Southside Sips: Piñata de Navidad

Mezcal has been causing quite a ruckus over the last few years. Where finding the artisanal agave-based spirit was once the unicorn of the backbar, now most bars worth their salt (on a rim) have several on offer. Even with the current general slow-down of spirits consumption, mezcal holds a certain curious hold on sippers. While whiskey is seeing barrels and cases wallowing in reserve (sorry, whiskey), mezcal and its sister spirit, tequila aren’t close to collecting dust on shelves.

So let’s have quick lesson: what’s the different between mezcal and tequila? You may have heard the phrase: All tequila is mezcal, but not all mezcal is tequila.”

Huh? Ah, stay with us here! The key to understanding that is the source of what’s distilled into alcohol in this case: the agave plant. Or, more accurately, the piñon, or heart, of the agave plant. With tequila, by law only one type of the plant may be used — blue Weber agave — in making the spirit. But that’s not the only variety of agave in North America; there are dozens and dozens.

Unlike tequila, mezcal can be made from multiple types of the plant. You may have noticed words like espadín, arroqueño, tepeztate — those indicate the type or types of agave used in the spirit. There are some other words to pay attention to, but we’ll save that lessen for another time.

For now, our friends over at Water Mill Wine & Spirits (706 Montauk Highway, Water Mill, 631-726-0208) are one of the few around who carry El Silencio, but carry them they do! Barman Diego Livera, of New York’s Dead Rabbit, created this cocktail for El Silencio’s “Find Your Silence” campaign — a little way of carving out some quiet time for yourself in the midst of the holiday madness. And indeed, taking a little whiff of the smoky mezcal mixed with pear, guava, apricot and cinnamon is like holiday spice by the fire. Cheers, friends!