Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo – and anyone with access to alcohol is going to be celebrating the beautiful tradition of getting wasted off their ass, Mexico-style. So to give you an idea of what you’re in for, we’re re-posting my first-hand experience with the joys hazards of downing a little too much of the Mexican liquor:

Everyone I’ve ever met has a dark past with tequila. Just the mention of it makes their face go sour–the shots, the smell, the blinding drunk, and a hellacious hangover the next morning. For some reason, I am not one of those people. But after my family vacation to Mexico last week, I learned a bit about another South-of-the-Border brew: Mezcal.

Like tequila (which is actually a type of mezcal), mezcal is made from agave, a cactus-like plant, native to Mexico. Mezcals are often aged, in oak barrels, for two months to seven years, giving the alcohol a brown coloration and woody flavor, but are available un-aged and clear.

Connoisseurs will tell you the best mezcals come from the Mexican state of Oaxaca (wah-hock-ah). To fully enjoy the complexities of this subtle liquor, go to the city of Oaxaca, the state’s capital, who’s colonial architecture and friendly people only add to the liquor’s historic mystic. And also serves as the perfect setting to get way, way too drunk. Read More »

If there’s one thing that nearly every nation in nearly every corner in the world has in common, it’s a deep rooted history in getting sh*tfaced. Be you Mexican, Russian, Chinese or Polish, chances are that you love to drink, your parents love to drink, and your kids sure as hell better love to drink too. Alcoholism? Hardly! This is cultural heritage.

And just as every country has its preferred method of administering God’s medicine (Russians have vodka, Japanese have sake, Mexicans have mezcal, Irish have all of the above) every country also has its preferred method of fending off the debilitating morning sickness that a healthy night of drinking ensures. As you might expect, they range from common sense remedies like strong coffee or tea, to… tripe soup.

Yup, the favored hangover remedy of the country of Romania is tripe (cow stomach) soup. It’s like Gatorade, just with less electrolytes and more animal intestines. Germans choose pickled herring to chase the morning blues, Mexicans favor shrimp and shellfish, Russians take a trip to the sauna while chewing some leafy birch branches to get the blood flowing, and Japanese chew on pickled plums to cure their morning sickness. So, basically, never go drinking in Romania…

(Image: National Geographic)

Everyone I’ve ever met has a dark past with tequila. Just the mention of it makes their face go sour–the shots, the smell, the blinding drunk, and a hellacious hangover the next morning. For some reason, I am not one of those people. But after my family vacation to Mexico last week, I learned a bit about another South-of-the-Border brew: Mezcal.

Like tequila (which is actually a type of mezcal), mezcal is made from agave, a cactus-like plant, native to Mexico. Mezcals are often aged, in oak barrels, for two months to seven years, giving the alcohol a brown coloration and woody flavor, but are available un-aged and clear.

Connoisseurs will tell you the best mezcals come from the Mexican state of Oaxaca (wah-hock-ah). To fully enjoy the complexities of this subtle liquor, go to the city of Oaxaca, the state’s capital, who’s colonial architecture and friendly people only add to the liquor’s historic mystic. (more…)