Turns Out There's A Right Way To Drink Mezcal
NEWS
By ANDREW AMELINCKX
Unless you're drinking your mezcal in a cocktail, you should sip it straight in a jicara, copita, or veladora, which are traditional Mexican vessels designed for drinking mezcal.
Made from a calabash gourd, the shallow, bowl-like jicara is the most authentic cup used for mezcal. Its wide mouth lets you get your nose in close and smell the spirit as you sip.
Copitas look similar to jicaras but are made of clay. Many mezcal aficionados prefer them over jicaras because copitas, unlike the naturally porous jicaras, don’t absorb the drink.
A more modern glass is the veladora, a Catholic votive candle holder that somehow got repurposed for mezcal sipping. It resembles a shot glass but is fluted and has a wider mouth.
Mezcal is traditionally enjoyed with an orange slice sprinkled with sal de gusano, a seasoned salt made with the caterpillar of the red worm moth that feeds off agave plants.
To make it, the toasted caterpillars are ground up and mixed with chiles and salt. Sal de gusano can be found online, at many Hispanic specialty stores, and some liquor stores.
To enjoy mezcal properly, take a bite of the salted orange slice and sip the liquor. The umami, smoky, and spicy salt and the sweet, acidic orange will boost the spirit’s flavors.
