Reinventing Mezcal Añejo and Con Gusano

Why do many in the mezcal business, the conceited experts and others supposedly informed, shy away from the idea of ​​drinking mezcal with worm and any kind of aged product, be it reposado or añejo? More worrisome is that many advise drinkers not to even touch their lips with anything other than white or joven (undaged) mezcal. This problem is particularly baffling given that corn whiskeys, brandies, Scotches, and some wines are aged in oak barrels. And both internationally renowned chefs and acclaimed Oaxacan traditional cooks use the maguey worm to flavor some of their culinary delights.

In prehistoric times, meaning before the mid-1990s, we drank relatively few types of mezcal. With almost no exceptions, our choices were limited to essentially no crianza, reposado (aged in oak for a minimum of a couple of months), añejo (aged in oak for no less than a year), “con el worm,” and if we were lucky, we could get our hands on the occasional bottle of tobalá. The selection options are very different today, countless in fact. Many drinkers never knew or forgot that quality mezcal can come in various forms, including aged and infused.

Mezcal with Worm

Mezcal con gusanso first appeared on the market decades before the modern era. It became popular on college campuses as an inexpensive way to get quickly drunk due to its relatively high alcohol content, and of course, the lore and myths surrounding its consumption fueled its popularity. “The Worm”, actually a moth larva that infests and attacks the root and heart of certain agave species [variously identified as Aegiale hesperiaris, Hypopta agavis and/or Comadia redtenbacheri] it became a marketing tool for distillers, exporters, importers and distributors. But the infusion also changed the flavor of the mezcal in which it was inserted. Most gave little thought to considering how the character of the mezcal was being altered, and would never consider this type of mezcal a good liquor to drink. Maybe back then it wasn’t.

But what if today you enjoy the shade of mezcal that has been infused with a worm? A couple of years ago I grabbed a bottle of wormy mezcal from one of the shelves that housed my collection of agave liqueurs. I drank it slowly. The taste surprisingly reminded me of a couple of my favorite whiskeys, a peaty flavored single malt Scotch from Islay!

Today there are good and bad mezcals with worms, based on subjective criteria for our evaluations, just as there are good and bad unaged mezcals. Quality can be affected by, among other factors, the type of worm (although usually a type used to flavor mezcal), how the larva was prepared for infusion into the mezcal, the species and subspecies of agave used to make the mezcal base, and the skill of the artisan distiller. The point is that yes, this type of mezcal was probably initially marketed with an eye to increasing sales of the spirit due to its uniqueness, but we should give it a shot, just as we would trying different young mezcals. Not all mezcals made with madrecuixe, tepeztate, wild boar, tobalá and espadín are the same. Some we like and some we don’t. You can find the same with mezcal con gusano. And if you find a couple of brands you like, you can stop spending $100 on a bottle of Lagavulin. So don’t dismiss wormy mezcal just because at this point in history it’s not cool that you like it, or your memory is clouded by what it meant to you years or decades ago.

Aged Mezcal

Now the history of añejo mezcal is entirely different, as long before the rise of mezcal con worm, añejos and, to a lesser extent, reposados ​​were considered quality drinking spirits. Fortunately, in many circles they still are, and indeed many brands have been able to capitalize on the continuation of this perception. But since the early 2000s a movement has emerged, and it seems to be gaining steam, despising aged agave spirits, mezcal in particular. The reason is something like this: they are not “traditional” mezcals; aging masks the natural flavors of mezcals that are derived from a species of agave and are affected by the means of production and tools of the trade and microclimate; And the list goes on. Hence, we must avoid at all costs drinking reposados ​​and añejos. Proponents of these lines of thought lecture about it, post their position on their websites, and promote their “knowledge” in print, all for the purpose of promoting the industry.

What can be more traditional than a custom that goes back hundreds of years? Depending on which version of history one subscribes to, the aging of agave spirits in oak barrels dates back to somewhere between the 1500s and 1700s, and certainly not more recently. The oral histories that I have taken personally are based on elderly palenqueros who have told me their own experience dating back to the 1940s. The current generation of brand owners and representatives were not even born then.

The history of mezcal aging in wood actually begins with the arrival of the Spanish in the New World with brandy transported in oak barrels. Many barrels were left in what is now Mexico. Even using the most recent date of 1500 for the birth of distillation in Mexico, we find aging. This is why. Sometime after the distillers began producing agave spirits and storing and transporting them in clay pots, they realized that the transport capacity was restricted to about 70 or 80 liters due to the size of the containers. And since the pots were fragile, they were prone to breaking. Oak barrels from Spain initially became available for the same purposes, namely storing and transporting the spirit. They became the favorite because they were larger and more resistant to breakage than clay “cántaros,” so if not by design then by default, palenqueros aged their liqueurs in oak, long, long ago, and consumers enjoyed it. Aged mezcal is traditional. Question the purists who claim that mezcal should only be kept in a glass. Is glass traditional? No, clay predates oak. The clay also changes the notes of the agave spirit. Perhaps we should distinguish the traditionalists from the purists.

But some of these same “experts,” the purist class, drink, sell, and promote pechuga mezcal. Typically, this type of mezcal has been distilled a third time, during which there is usually a meat protein (chicken or turkey breast, rabbit or venison meat, etc.) hanging in the upper chamber of the copper still or clay pot, over which the steam passes thus imparting a subtle change in the hue of the spirit. Most contemporary distillers insert a variety of fruits, herbs, and spices into the bottom pot while continuing to use the protein in the process. There are countless variations on the theme. In either case, the totality of these added products dramatically alters, and to some extent masks, the natural flavor imparted by the particular agave species, means of production, and tools of the trade. Where aged agave aguardiente is not acceptable, mezcal de pechuga is, and sells for attractive prices. Is there a disconnect?

There is another reason why urgent spirits drinkers don’t drink aged mezcal:

1) “I don’t sell añejo in our mezcalería because I haven’t found any good ones.” Actually? I’m sure I’ve found one. I won’t mention brands, but there are plenty of good vintages produced by master distillers who take their aging seriously, resting in one type of barrel for six months, then in another type for a year or two, etc. Of course there are palenqueros who simply stick a bit of their young sprat into any old whiskey or wine barrel and don’t take its breeding seriously. But there are others who try to oak rest their mezcal as an art, a true skill; as are the Scottish scientists employed at, say, Glenmorangie, with its different types of casks and variability in the number of cask years. Some of our Oaxacan palenqueros go so far as to age not only espadin, but also less common agave subspecies such as karwinskii (i.e. barrel and madrecuishe), potatorum (tobalá), and more.

2) “There is fraud at play, with some producers putting a drop or two of caramel coloring in their supposedly aged mezcals, thereby misleading the public into buying what is not really an añejo.” If this happens. But when something is added to a mezcal, the regulations dictate that the label indicates so, when designating the product as domiciled. And yes, sometimes producers don’t follow the rules. The easy solution is to try the mezcal, and if it has an oaky or charred or whiskey undertone or some other undertone that you like, and you do, then buy it and enjoy it.

The recent promotion of mezcal based on agave species and subspecies rather than the few categories mentioned at the outset, as well as the particular town or district where the agave was grown and processed into mezcal, has helped the industry get to where it is today. But the downside has been that the añejos have been left behind, and many who have become mezcal aficionados haven’t even had a chance to try the aged product. And they wouldn’t even think of trying a maggot mezcal. It’s just not cool or acceptable in much of today’s world.

Conclusion

It’s time we start embracing the diversity that includes worms, reposados, and añejos, and ignore the naysayers, or better yet, tell them their opinions are no more valid than ours. If we, the drinking public, try a mezcal with something in the bottle or a product that isn’t perfectly clear and we don’t like it, we may not try it again or try a different brand or batch. But don’t even suggest it’s not traditional or good quality. Let’s be the referees. Retailers, mezcalerías and tasting rooms, should initially consider carrying at least some of those products so we can make our own decisions. Otherwise, they are doing a disservice to those producers who continually work hard to try to create more palatable and diverse mezcals, and just as importantly, they are restricting the choices of their own clientele, for no good reason.