Op-ed: Why You Should Care About Tequila and Agave Spirits
Drinking the Holy Spirit.
This World Tequila Day, we’re shining a spotlight on what we think is Australia’s most diverse Tequila and Mezcal selection, and here’s why.
Approx 4 minute read.
For many people, tequila begins and ends with a Margarita.
But tequila, like many other big scary spirits that come in big, fancy bottles, happens to be a diverse plot line of delight that isn’t actually as scary as the monster in the doorway. What even is it though?
This World Tequila Day, we warmly invite Sydney to come and find out.
“I hear tequila, I hear mezcal, I hear agave spirits. Eat the worm, don’t eat the worm, don’t drink it on an empty stomach or it’ll turn you hairy. What about the scorpion? Isn’t it poisonous? Why does it make me horny? Should it make me horny? It burns!”
What does it all mean? Why should I even care?
Tequila, quite simply put, is an agave spirit. It’s the product of distilling blue agave plants in one of five officially designated states throughout Mexico, with a heavily protected and regulated production process. Much like Champagne is in the wine world, these regulations ensure it’s an authentic product, part of an authentic process, for the best possible outcome.
You’ve probably heard of mezcal too, tequila’s weird cousin that also happens to be its own Dad? Mezcal is an agave spirit made from over 30 different types of agave plant (including the same blue agave that makes tequila), with much wilder flavour possibilities, and much wilder production methods. If tequila is only a handful of styles, mezcal is an Orion’s Belt of agave styles: hundreds, if not thousands.
Not all mezcal is tequila, but all tequila is mezcal. You get it!
Cantina OK!
Super 44, Cantina OK!, Centro 86 and Tio’s are our cocktail bars dedicated to the beauty of the margarita.
And by that same creed and proxy, dedicated to the exciting world of agave spirits that produce their magic.
Tio’s
The four back bars of each venue span a total of 328 tequilas and 118 mezcals, alongside raicilla, sotol, bacanora and other agave distillates, showcasing the diversirty of Mexico's agave traditions. The selection ranges from globally recognised tequila houses to small-scale backyard productions, informed in part by years spent travelling through Mexico, developing relationships with distillers and locals.
Across the selection are spirits made from at least 37 agave varieties, including wild agaves that can take literal DECADES to reach maturity before being harvested. Some bottles reflect a single agave batch that can never be made again, and are almost certainly never encountered outside that particular distillery it was made in.
The selection spans styles on styles: from tequilas made using traditional stone-crushing techniques, mezcals distilled in clay pots, to high-strength bottlings, pechugas and tequilas aged for longer than your childhood CD collection’s sat in your parent’s garage. Behind many bottles are multi-generation distilling families, preserving arcane methods and unspoken intuition that pre-dates the tequila industry we have now.
Centro 86
While Mexico remains the traditional home of agave, it continues to evolve around the planet. Alongside rare Mexican selections, our back bars even feature Australian agave spirits from Queensland-grown blue agave, and a kangaroo pechuga inspired by one of Mexico's oldest distilling traditions (suspending a chicken breast and fruit inside the still, infusing rich, silky textures in to the spirit).
“There are so many unbelievable stories to hear, and such a wild history of knowledge to get lost in when you start diving into tequila and agave spirits. Our first encounters with these spirits here in Australia are, usually, while nursing a diabolical headache the night after drinking rocket fuel at a Year 12 after party. But it couldn't be further from what these spirits are really like.
Every bottle is a product of the hands it passes through. Hands that have perfected modern and ancestral techniques, passed down the family tree like treasure. So much effort, so much time, blood, sweat, tears, soil and intuition are behind these bottles, and they're pretty spectacular.
From the refined processes of traditional tequila varieties, to the backyard distilleries tucked 3 hours drive away, up an active volcano, deep into the local jaguar's hunting ground — the story always comes back to mother Gaia - the earth. Agave plants and soil produce flavours you wouldn't imagine come from a bottle of mezcal or tequila: hints of choc-orange, creamy fermented fruit, spicy pineapple, dusty leather and mint, or even the salty citrus tang of getting dunked at the beach.
You never know what you're going to discover half the time, and that's what makes it so exciting. Have an open mind, and you're in for something pretty special."Clayton Ciolac
Group Brand & Design Director
Each venue offers a different way to scuba into the agave ocean.
Centro 86 is home to our largest tequila back bar, while Cantina OK! is known for the super rare, small-batch mezcal, personally sourced from amazing rural distilleries in some incredibly remote towns, all during the team's annual Mexico trips.
Super 44, our brand new agave-focused venue, presents a curated cross-section of the entire category, with a bit of something for everyone to dip a toe or five in.
While Tio’s, our very first agave bar, broadens the back bar selection from absolute classics, to the weirder side of it all. Equally suited to a first-time drinker curious to know more, and the seasoned agave heads ready to explore the enchanted forest.
If you’re discovering your first tequila beyond the Margarita, welcome! If you’re seeking out a rare bottle to experience this World Tequila Day, welcome. There’s no more perfect excuse to do it.
Explore these spirits with our bartenders. They’re some of the most dedicated and passionate people who love this treasured spirit as much as anyone in the world. They’ve got brilliant stories, and an amazing knowledge to explain the product, places and traditions behind the spirits.
Every day is World Tequila Day. Worm, or no worm.
