As one who grew up in an apocalyptic religious cult, it could be I notice mass conditioning a little more often than most. As it relates to mezcal, I’m not referring to those who really believe it comes from the teat of the ancient Aztec Goddess Mayahuel. No. But there is this very widespread idea that mezcal is supposed to be “smoky.”
No it isn’t.
Okay, Maybe a Little Smoky
(sigh) Time for the obligatory qualifiers. Sure…I’ve had some mezcals that might be considered a little smoky. It also could be that we experience some of these flavors differently; sure. But this is such a commonly heard identifier, it’s hard for me to conclude that most who give mezcal a solid try are saying this for any other reason than that they’ve heard others say it.
The word “meme” is now known as a humorous image with text that becomes viral on the internet. But I was familiar with this term in my prior career in advertising and marketing:
”meme /mēm/: an element of a culture or system of behavior that may be considered to be passed from one individual to another by nongenetic means, especially imitation.”
When we watch a maestro and his or her helpers roast agave piñas in an earthen horno (oven), we do in fact see a lot of smoke. Often the maestro will cover the piñas with earth in an apparent attempt to keep most of the smoke from escaping. Nice. Am I shocked that some might think therefore it tastes smoky? No.
But this doesn’t mean that smoke is what you experience when enjoying a mezcal whatsoever. One of my early favorite mezcals was a beautiful Coyote from Oaxaca, and I definitely recall telling others how nice and smoky it was. (Click, whirr. The machine of social indoctrination in action.) I actually nursed that bottle for nearly a full year, only allowing myself half a shot every couple of weeks. It was only after a few months in I started to realize it wasn’t really smoke that I was tasting.
I can only gather that, when you hear a half dozen or more people talking about mezcal as smoky, over time you may well settle upon that. And it may even color your thinking whilst sipping the stuff—when no smoke flavor is present at all.
Legitimate Mezcal Descriptors
I’ve found a number of mezcal descriptors that I harmonize with; some I don’t. But primarily I taste them as earthy, mineral, green, vegetal, fruity, grassy, spicy, woody, citrusy, sweet, clay and funky. There are other terms that don’t sound so flattering, but that still work: barnyard floor, meadow, leathery, sour, perfumey, ashy, and bleu cheese. There’s even a flavor I’m quite partial to that reminds me of magic markers. My friend Fred tastes it as shoe polish. I know, I know. But we like it!
In my lead-off article I tried to offer some thoughts on how best to introduce someone to mezcal. If you read that you know I’m big on letting people figure out the flavors and characteristics they like for themselves, perhaps with the help of someone who has a nice stash of it and who keeps putting veladoras in front of them even after they’re quite drunk.
If you think it’s smoky…fine, it’s smoky. (No it isn’t.) But you keep believing that until one day you at least realize that “smoky” is a very limiting adjective for a universe of spirits as widely various as this one.
If you’re ever in San Miguel de Allende, shoot me a message. I’d love to meet up or even have you over for a tasting. Salud!
"earthy, mineral, green, vegetal, fruity, grassy, spicy, woody, citrusy, sweet, clay and funky." JaJa! You left out 'CINNAMON'! :-)
You forgot astringent