Ron Cooper, the founder of Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal, has kick-started his agave educational tour of Australia and last night Sydney bartenders were lucky enough to catch up with Ron on his first ever trip down under. Eight expressions of Del Maguey were sampled including the Tobala which is distilled from only wild maguey from the highest altitude canyons along with the Pechuga that involves suspending a chicken breast (yes, folks) in the atmosphere of the still!
Tag: mezcal
Legendary Mezcalero Ron Cooper — whose single village mezcals have come to be a benchmark for quality in the category — will be touring Australia this April.
Though it dominated in 2012, Mexican looks set to continue its run of favour in Sydney in 2013 with the opening of Mejico, a Mexican restaurant and bar opening next door to Jamie’s Italian on Pitt St.
Perhaps it was the dearth of good Mexican food for so long that led Sydney-siders to so wholeheartedly embrace its flavours. Perhaps it’s because great Mexican is about vibrant and fresh produce (of which Australia has plenty) thrown together simply and cheaply (of which bar owners like plenty). Or maybe it’s just that it goes so damn well with tequila and mezcal.
Beneath the Newmarket Hotel lies this quirky addition to Melbourne’s bar scene. From the Melbourne Pub Group and chef Paul Wilson, the emphasis is as much on food (see our bar profile this issue for a look at the kick-arse latin food) as it is on their 30-odd tequilas and mezcals.
Indeed, the great boozer, Sir Kingsley Amis, once wrote: “I think the nastiest drink I’ve ever drunk in my life was some stuff called mezcal in a Mexican market town.” But that has all changed.
Many a bartender in Australia has tried to track this brand down, often to no avail. Think Spirits have now secured distribution for these quality mezcals, of which a fair share of the attention given to mezcal these days can be attributed to.