day one
ingredients and Utah products, like Waterpocket Notom. Of course, there were plenty of cocktails set ablaze by the Beehive boys As the fastest-growing booze category in the U.S., agave-based behind the stick, and our little group of Utahns felt nothing but liquors are quickly becoming favorites of leaders in Utah’s food welcomed by the people of Oaxaca. and beverage industry. So, naturally, a trip to Oaxaca drew interest from many mezcal-mesmerized individuals. Once we all arrived in downtown Oaxaca, where Wahaka hosted us at a charming casita, it was time to get acquainted. Turns out, all you need to do is throw At the crack of dawn on day three, it was time for the main in a mix of career drinkers with a few bottles of mezcal, and you event. Our ragtag crew of sleep-deprived tipplers loaded into a become friends pretty fast. Restaurants and bars represented in our van and set our sights on Wahaka’s fields, where we would be boisterous crew were Post Office Place, Sundance Resort, Water spending the afternoon planting agave. Determined to repay Witch, ACME, Lake Effect, Deer Valley the kindness of our hosts, we worked Resort, Libation SLC and a healthy as one, digging holes and placing smattering of private chefs and Tobala sprouts in neat rows (in which hospitality consultants. the field workers only had to correct a few times). Our work finished, we The Avengers assembled, it was time stood like proud parents surveying to set off on our first adventure, a tour of the 500 Tobala plants that would one Wahaka’s distillery. The open-aired day be harvested and distilled into palenque resembled more of a familyMezcal that those around the world owned farm than the industrialized There are over 200 varieties of agave, might enjoy. facility one would expect of a large, and Mezcal can be made out of 40 to Satisfied with our hard-day's work, global brand like Wahaka. Every step of 50. As Wahaka’s managing partner we returned to Wahaka’s palenque, distillation is done by hand, from Eduardo Belaunzaran says, “It’s not a where a full-blown fiesta was waiting. harvesting the agave piñas, to roasting matter of if, but when we will discover A ten-piece band accompanied by a them in earth pits, to crushing them how to make delicious mezcal from school of dancers offered with a horse-drawn stone mill. Even the every type of agave.” For now, some of entertainment throughout the final product is tested by hand, or mouth the most popular agaves include evening. We ate our fill of I should say. To check the ABV of each Espadin, Tobalà, Tepextate and Cuishe. chicharronnes pulled right off the batch, we watched in awe as a mezcalero Each agave varies in size, shape, flavor pork spit-roasted in the back and scooped nearly-finished mezcal into a and maturity rate; some agaves grow danced with Wahaka’s entire family bowl and blew bubbles into it using a for 40 years until they are ready to be that gifted us this extraordinary peek large straw-like tool. His expert eye can into their world. identify the ABV by the speed at which harvested. On our reforestation trip, we bubbles pop. Mezcal flowed freely while When it finally came time for our planted 500 baby Tobalà plants in we laughed and learned, all was right in goodbyes, I began to reflect on how Wahaka’s mountainous fields. In 12-15 this small corner of the world. this experience will bleed into our years, those same plants will be own culture back home. Each of us harvested and fermented into an will undoubtedly bring our own piece aromatic mezcal with light tropical of Oaxaca into our respective On our second day in Oaxaca, it was and spiced notes. establishments, from menu creation time to get our boots on the ground and to spirited conversations with curious hunt for wild agave in the mountainous customers. And in some small but outskirts of town. Much of the world’s meaningful way, we’ve left our mark agave is sustainably farmed, but some in Oaxaca as well. Between the conversations had with locals, rarer variations are still foraged in the wild. In true rural fashion, agave planted in fields and stories shared over copitas full of we loaded into a flatbed truck like livestock and began our search mezcal, there’s a remnant of Utah spirit that will live on down for green gold. Our guides, Eduardo Belaunzaran and Alejandro south. Not bad for a bunch of Mormons. Santa Cruz pointed out Tobalas clutching at cliff sides and Cuishe growing proudly in the sun, the Utahns gave “oohs and ahhs” and tried unsuccessfully to avoid the menacing barbs that grow on the tips of Espadin plants. (Top Row Left to Right): Writer Avrey Evans sipping mezcal from a copita, Later that evening, with Oaxacan earth now firmly in our bodies A horse-drawn stone mill, called a Tahona, crushes agave during mezca production. (Middle Row Left to Right): Harvesting a mature Espadin and souls, it was time to explore the city’s vibrant nightlife scene. plant; Group field work in Oaxaca mountains, Utahns load up in a truckbed The Water Witch/ACME boys connected with a bar owner for agave hunting; The group plants 500 baby Tobala plants. (Bottom Row downtown to host a takeover at Mezcal Speakeasy. Utahns and Left to Right): Rows of Espadin agave growing in Wahaka’s fields, ACME and Water Witch bartenders ignite tiki drinks at a local Oaxacan bar. locals mingled, sipping on delightful fusions of indigenous
day three
day two
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PHOTOS: (TOP ROW) AVREY EVANS; (MIDDLE ROW) AVREY EVANS, AVREY EVANS, BENJAMIN CARPENTER; (BOTTOM ROW) ADOBE STOCK, BENJAMIN CARPENTER
THE LIFESPAN OF AGAVE
