Tequila or Mezcal?

 

Me das uno por favor!

Fiesta Day.....Typical scene above... I curiously wonder if they are pouring mezcal or tequila. Before I just figured tequila since I had never heard of mezcal...Now that we have learned a thing or two... I believe most of the time they are pouring mezcal. But the mystery still applies: Tequila makes you crazy and mezcal falls into the "You don't want to know, just BEWARE" category. So with all this elusiveness, I naturally wanted to find out more...

Driving by Agave Fields in Jalisco

All tequilas are mezcal but not all mezcals are tequila. Tequila Jalisco is like Champagne France. The ancestors of Tequila Jalisco made true tequila by steaming the heart of the blue agave plant- Has to be 100% agave, no other substitutes are allowed (7-8 other types of maguey/agave plants are used in the fermentation process of mezcal) The state of Oaxaca is the heartland of mezcal production. Which makes sense as the fermentation process distilling sugary plants into alcohol was introduced by the Spaniards (which they learned from the Moors). But how does this apply to the mystery of Mezcal??? I am still learning, but so far I have concluded that mezcal is often home made in smaller batches, smoked, and can have all kinds of other "stuff" in it...So beware is good advice!  But whenever throwing back a shot or just taking a cautious sip, it's "Salud, Amor y Dinero!"

Ya febrero?

8 months logged in Mexico. 5 months since I have blogged. Hmmmm time to do some catch up on some major experiences that are embedded in our grey matter. Pictures are best and I promised myself to do less writing. I still pinch myself and can't believe that we are here...It is SO COOL!!
And yes Andy....Amazing, AMAZING!!!!

Classic shot of resting mariachis on a slow weekday night in the jardin....getting a kick out of Jim Carrey's Liar Liar.

"Alborada" means dawn- which is the time that this fantastic parade begins...we partied all night, nourished ourselves with greasy street burgers (hamburguesas grasas) and continued til the wee hours with all the other borrachos (drunks) dodging cohetes and fuegos (fireworks) that were shot into the crowd...Crazy fun night. Our friend Sam received a black burn hole through his sleeve and  deep into his arm while Tom wrestled to the ground a young dude who stole his camera....Not proud, but definitely story worthy!