River Rocks, Mountain Rocks, Volcanic Rocks: Mezcal Rocks
We talk a lot about the 400 decisions that palenqueros make in the process of producing heritage agave spirits. That’s the result of using pre-industrial methods in fermentation and distillation … but also in that first stage of production when you cook the agave to convert the fructans into fermentable sugars. Maybe it seems like, okay, you cook it underground in a stone-lined earthen oven. But what kind of stones you use in that oven can have a serious impact on how your mezcal tastes, Join Agave Road Trip for a conversation about river rocks, mountain rocks, and volcanic rocks, and what they can mean to that spirit you’re drinking.
What’s Smoke Got to Do with It?
Before you can ferment those agaves to make alcohol, you’ve got to convert the carbohydrates into sugars. One way to do that is cooking. And one way to cook the agave is underground. And, yep, there are lots of ways to do that, which leads us to the question, Do mezcaleros need to know how many grams of smoke per kilo are in their cooked agave? Find out in “What’s Smoke Got to Do with It?” — the latest episode of Agave Road Trip!