Quiquiriqui Mezcal Espadin 70cl

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He offers several reasons why traditionally made mezcal is as sustainable an industry as they come: "Mezcal made with wild agave is the most highly coveted, which has sparked concerns that in a few decades there'll be none left. Some brand owners run an annual program in which small agave are planted and left to mature, and some communities only permit residents to harvest wild agave from communal land if the palenquero agrees to plant two small agave for every mature one harvested." Mezcal brand Quiquiriqui has unveiled a bag-in-box format for the on-trade as its latest sustainable solution to glass waste. Quiquiriqui’s bag-in-box format is a continuation of the brand’s efforts to support local communities The Quiquiriqui Mezcal Bag-In-Box contains five litres of the brand’s flagship Espadin mezcal – the equivalent of seven 700ml glass bottles; one more bottle than in a standard case. Shoppers were “looking for the latest craft spirits and unique flavours to make their drinks the talking point at parties”, said Waitrose spirits buyer John Vine. En route, I whizzed down the highway, past hundreds of signs offering mezcal tours and the chance to try, in situ, mezcal made at one of the roadside palenques. Mezcal tourism in Oaxaca is booming and I've become one of its tourists, determined to uncover the spirit's secrets. And, I learn, it all starts with the agave.

Mezcal" without the qualifier is not dissimilar to tequila: there are ways the process is shortened to make it easier to make in quantity, but it contains more agave than its cousin. "Ancestral" and "artisanal", however, are what Scotch once was to whiskey: intensely antiquated, primordial beverages that tell stories as well as providing a great nightcap. The agave most commonly used to make mezcal. It matures in eight years and gives the highest yield. Tepaztate Most mezcaleros are producing tiny batch, non-certified mezcals with unique characters and flavours that they just sell in their villages using the same processes as their family has for hundreds of years. It's these traditionally made mezcals that are enchanting bartenders and drinkers in London and beyond. The mezcal industry has changed dramatically in the seven years since I started, and you just need to look at tequila to see where we're currently headed." We only use wood that is diseased or has fallen in our palenque and plant a higher ratio of agave than we use," says Symonds, who produces Quiquiriqui mezcal with Blas and several other small producers whose palenque and agave fields I visit.This process is where mezcal differs to tequila. Confusingly, the term 'mezcal' can broadly be used to refer to any agave spirit, so it covers tequila, mezcal and more – and mezcal sits in its own category under the same name, just to make things complicated. Currently in residence at Curio Cabal on Kingsland Road, Sin Gusano is part business, part passion project, part social enterprise. Darby wants to teach people about good mezcal, and focuses on buying small amounts of traditionally made mezcals at local prices, importing tiny batches. The project has committed 5% of profits from this trading activity to sustainable growth programs and charitable causes in Oaxaca. Quiquiriqui's mezcals are all single estate – or palenque – handmade in Mexico. Brand owner Melanie Symonds partners with families who have been producing mezcal in their communities for generations, creating small-batch mezcals with locally grown agaves. The brand's wild tobola mezcal has a limited run to protect the wild agave population.

In the wilderness of the dusty, gently undulating hills in Oaxaca, Mexico, rows and rows of blue-green agave plants appear to march militantly into the horizon, their spikes stretching up towards the bright sun like grasping fingers. Here, in a field just outside Santiago Matatlan – a village about an hour's drive from the brightly painted buildings of Oaxaca City – I'm seeing the incredible plants that are used to make mezcal, the mysterious Mexican spirit that's currently driving drinks aficionados to the point of obsession.This agave takes a mere 30 years to mature – resulting in an intensely flavourful, aromatic mezcal and making it understandably popular. Tobaziche Those making mezcal in an artisanal way adhere to the ethos of 'permaculture' as much as you'll find in Mexico," says Starkman. "For me, permaculture is the weaving together of what nature can provide in a microclimate, with material goods and human needs and aspirations, in an ethical manner that sustains the complete system."

But, aside from flavour, perhaps mezcal's most entrancing quality is the chance to build an industry that's sustainable for both the local communities and the environment. Sadly this isn't always the case. "There's choice of industrialising to meet demand – having stainless steel column stills, machinery to crush and adding chemicals to speed up fermentation. Some brands go in that direction; they industrialise and lose quality," says Starkman. "I have a friend whose family has been in the business since the 1800s. When we became friends 25 years ago, he produced great mezcal. He started producing for an export brand, it became successful, and the quality of his mezcal suffered." Right now, we've still got a real chance to influence the industry by guiding consumers to make the right decisions," says Darby, which is one of the reasons he ended up setting up Sin Gusano and the Mas evenings.

A bluffer’s guide to mezcal

Like most palenqueros, Blas and his family have been producing mezcal for generations, with few adjustments to the process. Once mature, the agaves are harvested by hand, the spikes ( pencas) cut off to leave just the pineapple-shaped heart, or piña, which is then taken to the palenque (distillery) to be turned into mezcal.