La Pinata – in most cases a sweet filled package, often shaped like an animal, hung up high that kids bash for sweets or treats. In this case a booze laden festival full of tequila and mezcal hosted by the Spirits Society at Tobacco Dock in London.
My first trip to London of the year, saw me heading down (at a ridiculously early hour, but cheap tickets), to indulge in all things agave.
La Pinata, is an annual festival of all things mezcal and tequila (with added tacos and street food to keep those tummies from rumbling and a selection of Mexican arts and crafts just in case indulging in several bottles of booze wasn’t enough for your wallet – it wasn’t for mine, a lush pair of earrings came home with me too).
I arrived, had my wristband attached and snaffled my glass, and began to wander between the stands.
For those unsure of the difference, both Tequila and Mezcal are made using agave. However, whilst Tequila could be considered Mezcal, the opposite isn’t true. First of all, Tequila is made in Tequila (the place in Mexico). Secondly, Tequila is made from blue agave specifically, whereas Mezcal can be made from a variety of more than 11 different types of agave plants found in Mexico. So, Tequila is Mezcal. Mezcal isn’t Tequila. And whilst both offer some similarities in flavour, having explored both for several hours, they can also be very different beasts. Some are fruity and green, others more savoury, some rich with smoke and others gave hints of candyfloss.
Whilst going through all of them will take an age (it was a whole morning’s session of sampling after all – 11am-3pm, the later session running 4-8pm), I will run over my personal favourites – those I will be snaffling a bottle of for my own bar.
Dangerous Don offers three expressions (from two different distillers). Their signature expression is produced using Espadín agave. The pina (the agave is uprooted, and trimmed into a ‘pina’), is roasted in a pit, fermented and distilled, but isn’t aged (making is a joven mezcal). The flavour is smoky but also has a good amount of freshness with it. Lovely for sipping neat, but it would also absolutely shine in a Mezcalita.
The two sisters of this brand are the Mandarina and the Cafe. In the Mandarina, the Mezcal is twice distilled, before being infused with freshly peeled fruit. After 24 hours, this is distilled once again. Because this uses the fruit and not peel, there’s an unexpected juiciness to this which is delightful. However, for me the star of the two is the Cafe. The same process is followed as above, but instead of mandarins, Naom Quie coffee beans are used in the process. The result is just stunning, with the smoke of the mezcal meeting the espresso of the beans. Lush.
Let’s stick with fruit for a moment and move over to Rooster Rojo. All of these Tequilas offer something different. From the blanco (unaged) through to Reposado (aged for between 2 and 12 months), and the Anejo (aged for 1 to 3 years), but the Roasted Pineapple is whole different beast. This is aged for 12 months in bourbon barrels before being infused with smoked red Spanish pineapples. Smoke, fruit, and vanilla all in one delicious bottle.
Finally, Sin Gusano Mezcal Appreciation Society. This Mezcal subscription was a real eye opener. Not just because I hadn’t heard of the service (2 x 200ml bottles every two months), but for the sheer variety of flavour profiles and producers. The majority of Mezcals and Tequilas we see in the UK come from larger producers. These are bottles specifically from smaller independent producers. Family distillers, one man bands, the unusual and different. The flavours are so incredibly varied – differences in production, yeasts, all the way down to the agave itself means you really get to experience the impact all these elements have on the resulting spirit. I’m adding this to my birthday wish list as I type.
Alas, this year’s event has passed, but I can absolutely recommend this for next year for you, or the agave lover in your life. If you absolutely can’t wait, snaffle a bottle from my above recommendations, or perhaps indulge in Junipalooza – the gin festival from the same people. As for me, I must admit this was a bit of an eye opener. Whilst I’m no stranger to Mezcal or Tequila, this event simply reinforced that I don’t know as much as I could, or maybe I should. I’ve barely dipped a toe in the pool.
Perhaps I need a deeper dive in.