This summer time, we’re taking you on a tour of a few of our favorite wine and spirits areas by way of their cultural riches. Right here, Alexandra Grey de Walden introduces you to the colorful magic of Mexico.
Because the opening bars of Carlos Santana’s “Corazón Espinado” circulation throughout the breeze and a cooling gush of Tequila and tonic passes my lips, I may very well be at a seaside bar in Cancun. The air is alive with blooming guitar and the sturdy aroma of roasted pork and spices. However right here I’m in my backyard in Berkshire recreating a Mexican fiesta.
There’s something so splendidly thrilling and vibrant in regards to the tradition of Mexico. Take the Day of the Useless Pageant (Día de los Muertos), held yearly in the beginning of November. An amalgamation of the Aztec customized of honouring ancestors, with the custom of All Souls’ Day launched by Spanish invaders within the 1500s, that is removed from the ghoulish notion of skeletons and ghosts.
Deceased kinfolk are the friends of the day. Papier mâché skeletons in vibrant hues lined with flowers are displayed in home windows, on avenue parades and at household altars. That is as a lot an honouring of the departed as it’s a reminder to the dwelling that dying is just part of life.
What higher method to have fun the enjoyment of dwelling than with a glass of Mexico’s nationwide drink, Tequila?
What to drink
I can’t be the one one whose first introduction to Tequila was in shot type. It was normally from a plastic shot glass, laced with desk salt and adopted by a suspiciously dry-looking lime wedge. Think about my shock, early in my spirits schooling at Berry Bros. & Rudd, after I was informed that not solely can we promote Tequila however that it’s now vital for spirits collectors and broadly thought of by these within the know because the “subsequent massive factor”.
Removed from the high-volume, overtly alcoholic, paint-stripping Tequilas of my youth, artisan Tequila producers are actually honing their craft and producing superlative spirits in conventional and time-honoured vogue. A distilled spirit produced from the blue agave plant, Tequila is generally made in Mexico’s Jalisco area and, like Mexico itself, has develop into an more and more cultural affect.
It was clear these college recollections would take some bashing nevertheless it didn’t take fairly so long as I imagined as soon as I’d found Mijenta Tequila. The title comes from the Mexican “mi gente”, which means “my individuals” and individuals are very a lot on the core of this producer’s ethos. The agave is grown with out pesticides, the labels are product of agave waste, and the containers are constituted of recycled paper. Mijenta has additionally been B-Corp licensed since 2022.
The phrase Reposado means “rested”. After six months of slumber in American white oak, French oak and French acacia casks, Mijenta’s Reposado strikes the right stability between the earthy, natural agave flavours and the softer, tempered spice from the oak. Its refined golden color nicely belies its heady nostril of blossom, orange, hazelnut and wealthy bergamot.
The enjoyment of artisan Tequilas akin to Mijenta’s is you actually can take pleasure in them neat – I promise. Mijenta’s Reposado has essentially the most beautiful texture. Removed from the throat-searing pictures of yesteryear, it’s velveteen and coating, virtually like moleskin. Flavours of key lime, salted orange and dried chilli are woven collectively so elegantly that it’s difficult to select them aside.
My most well-liked technique for having fun with Tequila, nonetheless, is a Reposado and tonic water with a wholesome squeeze of lime juice. This can be a rather more fascinating and hedonistic various to a gin and tonic. It’s exquisitely refreshing and vastly extra flavoursome.
For the cocktail fiends, El Diablo has a devilish twist, as its title suggests. Overlook the Margarita or the Paloma – El Diablo is the Tequila cocktail to rule all of them. It’s a deft mix of Reposado, crème de cassis (or blackcurrant cordial in case you’re feeling saintly), lime juice and ginger beer. This amalgam of earthy and fruity flavours with that twist of ginger spice is the final phrase in refreshment.
What to eat
Mexican delicacies is definitely scrumptious and has a powerful historic affect from each the Mayan and Aztec civilisations. Certainly, the Aztecs are sometimes credited with having invented the tortilla. Closely targeted round bases of native substances akin to corn, maize and beans, the huge scope of Mexican meals pleases all tastes and persuasions.
The taco is a folded or rolled tortilla full of meat, beans and a sauce. Taco al pastor is assumed to have been launched to Mexico by Lebanese immigrants and is taken into account one of the crucial delectable and fragrant. Sluggish-roasted pork cooked on a spit (or trompo) is marinated in a mix of chillies, spices and smoky achiote paste and served in a taco. Topped with coriander, onions and even pineapple, it’s one other pageant of flavours and textures – so typical of Mexican tradition. The mingling of native spices and succulent pork are elegantly cooled by the pineapple.
On this occasion, I’d in all probability advise towards El Diablo as your pairing of alternative – that ginger beer spice would zing the chillies within the taco far an excessive amount of. As an alternative, flood some neat Mijenta Reposado over ice or crack open the tonic – that is the T&T’s time to shine. For the vegetarians, or for one thing just a little lighter, the Mexican avenue corn salad additionally presents a flavour explosion. Brown some corn kernels in garlic and butter, add a mayonnaise, bitter cream and lime dressing and prime with torn coriander and chopped jalapeños. The mix of jalapeño warmth, zingy lime and cooling bitter cream is pure heaven.
What to take heed to
The musical charms of Mexico can’t presumably be mentioned with out Carlos Santana. Typically cited as one of the crucial proficient guitarists of all time, he has been sharing Mexican-inspired rock all over the world for the reason that late Sixties.
The truth is, it’s Santana’s eponymous first album, launched in 1969, which offers the soundtrack to my Mexican-inspired, al fresco night. It opens with “Ready”, a extremely 60s-sounding medley of psychedelic drums, cymbal skits and a few Ray Manzarek-inspired keys. Carlos’s signature fretboard licks arrive for the final quarter and sign to the world what it will be fortunate sufficient to listen to for the following 50-plus years. The treasured gem on this album is “Evil Methods”. A story as outdated as time, it tells of a lover who can’t quit their free-spirited associate who refuses to commit.
For a extra modern foray into música mexicana, look no additional than guitar duo Rodrigo y Gabriela. Their flamboyant mixture of flamenco, conventional guitar and metallic has featured in quite a few movie and tv scores from Pirates of the Caribbean to Breaking Dangerous.
Regardless of arriving extra just lately on the scene than Santana, their music has a extra distinctly conventional guitar sound to it: acoustic, uncooked and crisp sufficient to virtually pick every particular person string. From their album In Between Ideas… A New World (2023), you merely should take heed to “Descending To Nowhere”. All appears refined and calm however issues rapidly crescendo to a strong, emotive and passionate flamenco – moderately like that Reposado, in truth.
Purchase Mijenta’s Tequila Reposado right here.
