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Mamasita now has a Master Mezcalier Posted by Meg Crawford on Nov 20, 2014 in Food & Drink, News
Mamasita now has a Master Mezcalier
“For everything bad, mescal; for everything good, the same” – old Oaxacan saying.
Mescal, like its compatriot spirit tequila, can conjure up visions of youthful, ill-advised drinking hell, but Nick Peters, manager of Mamasita, is on a mission to improve its image.
Peters’ first experience with mescal wasn’t flash either, although things have changed pretty radically since then. “About nine out of ten people had a pretty terrible first experience with tequila or mescal,” Peters laughs. “They come into our restaurant thinking that and they don’t want to try it, but nine out of ten people will actually take the plunge and give it a bash. It’s a lot different from the stuff we used to drink in the park.”
Peters has been at Mamasita, Melbourne’s best-loved authentic Mexican drinking and dining establishment, for four and a half years now and became an operating partner as of this year, but his love affair with Mexican cuisine goes back way further. About 15 years ago he was kicking about in Spain with a couple of Mexican, Central American and South American fellas who helped him to get a grip on Mexican flavours and understand the Spanish influence on the food. While he’s kept a pretty keen interest in Mexican tucker since, he’s equally interested in mescal and tequila, so much so that he’s just qualified as a Master Mescalier.
In order to qualify, Peters undertook a pretty rigorous course sanctioned by the Mexican Government in Oaxaca, the home of mescal, which tested him on every aspect of mescal making: all the way from identifying various types of agave plant, from which mescal is made, and telling whether they are ripe, through to production and bottling.
The qualification also means that the Mexican Government deems him competent to produce his own hooch.“It’s given me a very different level of appreciation for what’s involved with mescal production as opposed to other spirits,” Peters explains. “Every single aspect of making mescal is difficult, the initial part being that plants take from six to 20 years to mature. It’s not like grain or corn where you’re getting a crop every year. You’ve really got to think about what you’re doing.”
You can grow agave anywhere there’s not too much rain, but you can only call it mescal if it comes from one of the eight certified mescal making States in Mexico. That said, Australia’s got some suitably arid bits, so Peters is now keen to investigate making a home-grown spirit. “I know people who have got stills who are dying to do it,” Peters enthuses.
Just as excitingly, Peters has also been given the green light to run the initial stages of the Master Mescalier training in Australia (the last stage needs to be completed on the ground in Oaxaca). Depending on interest, Peters is looking to run the course here as early as next year.
The course has also inspired Peters to broaden the already impressive array of Mamasita’s beverages. While Mamasita has always had a gob-smacking tequila and mescal list, it’s always been more heavily weighted towards tequila. Peters plans to rectify the imbalance by introducing more mescal and bumping up the mescal cocktail list. It’s a timely development because folks are becoming increasingly curious about mescal and Peters has some views as to why.
“It’s really old school and romantic – a mum and dad cottage kind of thing,” he observes. “In a time when everything is being corporatised and big brands are owned by bigger brands, with mescal there’s still a really good opportunity to get products and brands that haven’t been messed up by a boardroom. It’s a guy with a donkey on the side of a hill and a hole in the ground and he cooks the stuff himself and puts it in a bottle.”
If you’re interested in the course drop Peters an email at info@mamasita.com.au.
Magic Falls Photo: cascadas mágicas de Copalitilla
Magic Falls Photo: cascadas mágicas de Copalitilla
cascadas mágicas de Copalitilla (Iosifkirov, May 2013)
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