Bars are typically quieter early in the week. However, if you throw out an invitation to the local bartending community offering a masterclass and free tequila before dinnertime you’re pretty much guaranteed to pull a crowd. After an introductory Negroni made with Mescal, the crowd was buzzing with excitement prior to the demonstration. Ocho Tequila Brand Ambassador Phil Bayly had donned his traditional hat, the big screen was set up and everyone was ready to go. It was show time.
Nestled down in the lounge area of Kremlin, the bartenders from some of Canberra’s most popular bars – Kremlin, Treehouse, Soju Girl, Knightsbridge Penthouse (among others) – gathered on the low ottomans like a class of eager school kids. The show started with the classic comedy routine ‘A Party in Your Stomach’ providing a stark reminder to all present of nights they’ve had and customers they have served.
Given the relatively low profile of the mother spirit to tequila, much of the evening focused on Mescal. A good bottle of artisanal mescal can be identified by the traditional string and wax that binds the top.
Making mescal is very much a cottage industry – forget your stainless steel and clinically clean distilleries – this stuff is made in the Mexican equivalent of your shed. It’s ancient, so ancient as to have a Mayan God dedicated to it, and every village in the region has it’s own variation. As a result there are hundreds of different flavours that make the spirit as varied as any wine or whiskey.
As mentioned, tequila is a variation of Mescal (vino mescal!). While the Agave plant has been known to do everything from curing snakebites with the juice to creating twine from its fibres.
Sensibly, the township of Tequila is the home of tequila that happens to be nestled in the Tequila Valley next to the Tequila Volcano. The agave plant is incredibly resilient – to the point of growing temporary roots to reach fresh rainfall and then allowing them to die – and they simply love the harsh, rocky slopes that line the canyons of the region. Much like mescal, the dramatic changes in altitude, the differing levels of rainfall or sunshine all contribute to the different flavours produced once the tequila emerges at the other end of the distillation process.
Oh, and have you ever wondered why there is sometimes a worm in a bottle of tequila? This is something that identifies tequilas from the Oaxaca region and while it is rumored to prove the quality of the tequila or perhaps add a new flavor to the spirit the reality is that is all marketing guff.
Tequila was driven underground by the asking of Spain who wanted the population to buy brandy and fortified wines from the motherland. Once that king died, it was the Cuervo family that was granted the opportunity to officially produce tequila for the locals and eventually for export. Thankfully you can now easily access the stuff at the end of a bender given tequila’s international al reach
Don Julio and Patron are recognizable as the premier tequilas, but don’t forget 1800 or Ocho for a great value deviation. Or, if you feel like showing off, grab yourself a 100% agave version and indulge in the ‘Single Malt’ of tequilas.
