Is single village mezcal the next big thing?

October 23, 12:08 PMChicago Drinks ExaminerCharles Cowdery

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Sombra Mezcal
DSWE

For years, Armagnac was Cognac’s poor relation. Then Armagnac makers put the press on and made their brandy as prestigious as Cognac, maybe better since it’s still fashionably unknown.

Mezcal makers occupy the same station and would like to do the same thing to Tequila. The latest wrinkle is single village mezcals like Sombra, a new import from the Classic & Vintage Artisanal Spirits Portfolio of Domaine Select Wine Estates (DSWE).

“We see mezcal as an exciting and growing spirit category,” said Allison Domeneghetti, chief operating officer of DSWE, “and have been searching for a mezcal partner that embodies the Classic & Vintage artisan philosophy. It is a natural fit for our portfolio and is now the exclusive mezcal spirit in our collection.”

The analogy with Armagnac and Cognac isn’t precisely correct, because mezcal is the term for any agave spirit, of which Tequila is a sub-type. Mezcal is to tequila as brandy is to Cognac. That’s why Sombra is further differentiated as a micro batch, single village spirit made from organically farmed heritage Espadin agave from the high Sierra of Oaxaca, Mexico.

Spirits brands live or die on their stories and Sombra’s has a lot of layers. For instance, to make the bottles for Sombra, used glass is collected from around Oaxaca, smashed into small pieces and then poured into a solar-powered furnace. Each bottle is hand extracted and blown into a proprietary mold, so no two bottles are exactly the same.

Sombra Mezcal is available in the Chicago area for about $45 a bottle.