It was a happy moment when Chris Stevens of Craft Distillers sent word that Alipús mezcal was headed to St. Louis. Craft Distillers represents brands like Germain Robin, Maison Surrenne and Los Nahuales whose spirits are made through time-honored, hand-crafted, small-batch distillation methods. So I was anxious to try the newest import.
The trio of Alipús mezcals – San Andres, San Baltazar and San Juan del Rio – hail from the Mexican state of Oaxaca, which is the heart of mezcal country. Production is similar for all three mezcals: Agave is wood-roasted in palenques; juice is extracted via stone-milling; and fermentation occurs with native yeasts in open wooden vats. In addition, all three Alipús spirits are double-distilled in wood-fired, copper pot stills. But each mezcal shows marks of distinction, too, from the villages where the distillers work to the types of vats they use and the terroir of their agave.
San Andres (pink label), my favorite of the three, is fermented in cypress vats. It has an appealing floral aroma and fruity flavor that, to my palate, tones down the mezcal’s smoky character. San Juan del Rio (black label), fermented in oak, is the smokiest of the bunch. Those who enjoy peaty, smoky scotch may find the San Juan del Rio to be a kindred spirit. The pine-fermented San Baltazar (purple label) offers a round mouth feel with notes of sugar cane, smoke and an earthy spice. All three mezcals are sold at The Wine & Cheese Place (Clayton and Ballwin locations) and Parker’s Table for $39 a bottle.
An excellent mezcal can be savored on its own, but if you’re of the mindset to mix with it, try making an Oaxacan drink called Donají. The cocktail is simply a shaken combination of mezcal, citrus juices and agave nectar served over ice in a salt-rimmed glass, but the drink can get funky with rimmings (salt mixed with crushed, dried grasshopper) and garnishes (fresh pomegranate seeds, lime wheels and lemon leaf). Here, we created a minimalist recipe for the basic bar, without losing the sweet and tangy citrus notes and the funk of smoky mezcal. If pomegranates were in season, we’d toss in a few seeds, but we won’t leave out the fiery chile-salt rim regardless of the time of year. (Tequila drinkers will notice that the Donají Pronto calls for the same trio of liquids as a Tequila Sunrise. The difference: This version calls for mezcal, it isn’t built in the glass and it has a salt rim.)
Donají Pronto
1 Serving
Chile powder, for rimming
Coarse salt, for rimming
2 orange slices
1½ oz. Alipús San Andres mezcal
1½ oz. fresh orange juice
¼ oz. grenadine
• Combine a few pinches of chile powder and coarse salt in a shallow bowl.
• Wipe the rim of an Old-Fashioned glass with one of the orange slices, then dip the glass in the bowl to rim it with the chile powder-salt mixture.
• Combine the mezcal, orange juice and grenadine in a shaker filled with ice. Shake and transfer to the glass.
• Garnish with an orange slice.
— Cocktail made by Eclipse’s Seth Wahlman
This article appears in September 2012.