Mezcal, Mole and All Things Beautiful in Oaxaca, Mexico
In January 2020, just weeks before planes stopped flying and entire countries locked down to travelers everywhere, Charlie and I journeyed to Oaxaca, Mexico. Joined by three beautiful people, our friends Steve and Kellie and their longtime Aussie pal Ned, we ate and drank our way across Ciudad de Oaxaca and beyond. We share with you some highlights here.
Above: the view from our bedroom, looking out over the city. The cactus peeks out from our top level patio.
Above: the view from our bedroom, looking out over the city. The cactus peeks out from our top level patio.
Right: the clay wood fired oven in the common area of our Airbnb.
The State of Oaxaca
Oaxaca, Mexico, is a vast land of cacti and palenques, ancient ruins on high hilltops, dusty vistas and clear, starry skies. Run through with craggy mountain ranges and bordered on the south by the Pacific Ocean, this Mexican state is known for its 16 officially recognized indigenous peoples, and for its history of mezcal and mole as varied as their cultures.
We rented an incredible Airbnb on a hill overlooking Oaxaca City, also called Oaxaca de Juárez, the capital of Oaxaca state. From here we ventured to markets and mezcalerias, world-renowned restaurants and weavers’ studios, and experienced some of the best Oaxaca has to offer.
Oaxacan Food Tour & Fresh Salsa
Exploring the local food and drink is always top on our list of travel inspirations, so we got right to it. Charlie’s friends from Durham now live in Oaxaca and run a terrific city food tour. They introduced us to the absolute culinary delights of this multi-faceted city, and gave us a taste (pun totally intended) of restaurants to which we returned during our trip. We highly recommend you try Oaxaca Eats, as we did, on your first day in town.
At the gorgeous Tierra del Sol Casa, our server prepared salsa in the traditional molcajete tableside. With all fresh ingredients such as roasted peppers, garlic, tomatillos and spices, he produced salsa like we’ve never tasted.
At the Heart of Mezcal
Let’s be honest — for us initially, the main draw of Oaxaca was the mezcal. I adore it. Some of the best is produced in Oaxaca, from the many types of agave that grow across the region, and the mezcal story is one of small batch, locally grown, handed-down-for-generations tradition.
Well, the better stuff is, at least. Plenty of mass produced mezcals exist, due to a growing following in the U.S. and beyond. Thanks to Charlie’s restaurant world connections, we were able to connect with Mezcal Vago, a small producer that selects mezcals from only a handful of mezcaleros, or maestros.
The kind folks at Mezcal Vago treated us to an extraordinary visit with Maestro Emigdio, who distills the most amazing mezcal at his farm in Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz, about 2 1/2 hours south of Oaxaca City. Talk about an authentic experience! We arrived at his humble home in time to witness delivery of a fresh batch of agave piñas, the heart of the agave (or maguey, in Spanish) that is roasted as the first step in mezcal production.
Above: Maestro Emigdio unloads a large piña, the heart of the agave plant, freshly cut and delivered from nearby fields.
Below: Steve and Charlie (with Ned in the background) show off a huge agave heart. 🙂
At left: Maestro Emigdio unloads a large piña, the heart of the agave plant, freshly cut and delivered from nearby fields.
Right: Steve and Charlie (with Ned in the background) show off a huge agave heart. 🙂
And I get my own, taller than me! I’m 5’6″ if you’re wondering. We asked — this agave was likely several DECADES old.
The Celebrated Smokiness
At the center of Emigdio’s property is dug a large pit for roasting the piñas, which are piled in and covered by large stones that hold in heat. It’s here — in the first step of the distillation process — that mezcal gets it’s distinctive smokey flavor.
After roasting for several days, the piñas are chopped into pieces using a machete before being ground under a stone pulled by cattle (see photo at bottom of page). We met them, too. 🙂
Charlie recently reminded me that it is in this step — the chopping and grinding — that sets mezcal apart from tequila, another liquor distilled from agave. (Actually, technically, tequila is a mezcal. All tequilas are mezcals but not all mezcals are tequila.) Both ferment the juice of the agave, but, as Charlie puts it, tequila is made like white wine while mezcal is made like red. That is to say, tequila makers squeeze out the juice from the piñas and ferment it alone; mezcaleros grind up the entire piña to create a mash, with juice and other parts and pieces of the agave. Including the “skins” preserves the smokey flavors achieved in the roasting pit and gives mezcal the beautiful complexity that sets it apart.
We learned so much about the mezcal production process, and we felt so at home with Maestro Emigdio and his welcoming family. But our mezcal adventure wasn’t over yet, and with days left in Oaxaca, we had so much more to experience.
Keep reading and we’ll share! Plus our recommendations in case you’re planning your own trip to Oaxaca.