Overexpose.me
Arte Agave
Arte Agave 2017
By Ed Avis
John Henry knows that people who appreciate agave spirits often crave more than just a sip of the powerful elixir – they also love the deep Latin culture and tradition that accompanies agave. Henry, proprietor of el Buho Mezcal, has been celebrating the pairing of agave spirits and Latino culture with the Tequila y Mezcal Week events since 2012. The 2017 edition concluded June 16.
“We saw the evolution of agave spirits years ago, and what we thought was missing was the cultural education,” Henry says. “There is a real layering of Mexican culture around the agave spirits, and we try to capture that.”
Agave Academy
Tequila y Mezcal Week 2017 included Agave Academy, designed to help industry professionals gain a deeper understanding of agave spirits and the accompanying culture. Topics covered ranged from drinking glasses used with agave spirits to agave culinary techniques to distillery best practices.
A course called “Insects Invited” explored the culinary value of chapulines and chinicuiles (agave red worms). The course, led by Virydiana Velarde and Tess Rose Lampert,
Chapulin Grasshopper
Chapulin Grasshopper infographic diagram food
covered the nutritional value of chapulines – 100 grams of them provide 67 grams of protein, more than double the protein punch of beef – and uses of the chinicuiles in Latin kitchens and bars. Click here to read Lampert’s persuasive argument about pairing mezcal with chapulines. And click here to visit the web site of Velarde’s business, Merci Mercado, which sells chapulines, chinicuiles, and other hard-to-find Mexican culinary items nationwide. (Enter the code "ElRestaurante" at checkout and you'll get 10% off.)
Camille Austin of Montelobos Mezcal and Jorsand Diaz of Alta NYC gave a presentation on mezcal culinary pairings. They revealed the basic flavors found in mezcal, including flavors derived from green agave, cooked agave, and smoke. Click here to view an interesting chart they presented showing the characteristics of the mezcal flavors.
John McEvoy, who runs the MezcalPhD web site, taught a course on the basics of that agave spirit. He covered the history of mezcal, explained its production process, and discussed changes to Mexico’s mezcal law and how that affects the future of the spirit.
Arte Agave
Tequila y Mezcal Week concluded with Arte Agave, a party that attracted more than 650 attendees, including about 150 who work in restaurants, spirits companies, and other parts of the agave trade. Local artists presented their work as attendees sipped agave cocktails, tasted the cuisine of local chefs, and danced to Mexican music.
Tequila y Mezcal Week 2017 was sponsored by Jarritos, el Restaurante magazine, Edible Manhattan, OutSmartNYC and the Bowery Collective.