Mezcal Misfits Dinner Series

Edition II: “Border Spirits & Bootleg Barrels”

Mexican Whiskeys & the Prohibition Pipeline (1920–1933)

Concept:
During U.S. Prohibition, Americans crossed south into Mexico not just for tequila and mezcal—but to distill, age, and source whiskey-style spirits beyond U.S. law. Corn, wheat, rye, and barley were already part of Mexican agriculture. What emerged were Mexican interpretations of whiskey, shaped by local grains, wild yeast, and climate.

This dinner explores what American whiskey might’ve become if it stayed outlawed.

Spirit Focus (Mexican Whiskeys & Whiskey-Adjacents)

Dinner Structure (5 Courses + Welcome Pour)

Welcome

“Border Crossing”

• Abasolo Whisky highball

• Nixtamal corn husk syrup, orange peel, soda

• Light, welcoming, historically accurate

Course 1 – The Grain

Dish:
Blue corn tetela, fermented corn cream, smoked trout or kampachi, quelites

Pairing:
TBD

Course 2 – The Smoke

Dish:
Beef heart or short rib skewers, chile pasilla glaze, charred onion

Pairing:
TBD

Course 3 – The Barrel

Dish:
Duck confit taco, mole poblano, fermented plum

Pairing:
TBD

Course 4 – The Outlaw

Dish:
Carne asada with wild herbs, corn whiskey jus, ash-roasted potatoes

Pairing:
TBD

Course 5 – The Sweet End

Dish:
Nixtamal corn cake, piloncillo, burnt cream, cacao nib

Pairing:
TBD

Storytelling

Between course, briefs:

• Americans smuggling barrels north

• Mexican farmers already nixtamalizing corn centuries earlier

• Climate aging whiskey faster in Mexico

• How mezcaleros think differently about fermentation

price

• Price per head $65

This one has legs.