Last week here in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, we were “guided” towards the edge of an area where apparently poppies abound and the drug cartels compete to rule. We were there to see a Mezcal factory.
We were treated to a fantastic sampling of high-end mezcal right out of the barrel, being welcomed into the home of an elderly producer of this growing export product.
Mezcal is a distilled alcoholic drink made from the maguey plant, a form of agave. It is oven-cooked and has a smoky flavour.
Our guide, whose nickname was “Natcho,” was a man we met the last time we were here and who took me in the backcountry on horseback behind the beach/tourism areas of the city.
He had explained how people on the small farms and orchards still farm like they used to on small plots of 10-30 acres after land reform, which followed the revolution.
We travelled by local buses one and a half hours to get to our destination, the town of Villacitos, where we toured a mezcal factory, not operating because of the season.
Our guide translated long explanations into simple English.
On the street our guide ran into one of his cowboy (charro) buddies and we were invited to a Friday evening gathering where horses and cattle were on show. We were treated to the host’s show of his “dancing” horses.
Cold Coronas were served — never a warm or empty beer. Our host said “Mi casa es su casa”— “My house is your house.”
A traditional meal is pork cooked (deep fried) over an open fire in a large pot.
The skin was served first then the meat in a chili sauce. I have never tasted pork as flavourful, adorned by lettuce and additional hot sauces. Cold beer cools the hot chilis.
We were taken on a tour of a new high-end hotel to open in June.
Some families in the town have a dream of a tourist route based on the showcasing of Mezcal production from beginning to the ultimate tasting and drinking.
Keep some of the best here, they are thinking and add value to the experience, rather than export it and serve second best to the tourists.
We were treated to the dream in its partial realization, as the first foreign visitors to see the hotel in this small town on what is to be the “Guave Route.”
The hospitality was second to none: “Mi Casa es su Casa.”
Next time: Charro Rodeo.
David Zirnhelt is a member of the Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association and chair of the advisory committee for the Applied Sustainable Ranching program which started at Thompson Rivers University in Williams Lake this January.