La Medida Mezcal
On March 8th, 2023, Michael Steiger of Aromas of Mexico and Niagara GmbH from Cologne, with its managing director Davood Pourhassan Mehrabani, invited us to a brilliant mezcal tasting, which we surely didn't want to miss.
Niagara is, by the way, a wholesaler for spirits and other alcoholic beverages that is often overlooked by local, private customers, but should not be underestimated. It is less focused on rare things (single casks, special bottlings, small independent brands, etc.), but offers a large selection from various standard ranges and unbeatable prices. To be precise, it is the only local store that can keep up with internet pricing or even undercut them and shines especially in terms of rum, gin and tequila/mezcal, as well as liqueurs (they mainly supply gastronomy).
Aromas of Mexico, in turn, is Steiger's own import & distribution company for, as the name suggests, all sorts of special products from Mexico, the home of one of his parents and also his own home of choice for over 6 years, after an slightly spiritual experience with mezcal while visiting the country of his family. Among them is of course also the mezcal range that was the subject of interest this time: La Medida.
The photos shown do not even do justice to the ingenious location, the event took place in the Winebank in Cologne, near the Ebertplatz. A perfectly designed place for any kind of tasting or smaller event, between rare wine bottles of private collectors (the concept of the Winebank), historic vaults and modern, minimalist interior.
The next point why the tasting was unbeatable: The price point, I strongly suspect only as a promotional tool, the entire La Medida range, two other mezcals contributed for comparison by Niagara, as well as a sotol and a coffee liqueur, both again by Aromas of Mexico, could be tasted for 20€. In words again: twenty. Semi-crazy, but I certainly don't want to complain.
The whole thing was led by Michael Steiger himself, very direct, open, likable, on 2-3 occasions for my personal taste a little too spiritual concerning drinking mezcal and its seemingly semi-magical abilities, but in the end the whole evening was a lot of fun, on a human as well as alcoholic-culinary level.
Now about the spirits themselves, as well as the tasting notes.
I have been able to accumulate some experience with several mezcal ranges, in well-equipped mezcal bars, or mezcalerias, via samples, etc. and yet I must say, La Medida belongs to one of the best line ups that I could try so far on average. Complexity meets clear character, each type of agave comes through clearly with its own traits in the final product, but even the entry level espadin is one of the best espadins and with that generally mezcals in the 50 euro range I've had so far and will definitely be in the home bar at Liquid Thoughts soon.
My 3 highlights of the tasting: the aforementioned Espadin for its price (37,90€!). In addition, the Herencia de Plata coffee liqueur, one of the best of its kind, actually surprised me very positively. Deep mocha notes with just a subtle earthy agave in the background. Third, the choice of the specific rare agave is difficult, as I said all had their characteristics and it becomes largely a matter of subjective preference. However, I have always been enthralled by mezcals with surprisingly intense, rather atypical notes (such as strong fruity notes in this case), so my personal winner in the end was the Tobasiche agave with clear raspberry and pomegranate, but also generally a complex aroma play for the category.
The products can be purchased mainly from Niagara GmbH or directly from Aromas of Mexico (in both cases in Germany).
The notes are a little shorter than usual in our case, because a lot was tasted in quite a short amount of time while listening closely to the words of Michael Steiger.
La Medida Mezcal Joven Espadin 40,62%
Nose:
Gingery, fibrous, a crushed and cooked agave style, grilled pineapple discreetly behind that, some corn and floss, almost no smoke, very delicately hidden behind minerality and wet pebbles, nicely rounded and complex, after 15 minutes the smoke becomes a bit more present, straw smoke, the dry type, but it remains elegant
Taste:
Citrus peel, straw, dried agave, grilled pineapple, green apple, cardamom, camphor, saffron, minerality, not as smoky as a Vida but definitely on par with other higher quality espadins in the category
Finish:
Minerality, cardamom, camphor, dry grasses
86/100 Points
Casamigos Mezcal Espadin 39% (bonus, as a comparison in the tasting)
Nose:
Glue, perfume-like almost, intense, salsa, spicy, already fermented, mushy agave, freshly mashed peanut, very weird, wasabi, later even parmesan
Taste:
Quite monotonous, charcoal smoke, peanuts, wood, agave, agave syrup, vanilla, black pepper
Finish:
Smoke, agave, salt and pepper
85/100 Points
La Medida Mezcal Joven Tobalá 40%
Nose:
Slight barn smell (positive, wild), hay, dry grasses, fresh almonds pureed, sweet grasses, lychee, limestone, cannabis
Taste:
Grasses, pear, fresh agave still juicy, fennel, cardamom, licorice, light honey, cantaloupe, roasted potatoes, roasted onions
Finish:
Pear, roasted almonds, distinctly woody and noticeable charcoal smoke, roasted onions, long, pine nuts
89/100 Points
Perro de San Juan Mezcal Abocado Grana Cochinilla 42,3% (bonus, as comparison in the tasting)
Nose:
Just a hint of actual agave, cherry pits, cherry blossoms, vanilla, some frosted raspberry, cinnamon
Taste:
Subtle dry raspberries, sweet grasses, candied ginger, eucalyptus, hint of red chilies, white pepper, mint, cinnamon
Finish:
White pepper, licorice, a bit thin, agave, standard, medium length
85/100 Points
Michael Steiger from Aromas of Mexico und Niagara managing director Davood Pourhassan Mehrabani / Copyright: Niagara GmbH
La Medida Mezcal Joven Tobasiche 45%
Nose:
Crazy, raspberry vinegar, pomegranate, fresh salsa, sea salt flakes, acetone, nail polish remover, sour cherry, just a hint of agave essence far back
Taste:
Raspberries, dry and fresh, red apple, pomegranate, white pepper, ginger, sour cherry, licorice, anise, artichoke rather than agave, intense and concentrated
Finish:
Pomegranate, saffron, ginger, red fruits, eucalyptus, long
92/100 Points
Cosecha Imperial Sotol 40%
Nose:
Anise, cucumber, wet grass, ginger, salt, wet pebbles, very acidic fresh, invigorating
Taste:
Exciting, disinfectant, fresh, cucumber in water, mint, ginger juice, wet grass, very bright, fresh agave, salt, bergamot peel
Finish:
Minerality, grasses, anise, salt, eucalyptus, medium length, tonic
86/100 Points
La Medida Mezcal Joven Jabalí 48%
Nose:
Capers, extremely intense, dry, salt, black olive, sourdough, wet wood and a touch of horse stable
Taste:
Grasses, sourdough, camphor, cardamom, ginger syrup, salt flakes, very light greenish agave, capers, balsamic, zucchini, pecorino
Finish:
Light woods, sweet woods, camphor, ginger juice, eucalyptus, long, very dry
90/100 Points
La Medida Mezcal Joven Bicuishe 47%
Nose:
Freshly grilled salmon, salt, acidic, fresh vinegar, olive brine, currant, garlic, hint of acethon, jasmine
Taste:
Zucchini, fresh salmon, artichoke, sour cherry, licorice, eucalyptus, plum, salt, nettle tea, highest quality marc brandy, lavender
Finish:
Nettle and fennel, salt, salmon, onion, vinegar, long, some herbal honey
91/100 Points
La Medida Mezcal Joven Madrecuishe 47,1%
Nose:
Quite close to fresh sugar cane juice, very mineral, limestone, anise, almond, floral, bright notes in between, Rhum Agricole
Taste:
Lots of stones, minerality, shale, granite, pebbles, ginger, anise, salt, nettle, laurel, juniper, quite unique, fresh, dry and slightly herbal
Finish:
Moist, slightly sweet smoke, sweet grasses, ginger, zucchini, fennel, juniper, medium length
89/100 Points
