...and so the Admiral leans toward me and says "If you'll pardon my saying so, my dear Kim, I think that I shall never understand this British Columbian notion of throwing some roots or nuts or berries in the vat and declaring the outcome a fine ale. Truth be known, most of these abominations reek like Kool-Aid."
I took a hearty gulp of my Whistler Chestnut Ale...
...and told him "Listen, you feeble old fruit, if you say one more bad word about BC beer you'll be leaving here horizontal-style."
Well! He was unimpressed, to say the least. "I will not sit here and be threatened by some poorly-paid tart from the colonies! I find myself in the mood for some exercise!" As he began fumbling with the scabbard of his Navy cutlass, I undid the snaps on my knives. Other patrons ducked for cover as we lept to our feet. The old fool was flailing about madly with his cutlass, while I circled cautiously with my Von Tempsky in my right hand and my Arkansas toothpick in my left, looking for the opening to slip past his blade and fillet him like a fish. It seemed certain that one of us would not be leaving in one piece! But who should arrive at that moment but our old friend Sheikh Ahmed al-Shabazz!
"Greetings, my friends!" he bellowed. "I see you are in a feisty mood! So much the better! Come! Sit with me! I have made a most amazing discovery!" In the face of his jovial good spirits, what could we do but set aside our quarrel and find out what had him so excited?
So a new Mexican place has opened nearby, and they specialize in...
...Mezcal!
Perhaps the word "Mezcal" conjures some seedy-looking beverage with a worm in the bottle that you bought at a border-town shop for $2 once upon a time. This... is not that.
"Mezcal," I was told, is "
the Scotch of Mexico." Like tequila, mezcal is made from the Agave plant. However, while Tequila is made exclusively from the Blue Agave, Mezcal is made from any Agave except for the Blue Agave. Many, like Sombra, are made from the Espadin Agave, but there are many others. They are also classified by which of Mexico's states they are produced in. Oaxaca is a major producer.
Mezcal also tends to be a very smoky drink, like Scotch. The Sombra was described to me as being "like a campfire", while another variety they serve was described as being "more like a forest fire."
I tried the Sombra straight, as well as in a Negroni (in place of gin). I found that straight, it's smoky and spicy flavor was close to the limit of my comfort level... it was enjoyable, but definitely made my lips tingle. In a Negroni, the powerful smoky flavor was nicely balanced by the other liquors. I definitely picture myself trying this again in the future.
The Whistler Chestnut Ale is pretty good too.
-k