Don Amado Añejo Mezcal

I just got back from a few days vacation in Oaxaca and then Cabo. While in Oaxaca, I sampled quite a few mezcals, most of them from these little small micro distilleries that don't sell their products beyond their own town. Some of them are really small scale producing just a few bottles, without any formal sales or marketing, or even labels on their bottles. In fact, they don't even have a way of telling how much ABV is in there, so they give a range: " we think it's between 40-55%". They can tell when the product is done by shaking the bottle and looking for a layer of bubbles forming on top. This one here though was an exception---it's sold in the US for about triple the price here in Oaxaca (about $15US in Oaxaca). Really well made; John's notes are spot on---you get a layer of smoke followed by this sweetness like pineapples and tropical fruit. This is from the espadin agave, one of the more common ones. If you do see one in the US, it's a worthwhile purchase. Really unique and well crafted.

One nice aged mezcal with notes of cooked agave, pineapple custard, papayas, mangoes, banana bread, Hazlenuts, milk chocolate, guavas, oranges, apricots, cherries, and hints of smoke.

Citrus, charred fruit. Vanilla. Sour notes. A bit of salt. Kinda pricey. Gotta try joven

Smoke, vanilla, caramel, wood, some pineapple and agave. Ash, wood, caramel taste.

Slight pineapple on the nares. Leathery on the palate. Yum