You don’t drink it, you kiss it. Before you have any naughty thoughts fill your head, listen up. Kissing it is the first rule of enjoying mezcal.
You’ll learn plenty more about this smoky Mexican spirit when it’s celebrated at a three-day event in Broward this weekend.
And, by the way, don’t forget: Every tequila is a mezcal, but not all mezcal is a tequila.
The third annual Mezcal Lauderdale festival sets up shop Saturday through Monday in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
Andrew Martineau: “With over 40 mezcal brands to try, tasting dinners, a brunch, a mezcal summit, a bunch of different things all surrounded around mezcal.”
This singular spirit is gaining in popularity no matter where you go.
Andrew Martineau: “Around the world, I mean, every major mixology, mixologist or major cocktail menu has a mezcal on it.”
You’ll be walking right into a whole world of mezcal possibilities.
Andrew Martineau: “You really have a lot of different opportunities to sort of explore different flavor profiles.”
There’ll be plenty to explore at the grand tasting.
Andrew Martineau: “Attendees will then kind of navigate through Sistrunk Marketplace and Brewery, and there’ll be tables set up with, like I mentioned, 40 different mezcal brands to try.”
Choice is one of the keywords at the festival.
Andrew Martineau: “A lot of the brands will have their various expressions, meaning they’re going to have different varieties of agaves that they make their spirit from.”
Bottles of mezcal will be in a constant pouring position. Don’t be overwhelmed, though. The food hits the table soon after at the tasting dinners.
Andrew Martineau: “So we have two tasting dinners where we brought in two Mexican chefs — one’s from Oaxaca, one’s from Mexico City — that all live here, all work here, and they came recommended from the Mexican Consulate. We kinda brought them in to sort of really have that, you know, authentic Mexican flavor.”
You won’t only be getting mezcal in your glass. It’ll be on your plate as well.
Andrew Martineau: “Both chefs have infused their various dishes with mezcal.”
What you’re looking at is the creation of a North Mexican dish called agua chile. It’s sort of like ceviche but has a lot more going on.
Andrew Martineau: “In this case, this one has jalapeño, cucumber, a little bit of lime, olive oil, and has a lot of mezcal infusion in that and a bit of tamarind as well.”
Oaxacan born Chef Christian Moreno whipped up some actual ceviche and an incredible dessert. Churro tacos with fruit and mezcal-infused whipped cream, anyone?
Chef Christian Moreno: “I like the Reposado. I like it for me and the fusion, the mezcal and the food, is very good.”
You can mix mezcal with anything you want. But just so you know, here’s the time-honored way to imbibe it.
Andrew Martineau: “The traditional way of obviously drinking it is neat; it’s sipping or kissing the mezcal.”
There’s a lot going on at Mezcal Lauderdale.
To find out about venues, event times, and more click here.
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