezcals as it would ruin the flavor. Since Mezcals are much more complex in taste profile in comparison with Tequilla, it's meant be enjoyed on its own or with a slice of sweet orange and a special salt and spice mix to enhance its flavours. We tried all of the special Mezcals on offer and found them strong but quite pleasant. They had this sharpness to them underlined by a rather aromatic vegetal taste, with some of them tasting slightly sweeter than the other.

After the special Mezcals we moved on into their regular range. The regular range were made using Agaves that they cultivate, therefore its much easier to mass produce and the prices are relatively cheap. We tried different variations of those Mezcals, denoted by how long it took for them to age in the barrels. The darker the colour, the longer they took to age and the sweeter they get. We tried everything that they offered us and I declared that my favourite was actually the white Mezcal, which is the youngest as it had a purer taste closer to the more expensive ones we tried before.

It was then that our guide smiled a sly smile at us and asked if we'd like to try the more exotic kind of Mezcals. She then produced a bottle with white stuff floating at the bottom. Upon closer inspection they turned out to be some sort of worms. She said that this particular Mezcal has a unique taste as they used the worms as a sort of flavouring. After already having around 8-9 shots of Mezcal, we were at a point where there were very little things that we wouldn't try. So we said yes and had a shot each of the worm Mezcal. It turned out to be rather delicious, the worms gave it a more savoury note, almost like it was flavoured with very crispy and salty potato crisps if that makes any sense at all. They also let us try some of their cream varieties, which were basically Mezcals that are processed into cream flavoured drinks akin to Baileys. They came in peanut, passion fruit and strawberry flavours. We tried a few of those and personally I found them rather repulsive as I hate cream based liquors (even Baileys). Though looking around the bar a lot of other people seem to really enjoyed them, with some asking for seconds 'to get a better taste of the product'.

Deciding to grab a range of bottles from the shop, we picked and choose, with Bobby and I each getting different bottles of Mezcals with the intention of re-enacting this Mezcal tasting session for our friends back in London. It was a shame that they did not produce the worm Mezcal in a smaller bottle as we thought buying a 750ml bottle of the worm Mezcals on top of the 5 small bottles we already have amongst the two of us was a bit of an overkill.

As I was hanging out at the bar with my plastic bag containing the bottles of Mezcals, I saw the couple we shared the tour with intently inspecting the different bottles of Mezcals and trying them out with a very discerning and serious expression on their faces. The lady was especially so, she seemed to have really enjoyed the tasting process and after a while I lost track of how many shots she tried before settling on a couple of bottles of Mezcals to take home.

So with everyone packed up, boozed up and ready to go, we all waited near the minivan for our tour guide to finish chatting with one of the staff of the factory. It was funny that even though the couple did not speak a word of English and I understood very little Spanish (and can barely speak it at all), we seemed to have found some sort of a way to still communicate between us. We managed to come up with a form of language with our eyes, gestures and sounds, that allowed us to even share jokes and laugh at certain things. 

It was pretty clear by then everyone was quite buzzed and tipsy. I had a big can of beer before this and I was in a pretty happy place by the time we were leaving the factory. As we were climbing the steps to the van, I remembered the lady pretending to be super drunk and swayed herself around with exaggerated gestures to the amusement of everyone. Again such a small episode but one that I seem to remember clearly and fondly of the trip. Our tour guide parted with us then as his house is located around the area. We said our goodbyes and thank yous to him before our driver closed the door of the van and began our journey back to the city.  Sitting in the fan enjoying the daze that was settling in, I looked out the window on the way back and saw us passing the yellow orange mountain range aglow with the sunset as the moon rose beyond it.

After about 30 minutes, the van pulled over towards the Zocalo where we asked to be dropped off. We said our goodbyes and waved to the couple who returned the gestures with smiles and gusto. Recalling the episode the next day with Bobby as we embarked on another tour with a different group of people, I did find that I miss that lovely couple. I think they definitely made that first day around Oaxaca much more memorable, in ways that I can't even really explain.

EL REY DE MATATLAN

70400, Internacional Cristóbal Colón 73, Tercera Secc, Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oaxaca, Mexico