Pink Salt Lake – Distillerie de Paris Agave
A lot of European eau de vie distillers turned to rum after making their own gin. However, now there is a new trend on the horizon. A few distillers, like the Distillerie de Paris, are turning towards agave spirits. I already wanted to write about their agave spirit last year, but instead ended up reviewing their spiced vodka. Nevertheless, I am still curious to see how their agave eau de vie turned out.
The brothers Sébastien and Nicolas Julhès behind the Distillerie de Paris got their hands on an agave nectar. So, they ferment the agave for 200 h in stainless-steel tanks before transferring the mash to their 400 l still. Next, the distillation run takes approximately four hours and ends at an ABV of around 76 %. The agave spirit is bottled at 43 % ABV.
Mineral agave notes
I guess at first the Distillerie de Paris Agave Spirit really tastes like a tequila. Yet, after a while, the spirit turns more towards a more refined taste, like an agave eau de vie. You can find some mineral notes of wet clay in the aroma and taste. Furthermore, the flavour turns towards more smoky notes accompanied by some salinity. All in all, I like this modern take on a classic Mexican agave spirit. It is quite different, but you can still taste some resemblance.
Jalapeño fig Margarita
For a drink with the Distillerie de Paris Agave, I decided to combine sweet and savoury flavours in a Margarita variation. Therefore, I used the Esprit de Figues liqueur as well as some homemade pickled jalapeños. On top of that, I rounded off the recipe with a few dashes of grapefruit bitters and agave syrup.
2 Dashes The Bitter Truth Grapefruit Bitters
1,5 cl Esprit de Figues Liqueur
2,25 cl Lime Juice
0,75 cl Agave Syrup
Shake – double strain – chilled Cocktail glass;
Garnish: Jalapeño Wheel;
Song: James Vincent McMorrow – Pink Salt Lake;
The “Pink Salt Lake” starts like a regular Margarita with agave and sweet-and-sour mix notes. However, after a while you can detect a bit of vinegar and also a certain fruitiness develops. The mineral flavours and the spices from the pickled jalapeños create a certain feel of salinity on your palate. In the end, the drink is very refreshing and definitely different from your average Margarita!
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The agave spirit was provided by Charles Hosie.
