Mezcal

NOMINATED FOR THE 2018 JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION AWARD IN BEVERAGES! Emma Janzen is your guide to the bartender's best kept secret, the spirit everyone has been missing out on and it's called Mezcal. See what sets this cousin of tequila apart from the rest of the pack. Produced in Mexico for centuries but little known elsewhere until recent years, mezcal has captured the imagination of spirits enthusiasts with its astonishing complexities. And while big liquor is beginning to jump aboard the bandwagon, most mezcal is still artisanal in nature, produced using small-batch techniques handed down for generations, often with agave plants harvested in the wild. â??Join author Emma Janzen through Mezcal as she presents an engaging primer on all things related to the spirit; its long history, the craft of distilling it, and a thorough guide to many of the most common agaves used in production and how they shape the resulting spirit. In addition, top mezcal bars across the United States and Mexico contribute a selection of nearly fifty cocktails that accentuate its distinguishing qualities. Beautifully produced and authoritatively written, Mezcal is the definitive guide to exploring and unraveling the mysteries of this extraordinary handcrafted spirit. An Editors’ Pick for Amazon Best Books of the month of July 2017.

IACP AWARD WINNER • Indulge your thirst for new ways to enjoy tequila and mezcal with 60+ recipes for agave cocktails from a James Beard Award–nominated author and New York Times spirits writer. From riffs on classics such as the Mezcal Mule and Oaxaca Old-Fashioned to new favorites such as Naked and Famous or Smoke and Ice, discover how to use mezcal and tequila to create cocktails in nearly every classic cocktail formula—from flip to sour to highball—that highlight the smoky, edgy flavors of these unique and popular spirits. Robert Simonson, author of The Old-Fashioned and The Martini Cocktail, covers a broad range of flavors with doable, delicious recipes that are easy to assemble, most only requiring three or four ingredients. This comprehensive, straightforward guide is perfect for tequila and mezcal enthusiasts looking for creative ways to enjoy agave spirits more often and in more varied ways—or for anyone who just likes to drink the stuff.

A comprehensive, introductory guide to "the champagne of Mexico," showcasing mezcal's exotic flavor, deep history, and growing popularity in the U.S. What has long been a local Mexican secret is now enjoyed throughout the world for its smoky, exotic flavor and excellent base in cocktails. This detailed and colorful guidebook uncovers mezcal's deep history, details its artisanal production in remote Mexican villages, and explains the proper ways to serve and drink this distinctive liquor. There are tips for locating the top mezcals on the market and selecting varietals that best suit particular tastes, as well as suggestions for mezcal pairings with dishes over meals. A chapter showcasing twenty of the best commercial distilleries includes recommended examples of young jovens, lightly aged reposados, and aged añejos. Finally, the book offers easy-to-follow recipes for unique mixed drinks and zesty mezcal-based dishes.

‘Before mezcal I knew tequila. We danced together and had a good time. Then I found mezcal and we not only danced but we talked and talked. As a lover of whisky, mezcal was an easy step for me. And Tom is the person to tell you all about it.’ Thomasina Miers, author and chef-owner of Wahaca restaurant chain ‘Thomas, aside from having one of the early great beards of NYC, played some of the finest music ever to crawl into my drunken ears. He retains the same intimidating and generous approach to mezcal: know everything worth knowing about a subject, avoid the garbage, love it, and share.’ James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem ‘Before mezcal I knew tequila. We danced together and had a good time. Then I found mezcal and we not only danced but we talked and talked. As a lover of whisky, mezcal was an easy step for me. And Tom is the person to tell you all about it.’ Thomasina Miers, author and chef-owner of Wahaca restaurant chain ‘Thomas, aside from having one of the early great beards of NYC, played some of the finest music ever to crawl into my drunken ears. He retains the same intimidating and generous approach to mezcal: know everything worth knowing about a subject, avoid the garbage, love it, and share.’ James Murphy, LCD Soundsystem The definitive guide to Mexico's best kept secret; Mezcal. Unlike its infamous offspring tequila, until recently you would have had to take a trip to Mexico to try this intriguing spirit. But with ‘Mezcalerias’ popping up everywhere from New York City to London, Tokyo and beyond, and mezcal increasingly seen on the menus of the most discerning and hippest bars, the agave plant-based alcohol is the cool new drink taking the world by storm. Embark on a regional tour of Mexico and discover local mezcal gems in this illustrated guide to the best 'mezcalerias' (mezcal bars) in the world, then work your way through more than 30 cocktail recipes from the world’s best mezcal bartenders. From backyard heroes to big names, this is a comprehensive guide fwith over 100 varieties of mezcal, complete with a tasting wheel to help explain the subtleties of this intriguing drink and make you a connoisseur in no time.

"A rich, inclusive portrait of one of the world's great drinks." —Kirkus Reviews Mezcal. In recent years, the oldest spirit in the Americas has been reinvented as a pricy positional good popular among booze connoisseurs and the mixologists who use it as a cocktail ingredient. Unlike most high–end distillates, most small–batch mezcal is typically produced by and for subsistence farming communities, often under challenging conditions. As Granville Greene spends time with maestros mezcaleros, who distill their drinks using local agaves and production techniques honed through generations, mezcal becomes a spirit of contradictions—both a liquid language celebrating village identity and craftsmanship, and a luxury export undergoing a gold–rush–style surge. The Mezcal Rush explores the complications that can arise when an artisanal product makes its way across borders.

An indispensable and accessible guide to Mexico’s treasured agave spirits. Packed with information, tips, resources, and 300 tasting notes and accompanying producer profiles, The Essential Tequila & Mezcal Companion is a crash course on the fastest growing spirits category in the United States. Lampert provides insights on the history and production of the spirits, plus guidance for how to stock your bar, organize a tasting with food pairings, and create infused syrups that will complement craft cocktails. Lampert includes more than 30 cocktail recipes that highlight the complexities and bold flavors of agave spirits. Plus, the book contains transportive photography throughout and a thorough reference section for readers who are thirsty for more.

With an elegant platinum-foil hardcover, Mezcal and Tequila Cocktails is an evocative collection of more than 60 mezcal and tequila cocktail recipes! What do you know about Mezcal? Maybe you have some vague idea about its relationship to agave, or that there might be a worm at the bottom of the bottle. You may know that tequila is a type of mezcal, or that mezcal is more intensively handcrafted than almost any other spirit, making it a true farm-to-table drink. Or perhaps you’ve heard tell of its hallucinogenic property—which is apocryphal, just so you know. At the end of the day, you probably don’t know that much about it, but if you’ve ever tried it then you know one thing for certain: its smoky, complex flavor is irresistible. And this fact alone is responsible for its recent stateside spike in popularity; but don’t worry, the train hasn’t left the station yet! Mezcal Cocktails will make you an expert on the beverage before there’s a Mezcal bar on every city corner. If the 2010s belonged to artisan absinthe cocktails, the 2020s are sure to be the age of agave! With an irresistible silver foil hardcover and 40+ gorgeous photographs, Mezcal Cocktails features over 60 recipes for craft cocktails made with the previously hard-to-find spirit, such as: - the Mezcal Negroni - the Cactus Flower - Mezcalita - Oaxaca Old Fashioned - Killer Bee - Marrakesh Express Plus, easy recipes for gorgeous craft cocktail ingredients, from syrups to garnishes! Though it isn’t as ubiquitous as vodka or whiskey, mezcal is actually very easy to work with, as its flavor pairs beautifully with so many ingredients! Bartender Emanuele Mensah shares the rich and fascinating history of mezcal and tequila, all while making mezcal the go-to staple of your home bar.

In this groundbreaking and deeply personal book, Ron Cooper—a leading voice in the artisanal mezcal movement, and the person largely responsible for popularizing the spirit in the United States—shares everything he knows about this storied, culturally rich, and now hugely in-demand spirit, along with 40 recipes. In 1990, artist Ron Cooper was collaborating with craftspeople in Oaxaca, Mexico, when he found mezcal—or, as he likes to say, mezcal found him. This traditional spirit was virtually unknown in the United States at the time, and Cooper founded Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal in order to import it. Finding Mezcal recounts Cooper's love affair with the spirit and the people who make it; its meteoric rise in popularity; and the delicate balance between sharing mezcal with the world and facilitating its preservation. Each chapter introduces a new mezcal, its producer, and its place of origin, while also covering mezcal production methods and the botany of the maguey (aka agave) plant, from which mezcal is distilled. Featuring 40 recipes developed for Del Maguey by chefs and bartenders from around the world, the book is copiously illustrated with photographs, as well as Cooper's artwork and that of his friend Ken Price, who illustrated Del Maguey's now-iconic labels.