Mezcal from Mexico Gets Comprehensive Coverage in Holy Smoke: A Book Review

In less than a decade, mezcal, Mexico’s iconic spirit with a history dating back at least 400+ years, has emerged from the doldrums and finally earned a reputation as a quality spirit. Until now, its history, nuances, regulation, and myriad incarnations have been essentially ignored in popular English-language non-fiction literature, in favor of treatises that focus on tequila, another well-known major agave-based spirit. In Holy Smoke! It’s Mezcal! The Complete Guide from Agave to Zapotec (Mezcal PhD Publishing, 2014), John McEvoy does much more than distinguish the two Mexican spirits in a detailed and concise manner. He pays homage to mezcal, while at the same time providing his fans and novices with a wealth of information in an entertaining and often light-hearted manner.

Chapters are titled and presented in an organized and easily summarized manner, allowing the reader to quickly find a selected area of ​​interest. Although this is the case, since Holy Smoke! it’s a quick read, one is more apt to pick it up and not put it down again until it’s finished. The photographs, plates, and illustrations are well placed and captioned to enhance their ability to be used as a tool to capture the essence of the minutiae of the text and McEvoy’s message.

McEvoy’s enumeration of the history of Mexican alcoholic beverages puts mezcal in a clear and understandable context. He legitimately devotes a significant portion of a chapter to pulque, the most popular fermented beverage during pre-Hispanic times, and then traces its use to the present, along with other Mexican spirits such as sotol, bacanora, and raicilla.

McEvoy’s coverage of the variety of agave species and subspecies distilled across the country is admirable. However, he does not get bogged down in the ongoing discussion of nomenclature. Rather, he acknowledges the disagreements and in chart form lists the species, then along with them several of the subspecies and common names according to where the distillation takes place. McEvoy would agree that it is a no-win situation for any hobbyist, distiller, or even so-called expert in the field to try to definitively resolve problems on which botanists and taxonomists cannot reach consensus. In any case, although it states that the species (and, in my opinion, by implication, the subspecies where there is agreement) is the primary determinant of the flavor profile, with the plethora of other influences on aroma and hue, the dogmatism in species and subspecies identification terms do not get us very far in our search for aroma and flavor profiles.

There are three sections of the book that stand out more than the rest. McEvoy’s treatment of aging is admirable. He is in favor of praising a good reposado or añejo, and gives little thought to those who would disdain anything but a Joven. Similarly, without mentioning by name others who simply dismiss the concept of mezcal cocktails, he joins the Manhattan cocktail crowd, even going so far as to include a chapter on mezcal cocktail recipes.

I have been around mezcal for a quarter of a century and have written about its sustainability and how the nuances of mezcal are myriad and rampant. McEvoy’s sections on maintaining a healthy industry for all, and his detailing of the myriad influences exerted on each batch of the spirit produced, provide food for thought…for all of us. The modern era of mezcal is still very young. At a number, each of us should be continually open to learning, even those who live and have lived mezcal and nothing else. In fact, it is refreshing to have witnessed experienced palenqueros like Douglas French (Scorpion Mezcal, as well as up-and-coming youngsters within the industry like Judah Kuper (Mezcal Vago), both eager to be taught by others. And so those who think they know it all, they should at least acknowledge that a quick read of Holy Smoke could serve as a refresher on aspects of the industry that haven’t been considered for some time.

I’d be handed over if I didn’t point out the shortcomings in Holy Smoke! Sometimes the book was too anecdotal for me, referring to issues that had nothing to do with mezcal. On the other hand, McEvoy’s excellent use of quotes from industry experts was valuable and illustrative of the breadth of research that went into the book. However, following a lengthy and utterly wonderful quote from Stephen Myers (Illegal Mezcal), in which he romanticizes mezcal in a somewhat sultry way, McEvoy states, “Yeah. I like that. I could have added, ‘and it’s f- —-g awesome!'” just detracted from what he was trying to convey.

On occasion, McEvoy inadvertently fell into the trap of others, asserting absolutes where there are none, to the point that it would have been more accurate to use qualifying words such as “approximately”, “mainly”, “in general”, etc. etc. ; in one case, he simply pigeonholes mezcal as artisanal and tequila as industrial. Finally, while McEvoy does an admirable job of explaining and synthesizing COMERCAM’s complex regulatory scheme, he errs in stating that “mezcal must be bottled at the distillery,” and at one point confuses COMERCAM export figures with of sales. But as suggested at the beginning, his main target audience is not those who are integrally involved in the industry, or those with visions of becoming exporters, but hobbyists; whether they are spirits aficionados, tequila enthusiasts, or newbies to mezcal and other agave-based spirits, as well as bartenders, mixologists, and restaurant owners interested in advancing their knowledge with a view to better serving their customers.

Holy Smoke! It’s Mezcal! The Complete Guide from Agave to Zapotec should be included in the personal library of everyone interested in Mexican fermented or distilled beverages. The breadth of coverage is impressive. While the depth does not rival that of certain topics contained in the third (and first bilingual edition) of Ulises Torrentera’s Mezcalería Cultura del Mezcal The Cult of Mezcal, John McEvoy’s comprehensive treatment of a wide range of topics related to the mezcal and agave is second to none. To this extent, it stands as an important contribution to the growing body of literature on mezcal.