Motel Mezcal expands APAC footprint
As part of its Mezcalito Mirage takeover series, Motel Mezcal visited Kuala Lumpur and Auckland to expand its presence in the Asia Pacific region.
After its debut tour in Hong Kong, Taipei, and Shanghai, Motel Mezcal’s takeover series headed to Kuala Lumpur and Auckland.
The initiative aims to transform cocktail bars into hedonistic mezcal hideaways, drawing inspiration from the decadence of 1980s Miami and the neon-tropical glamour of 1970s New York nightclubs.
In Kuala Lumpur, the one-night residencies took place at Yellow Fin Horse on 10 April, led by guest bartender Edwin López from Singapore bar Burnt Ends. During the event, López served a custom menu of speciality cocktails featuring Motel Mezcal’s 100% agave spirit.
López said: “Working with Motel Mezcal is a dream for any agave lover – the capón espadín has so much depth and character that you barely want to get in its way.
“We built the menu around letting the mezcal speak, leaning into tropical and smoky flavours that felt right for the room. The energy at Yellow Fin Horse that night was something else.”
In Auckland, lead bartender of Kemuri Hi-Fi, Jason Clark, hosted the second instalment of the event on 16 May. This time, the takeover’s agenda drew inspiration from Motel Mezcal’s production process.
Clark explained: “It’s delicious juice, so I loved having a special occasion to design some new cocktails with it. I took flavour inspiration from a picture of roasted agave piñas being extracted from the horno, so every drink was kissed with flame – barbecue-roasted red peppers infused into Motel Mezcal for the Pimiento Negroni, barbecue caramelised pineapple juiced for the Piña Barbacoa, toasted marshmallow for the Oaxacan Sour, and cooked beetroot for the Method Man. The guys lined up a killer DJ set, and we rocked Kemuri Hi-Fi from early till late.”
Produced in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca, by third-generation mezcalero Daniel López, Motel Mezcal is crafted using traditional methods, including earthen pit roasting of agave, horse-drawn tahona milling, open-air natural fermentation, small-batch copper distillation, and sensory-driven cuts.
The expansion in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region enhances Motel Mezcal’s distribution network across six markets: China, Singapore, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Taiwan.
Henry Gordon, co-founder of Motel Mezcal, said: “Mezcalito Mirage is about putting our mezcal in the hands of bartenders we genuinely admire and letting them interpret it.
“Edwin and Jason brought completely different perspectives to the same liquid, and that’s the point. The series is a way to show how versatile traditional artesanal mezcal can be when it’s treated with care behind the bar.”
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