As Scottish as whiskey is, it does thrive on the grains of North America. Now an ancient Mexican corn is shaking up the traditional Highland recipe, giving a unique blend of Old and New Worlds,
Author of Single Malt: A Guide To the whiskies of Scotland and TImes obituary (!!!!???) writer Clay Risen wrote about this blend in yesterday's New York Times Food section.Mr. Risen writes about one of the Yucatan Peninsula's oldest corn breeds the nal t'teel or rooster corn so ninknamed because it grows quickly and is unobthered by heavy rains or drought.It emerged f0ur thousand yars ago and gtows in a variety of colors.It almost died out thanks to the influx of high yield hybrds developed in the US. This older breed was given a lifeline fo sorts when the Gran Maizal Distillery in Merida used t and other indigenoius corn breeds to make whsikey. This boosted the local economy.Now there are more than a dozen disterlleries across Mexico using corn native to their regions. Half of them are already exporting ro are planning to export to America to create a new market.
There are differences in the way Mexican whiskey is made. First the corn goes through the ancient process of nixtamalization in which the dry kernals are steeped in an alkaline solution. This maks them not only easier to work with but better tasting too. Gran Maizal whsikey is not produced in the traditional column still. This cna cause the liquid to lose character however ti gains in effeciency.It's made in a pot still which allows the grains' flavor to come through. Gran Maizal's owner Gonzalo de la Pezuala along with Cesar Alaya also worked with a research lab to create a proprietary yeast strain to ferment the corn. The company combines four varieties to make their whiskey, chalaqueno, bolita,tepecintle and olotillo, each taken from a different subregion around Oaxaca. Chalaqueno grows in the far highlands while olotillo gows in the coastal plains along the Pacific Ocean.The four types produce a colorful harvest but more imprtantly produce a whiskey with a nuanced blend of flavors. GRan Maizal has high hopes for the US, a country now known for its'c raft whiskies.
Combining millennia old New world corn breeds wih centuries old Old world whiskey recipes could be the next bing thing. These ancient breeds will give the liquor new spark and fire. It should be an interesting mix.
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