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Dawn Davies showcases The Whisky Exchange’s agave spirits offer

“We're seeing more of the non-traditional agave categories flourishing”, observed Davies. “This is really good to see, because the liquids are incredible and really interesting.”

Davies fascination in the category is rooted in agave’s malleability: “I always talk about agave being the closest thing to a grape, because you have different varieties, you have different land and it's also growing in the ground for as long as many grapes.”

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Typically, agave produced from outside of Mexico is grown for between four and eight years, “that’s four to eight years in the soil to take on, in the same way as grapes do, something from that land”. Although a new category to many consumer “there's a link back to something that's familiar, probably more so than for other categories”.

An array of alternative agave spirits from outside of the traditional mezcals and tequilas DOs have recently been added to the business’s portfolio. The spirits will be sold through parent company Speciality Drinks’ retail arm (The Whisky Exchange) and the company’s newly rebranded trade arm (The Whisky Exchange Trade).

First tasted was a selection of Australian agave spirits produced by Queensland’s Mt. Uncle Distillery. Three Agave Australis SKUs were on show: a silver, a rested and an aged expression of the hardy crop.

Much of the agave grown in the antipodean nation previously was destined for biofuel. But intrepid distillers, including Mt. Uncle’s founder Mark Watkins, have recognised the potential of Aussie terroir for growing blue Weber agave for spirit production.

The approach to serving the Agave Australis range, in Davies view, can be the same as how silver, rested and aged tequila are served. For example, using the silver for a Margarita, rested for a Paloma and the aged can be sipped neat over ice. Davies noted that the silver agave spirit, “is recognizable as agave but it's not Mexico – I think that's what's quite interesting about it. It has a bit more of an earthiness which is maybe how they're roasting it. You don't have that kind of greenness that you get with tequila from Mexico also”.

Mt. Uncle also produces rum which Davies believes has influenced its approach to its rested and aged styles of agave spirit. In terms of the latter, an earthiness plays out, alongside vanilla and sweet spice drawn from the American oak that the spirit is aged in for two years. The liquid is “as dark as anything. You can imagine when you're in Queensland, the rapid ontake of wood is going to be quite intense”, Davies pondered.

Next up was a Bacanora, a Mexican-distilled agave spirit akin to tequila and mezcal, though produced in Sonora with its own DO protection. Importing Bacanora can be a challenge, in no small part thanks to the difficulties caused by gang violence and drug trafficking in the region. This Bacanora – produced by Aguamiel – is fruit-forward and saline, with Davies also enjoying a “freshness that I find so classic for a lot of Mexican products, but also an earthiness”.

Another Mexican agave spirit that defies typical categorisation is Lalocura’s Destilado de Agave. Produced in Oaxaca, it does not meet the production criteria of typical mezcal or tequila. Why Oaxacan producers are doing this is noteworthy.

Davies expanded: “Many producers are sort of stepping away from NOM (Norma Oficial Mexicana – the designation of origin for tequila) because they don't want to change traditional, old production techniques just to fit in with a designation. Also, it cost a lot of money, which a lot of the smaller producers do not have.”

Lalocura’s offer is a premium one, with the Espadin and Tobasiche agave-variety spirit on show during the tasting retailing at £138 with The Whisky Exchange. Davies believes there is a clear appetite for premiumisation in the category.

The challenges Mexico has faced in terms of the United States’ tariff regime could provide an opportunity for the UK market, Davies noted: “From the standpoint of Mexico, we will probably start to see a lot more interesting agave coming over to the UK, because before it was all going into America.

“When we did our tequila and mezcal show for the first time this year, we had so much support from the producers – it was absolutely fantastic. I think that's a real sign of them looking outwards, out of America and into different parts of the world where they know that there's an appetite for the category. I mean, the UK is going mad for it at the moment.”

• Australia
• The Whisky Exchange
• Agave
• Mexico
• Dawn Davies
• Speciality Drinks
• agave spirit