Miske is an

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

ean distilled alcoholic beverage made from the

sap Sap is a fluid transported in xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a separa ...

agave ''Agave'' (; ; ) is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, although some ''Agave'' species are also native to tropical areas of North America, such as Mexico. The genus is primarily known for ...

plants. Miske is similar to Mexican mezcal, but is made from the sap, called ''chawarmishki'' in Ecuador (

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

'' chawar'' "raw" + '' mishki'' "sweet", whence the name "miske"), rather than the cooked heart (''piña''), which is used in mezcal.

History

Agave sap (''chawarmishki'', called ''

aguamiel Aguamiel ( literally ''agua'' "water" ''miel'' "honey") is the sap of the Mexican maguey plant which is believed to have therapeutic qualities. According to Native American histories, the process of obtaining aguamiel from maguey was first disc ...

'' in Mexico) has been harvested for centuries by the indigenous people of Ecuador, specifically ''

Agave americana ''Agave americana'', common names century plant, maguey, or American aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae, native to Mexico and the United States in Texas. It is cultivated worldwide as an ornamental plant, and has b ...

'' (called ''maguey'' in Mexico). Among other uses, it has been spontaneously fermented using wild yeasts to make ''guarango'' (Quechua; Mexican ''

pulque Pulque (; nci, metoctli), or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant. It is traditional in central Mexico, where it has been produced for millennia. It has the color of milk, a rather viscous co ...

''). Around 1970, people began to distill this, producing an agave liquor. This began to be commercialized in the 2010s, and the name "miske" was coined by Diego Mora, though some producers prefer the term "Andean agave". At the

San Francisco World Spirits Competition The San Francisco World Spirits Competition was founded in 2001 by Anthony Dias Blue as an off-shoot of the San Francisco International Wine Competition. It assesses hundreds of entrants annually (1,407 in 2013 from 63 countries) with tastings inv ...

2021 competition, two miskes were awarded a gold medal (Casa Agave Silver and Reposado). , miske is not widely producers or consumed in Ecuador, but producers hope to imitate the success of tequila, making miske Ecuador's national drink, and popularizing it first in the United States, then in Ecuador. The brand Chawar, is currently the only Miske available in the United States.

References

{{portalbar, Ecuador, Liquor Ecuadorian distilled drinks