Thursday July 11th 2019
Madre is not only a respected restaurant for preserving traditional Oaxacan culture in the South Bay of LA but its also the premier magnet for all things mezcal. In the past half decade mezcal has become a phenomenon taking over bar backdrops around LA and replacing Gin and Rye in classic cocktails like Manhattans and Negronis, because in all honesty, its better.
While we are in the midst of a legit “mezcal boom” as people’s palates change to agave spirits , we are starting to see the limits of what a hard-to-create spirit can produce if done properly. This is the real reason for the mezcal and food pairing event at Madre, an event created to raise awareness amongst people to choose brands that do more than sell you cheap, watered down concoctions your parents drank that made them cringe, known as having a worm in it, and do nothing for the communities that produce it.
Mezcal royalty attended the event, Ulises Torrentera, an author who has written on mezcal and is also now a maker of mezcal highlighting the heart and passion of small batch producers throughout Oaxaca. I was lucky enough to share a quick conversation with him before the event and it was like talking to well of information on the topic. Opinionated, well-versed and a never ending hitter of questions I pitched at him. It was wonderful. Check out the podcast section for the interview I had with him its worth the listen despite the sounds of construction in the background.
Ulises is currently on a West Coast California tour promoting his brand, Farolito, but more importantly he is promoting respect for Mezcal and the efforts it takes to create it. Ulises, I use his first name but feel like I should refer to him as Doctor or Sir or some other title to show respect for his superior knowledge on a subject he clearly knows more than anyone around me, and most likely you reading this. Again, Ulises, is a proponent of the real real. The Mezcal that is difficult to produce, takes decades to cultivate and is expensive because money has to go to the rural communities that create it as this may be their only source of sustainability. Such was the case with Farolito and the event at Madre.
The fancy food and the great mezcal were but a fabulous smoke screen for charity, the continued funding for a library in Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca, a community that even local government there neglects. Its really the beginning to most mezcal fables written on the back of bottles, dirt roads lead to a small village and blah blah people find it a romantic origin story for the spirit they hold in their hand. While thats totaly true and you might feel like Cortez conquering a foreign land one bottle at a time, real people work, live and have needs in those communities. Real people need public places the government wont build. Real people with real work ethics and pride say “fuck it we can do it ourselves” and mezcal will pay for it. Beautiful.
The auction proceeded the tasting and it drove more money for computers and other needs at this remote library which is a focal point for the community there. It was a beautiful night filled with great spirits and better company, I showed up alone and made friends with more than enough dope people.
On to the Mezcal however. We tried the Papalometl(known also as cupreta in other states of Mexico), Horno and Penca Verde. The Tacos de Barbacoa came with a side dish of salsa that was like a dip able enchilada and like a hungry cat I dipped it using my digits. It was beyond great and it was two of my favorite items of the night. In the Papalometl you found mineraluty and grit and purity. The tacos were honest, not spicy but well seasoned and tender. The Horno was aggressive, abrasive and my number two, solid and Id like to do a side by side with Laphroaig because its the closest thing I can compare it to. This was my favorite pairing because the smoke stood up to the pork meatyness from the Memela, a flat taco type deal made with blue corn from Kernal of Truth Organics and the salsa de chile canica, a chile thats imported directly to Madre once a week. Whoa! is all I have to say on that. The final pairing was “perfect” in the complete sense of the word “balance”. Farolito’s Penca Verde is balanced, fermented in clay pots and distilled in clay pots and comes out perfectly level on all flavor fronts. Smoke doesn’t over power the agave, the heat doesn’t interfere with the flavor. Matched up with wings of green mole around perfectly cooked Cod in the middle of the plate accompanied by white rice this was a people pleaser and I could see why, nothing beat out anything else, it paired and did it masterfully.
My taste is intense so Horno was legit. But if Im trying to be real, its the papalometl. If Im being real real, they are worth you seeking out and I enjoy peoples opinions.
In the end, its important to support small producers versus faceless corporations currently seeing the mezcal boom and trying to build profits, meanwhile these people are building libraries. Special thanks to Ivan Vasquez, the manager of Madre which is truly Mezcal Mecca in LA is not the entire West Coast for creating such an event. Also special thanks to to Bryant Orozco who you will catch behind the bar at your next Madre Mezcal pilgrimage, ask him anything he will be super happy to answer all your questions. Plus, Ulises thank you for taking the time to talk to me, truly an honor.
Peace