SMOKING SMOKE

An investigation of mezcal’s most famous and divisive flavor, and what we might find beyond it

Saturday, October 24 / Sunnyside, Queens / 5 to 8 pm / $115

And yet through all this diff’rence, I alone / Smoked his true person, talk’d with him; but he / Fled me with wiles still… — Helen, recounting how Odysseus, disguised as a beggar, crept through the streets of Troy

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A forgotten definition of the word “smoke,” as deployed above: “to smell out; to hunt out; to find out; to detect.” Then more obviously, there is the stuff that comes from a fire — the visible “substance that escapes … a burning body, especially from burning vegetable matter.”

Less poetic, but very relevant here, are the phrases “smoky tequila” and “smoked agave.”

This is a tasting about all of these things.

In particular, it’s an exploration of the language and concepts we apply to mezcal, and whether the one thing everyone “knows” about it — that it tastes smoky — is a fact, a myth, an understandable but unhelpful generalization, or a big old pile of burning vegetation.

And: What might we taste, other than smokiness, if we set the whole smoke thing aside?

This tasting of at least eight heritage agave spirits, accompanied by light snacks, will take place at our private space in Sunnyside, Queens. (If the weather cooperates, we might gather in the backyard.) As always, you’ll try mezcals that we’ve been slowly collecting over the past decade or so — and many limited and special batches. You’ll also meet new people around our single communal table.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

To sign up, please fill out the form below, and we’ll send you an email to finalize things and coordinate payment via Venmo or Zelle. Feel free to send an email with any questions: hello@mezcal.nyc.

Thanks for reading — it would be a pleasure to share this evening with you!

Complete this form to sign up for SMOKING SMOKE and join us on Saturday, October 24, at 5 pm, for an evening of agave spirits and light snacks. We request a donation of $115 per guest.