Did we spend more time than we should have at Hermogenes’ palenque?
We did. 🥴
And while I figured we couldn’t make it to too many in Logoche that day, I’d be damned if we wouldn’t at least hit one more—even if we had to crawl! The good news is this didn’t actually turn into a scene from “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.”
Our driver Ciro Villa had a very nice, large van for us, and did an excellent job of staying sober and keeping us on schedule for most of the trip—arriving en punto every day! Ciro is a fairly serious guy, but when I asked him if he liked mezcal, a profoundly romantic spirit overcame him, taking over both his facial expression and very posture…
“Oh yes, señor,” he said with dreamy eyes. “I love so much. The Tepextate, the Jabali, the Madrecuixe, the Tobalá… It is so beautiful!”
Hot damn, I thought. He’s one of us!
Very near was a palenque I was also visiting for the third time. That of Don Tomás García Cruz. In an article from last April, I shared a photo of the plaque he received as a “Tesoro (Treasure) Cultural del Mezcal,” devoting his life to best practices in the production of artesanal mezcal for more than 50 years.
Side note: I call him “Don” because Job (who introduced me to him) calls him “Don.” I’m not sure any other maestro I’ve met has been routinely called by this title, but it apparently means that in his community he is older and well respected. Thus, perhaps, the reverential plaque.
His mezcalero son, Nicolás García Vásquez, and I keep in touch on WhatsApp from time to time. Last year I had acquired both an Espadín Capón and a Madrecuixe from him. That Madrecuixe is just another case in which the following process occurs…
1) I taste a mezcal, it tastes pretty good, but I don’t spend much time with it.
2) I have many different varieties that I spend a lot of time with; so I forget the previous one, and it sits in my cellar for many months.
3) Then one day I give it another try and “BAM!” It’s so good I wonder how I ever let it slip through the cracks.
It could be that it improved during those months, which certainly happens. It’s also possible I just didn’t sit with it long enough; simply didn’t give myself the time to comprehend its beauty. That certainly also happens. Ennahoo, it’s sooo very good, and it would remind me of another distillation we’d have on this trip as well.
So here was the tasting lineup this day: Tepextate, Tobasiche, Espadin-Capón (yes, the same I got last year), Barril, Tobalá, Madrecuixe, Arroqueño and Pulqero. You know, over the years, I believe I’ve had a Pulquero distillation from only 3 mezcaleros—and one of them was an ensamble that included it. But I’ve had at least 4 different Pulquero mezcales from Don Tomás; I’m guessing that maguey either grows well around him—or he just likes it. So if you like a good Pulquero, go see him; he always seems to have some.
Fred was kinda smitten by the Capón, believing his wife Barb (who wasn’t with us this day) would like it. Turns out he was right. Dan liked that one too, but he and I were both pretty nuts over the Barril that day. It’s so easy to love it—and reminds me significantly of the aforementioned Madrecuixe I got from them last year: super earthy! Okay, I’ll also make a rare allowance for the descriptor “smoky” for this one. (I do think that term is wildly overused; for more on that check out my article.)
As we sipped, Nico came over, set a knife down in front of me. He said a friend had acquired this knife by trading some mezcal for it one day. He said he really liked it, and was hoping I might be able to locate another just like it. When I got home later I started on the research.
On the steel the brand name read, “Camillus,” so I figured it shouldn’t be hard to track down. I found a ton of different options on eBay, but not the same one. So I called the company in Connecticut. This is one of the earliest knife manufacturers in the US, founded in 1876. The young man who picked up was very knowledgeable, but explained that this particular model was known as the Camillus Boy Scout Knife, and it dates back to World War II. “A LOT of people would love one of these. It’s a classic.” he said. Unfortunately he also explained the company had changed hands since that time, and they made nothing like this today.
But surely they had something sort of like it, no? While I’m sure this dude would like to have made a sale that day, he had to admit they simply made nothing even remotely like it, and couldn’t help me. “You could try eBay,” he said. So I guess I’ll keep doing that. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll snap one up and bring it to Nico.
But good conversation and marvelous mezcal wasn’t all the family of Don Tomás had prepared for us this day. He, Nicolás, and other sons Eleazar, Juan and others were engaged in something to the side of the palenque while we sipped many meters away.
That’s right: they were making lunch for us, and they weren’t fooling around. Steak, onions, nopales and those enormous tortillas were on the grill. TLAYUDAS! Cecilia and I have long appreciated the little munchables some palenqueros provide when we come, but this? This was quite an honor.
I don’t really know how it can be, but I’m telling you: I got more full that day than I’ve been in years. No exaggeration. In fact it was a couple of DAYS before I really felt hungry again! I should’ve cut mine in half.
Sooooooo, yes, I’d have liked to go see Ramón García Sánchez, Celso García Cruz and some of the others in the region, but the warmth, generosity—and breathtaking mezcal made by those talented maestros in Logoche—meant it could not be this day.
So Cecilia, Fred, Dan and I all piled into Ciro’s van for the trip back to the city. For the entire trip, Ciro was steadfastly against taking even a single sip of anything we sampled. But he always seemed a bit cheerful as we were leaving each palenque. I soon realized it was because the maestros were giving him sample bottles of mezcal for facilitating our visit. He did well that week! 😁
And, no, this trip was nothing really like the one Hunter S. Thompson and his lawyer took to Las Vegas in that epic film. But who needs mescaline when you have mezcal? (And no; there’s no relationship between those two things as the persistent rumor suggests. See here.)
As they used to say, “Don’t touch that dial!” I’ve got a solid 5 more palenque visits to report on, and lots of great stuff to share. I’ve been getting some nice private messages about this trip, with some folks saying they intend to plan a visit to Oaxaca using some of my suggestions. Great. And it’s not Mezcal Maniac unless I close out with an invitation to visit my wife, friends and me here in San Miguel de Allende if you’re in the vicinity. Drop me a line anytime!