Ilegal Mezcal Reposado

In my new attempt to go outside my comfort zone of red wine and whisky, I'm trying mezcal today. Truth be told, it was actually an unplanned buy. I was at my local wine /liquor store to pick up a cheap bottle of white wine. Was planning on making crimini, shiitake, portobello mushroom risotto, and needed white wine as an essential ingredient. I ended up taking a walk over to the whisky section, just to see if anything new was on the shelf. It was---the Compass Box Circus. Too expensive for me right now, at over $150. I then fell for the oldest trap in consumer selling. A beautiful clerk asked if I needed help deciding. Twenty minutes later, and a conversation about her native Oaxaca cooking, I ended up with a $55 bottle of mezcal in my hand. She recommended this one, if you're a fan of Laga 16. It's actually pretty good. Nose is smoky and grassy. Taste is minerally, herbal and sweet smoky. Not like Laga at all, but surprisingly quite good. Finish is lingering and almost like a minerally finish of a Pinot Grigio. Note to self: to avoid spending another $50 on an impulse buy, don't go when the lovely clerk from Oaxaca works there. As much as I love talking Oaxacan moles like the next guy, not sure I'll need another mezcal in my collection.

It’s mezcal week here at Modern Drinking HQ, otherwise known as Passover, a festival that marks the time when my ancestors wandered through the desert surviving on only agave spirits. I forgo whisky for these eight days because the Exodus story tells us that my people did not have time to let their new make spirit mature before they had to flee, or something like that. I may have got a few of the details wrong. Anyway, this mezcal is my second from Ilegal after the fantastic Anejo I tried the year before last. Here, the typical vegetal nose is interspersed with hints of jasmine, smoke and cream. There's a gin-like dryness to the taste at first, after which it bursts into sweet and creamy flavors. The long finish is gently smokey with a creamy aftertaste. This is an easy drinking mezcal that would be a good gateway for Scotch or gin drinkers exploring the spirit. Not as arresting as the Anejo, but better value at some 2/3 of the price, especially if you're stocking up for 40 years in the wilderness.

An intense Agave Spirit from the Ilegal company, distilled at Destileria Tlacolula NOM-O01X in Oaxaca, Mexico, that is double distilled in copper stills. It's then aged in American oak before bottling. It has an aromatic birth with notes of wood, caramel. baked agave, cassia bark & chili; while a full life adds notes of butterscotch, caramel, soft wood smoke, cedar, pipe tobacco, agave & dried herbs; that led to a complex death of medium length with notes of oak cocoa powder & orange rind. April 2017

Open 2.5 years Nose - Smoked agave, bright honey, spicy pickle, black pepper, and medium ethanol. Palate - Light and sweet agave syrup, grilled bell peppers, brine, and vanilla extract. Finish is medium-short with black pepper, smoked peppers, and light ethanol. I've had this for a while, it's nothing special. I generally shy away from espadin these days, other varietals are much more interesting without any barrel aging.

Tried over a circular ice rock. Right away it’s super smooth. I’ll need to try this neat soon.. the more I sip it definitely gets watered down. I think I could sip this neat easier than over a rock. Stand by for edits…

my very first mezcal. as scotch is to bourbon, so is this to tequila! smokey and sharp with hints of lime, earth, dry leaves, and wood-fire. slightly numbing in a delightful way. slightly peppery