Quantcast

HOME      CONTACT      KATE'S GLOBAL KITCHEN      COOKBOOK PROFILES      GLOBAL DESTINATIONS      I LOVE DESSERTS      SHOPPING      SEARCH

the appetizer:

Bartending For Dummies, 4th Edition by Ray Foley includes excerpts and recipes like Holiday Cocktails (All Year); Irish Whiskey; and Messin' with Mezcal.

Cookbook

 

Messin' with Mezcal

 

The process of making mezcal hasn't changed much since the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the early 1800s and brought with them distillation technologies. The Aztecs near the mountaintop settlement of Monte Alban in Oaxaca had cultivated a certain species of agave plant for juice, which they fermented into what they called pulque. The Spaniards, wanting something much more potent, began to experiment with agave.

Mezcal, like tequila, is made from the agave plant, but the process is different. What's more, while tequila is made exclusively in the northwestern state of Jalisco, mezcal is exclusive to Oaxaca.

Mezcal has a high potency and a strong, smoky flavor. Distillers insist that the drink has medicinal and tonic qualities. In Mexico, tribal women drink mezcal to withstand the pain of childbirth, and laborers drink it for added strength.

 
The Famous Worm

Worms live in the agave plant and are hand-harvested during the rainy summer season. They're stored in mezcal, drained and sorted, and placed in bottles near the end of the process. The worm is what makes mezcal unique; it's added as a reminder that it comes from the same plant from which the alcohol is made.

Apocryphal legends note that the worm gives strength to anyone brave enough to gulp it down. Some even believe it acts as an aphrodisiac. Like the drink itself, the worm is something of an acquired taste.

 
A Few Brands

The number of mezcal brands is much smaller than the number of tequila brands. Here are a few:

  • Gusano Rojo Mezcal
  • Ilegal Mezcal
  • Miguel de la Vega Mezcal
  • Monte Alban
 
  • from:
    Bartending For Dummies, 4th Edition
  • by Ray Foley
  • Wiley 2010
  • Paperback; 384 pages; US $16.99
  • ISBN-10: 0470633123
  • ISBN-13: 978-0-470-63312-0
  • Reprinted by permission.

Buy Bartending For Dummies, 4th Edition

 

Bartending For Dummies, 4th Edition

Full Cocktail Recipe List

 
 
Love
.

This page created December 2010

 
 
 
 

Mom's Recipes

Global Gourmet®
Shopping
Gourmet Food, Cookbooks
Kitchen Gadgets & Gifts

 

Kitchen & Home
Markdowns

Bestselling Cookbooks
Cooking Light Store
Kitchen Markdowns
Buy 3 Products, Get 4th Free
Kitchen Bonus Deals
Cookware Rebates
Bestselling Small Appliances

 
.