Los Vecinos del Campo Espadin Mezcal

I don’t have many benchmarks for mezcal except my memory. I’ll have to start this with an arbitrary 4, it’s definitely good enough to buy again. Nose is what id expect. Smokiness, with some carmalized sugars, lime and a dash of menthol and ethanol. Palette follows suit pretty well. Fresh agave lime notes up front, followed by a slight mineral flavor and some menthol. Finish nice and charred Smokey pepper. Long deep smoky finish, delicious.

Funky pot still up front, smoky back, vegetal sweetness throughout, like agave-sweetened moonshine next to a wood fire

Rating: 15/23 I'm really disappointed that I didn't take notes on this when I first tried it. I recall being very impressed by it. Like "wow, I didn't know that mezcal could be this good!" impressed. And that was across 2-4 tastings. That was a few months ago. The bottle is still mostly full and has been unopened since. Hopefully it holds up. N: It's a pretty standard mezcal nose with smoke and a medicinal herbal bitterness that blends into slightly sour corn tortilla and something a tad meaty, like lightly charred chicken breast with chipotle and turmeric. I'm gradually getting some more subtle complexities, but I'm having trouble picking them out. There's definitely that standard gasoline presence, but it works well with the nice complexity and balance of the nose here. P: Quite smoky with a big splash of menthol and some peppery burn that is more like some sort of chili than the usual black or white pepper. There's a nice meaty savoriness as well and it gradually reveals some nice subtle sweetness, showing off some caramelized pineapple with maybe a slight hint of banana, and then mixing in a hint of kefir and some other bitter herbs that have a decent amount of complexity, but that I frankly am having trouble identifying. It's subtle, but quite complex. It's interesting and a very enjoyable palate. It isn't as big and rich as Del Maguey Chichicapa though and it has this somewhat watery sweetness that's a bit disappointing. There are a lot of situations in which that watery sweetness does kind of annoy me. Coming over from some other powerful drinks, such as rye, the watery mineral sweetness really does stand out. F: The smoke and medicinal bitterness linger for quite some time like from an Islay scotch. It's very tasty and I appreciate that it doesn't just vanish on me. There is a faint bitter, charred meaty note, but there isn't much of it here. There's some watery sugar kind of lingering, but it's mostly a dry finish. There's some cool menthol here and there to balance out the sweetness. Mezcal is a challenging category for newcomers, but this is a very nicely balanced mezcal that is representative of it while still being complex and fairly approachable (for mezcal). Del Maguey Chichicapa has a rich presence that is more like bourbon mixed with Islay scotch, so it is probably an even better introduction to ease a whiskey drinker in, but it is less representative of the quintassential joven mezcal and also costs more than three times as much. I certainly would not recommend any of the more expensive mezcals made with more exotic varieties of agave like madre-cuishe, tobala, or arroqueño, nor would I recommend a first-timer drop a bunch of money on a pechuga. This is sort of like the Eagle Rare of mezcals: it's a good introduction because it is representative and (relatively) approachable (hey, it doesn't taste like cough syrup or cigarette butts), as well as cheap, but it also is one the category veterans can appreciate, though it will likely not be their favorite. I have to say that I quite enjoy this. For the price, it's a terrific find. It competes well with Del Maguey Chicicapa despite its less rich profile. With my palate calibrated right, this is darned fine for sipping. I still think that the Chichicapa is a significantly better mezcal considering its richness, but this is quite fine at less than half of the price. I'm thinking something in the 15 to 16 range right now for this one, but I can imagine a 14 or a 17 in general. Sometimes, the watery sweetness makes me wonder about a 12 to 13 as well. This seems most like a 15. Well, a high 15, low 16. It's about a point below the Chichicapa, which is thoroughly respectable considering that is costs less than half as much. The confusing part is that that difference is just enough to technically separate my ratings of the two by 2 points. Despite the fact that I'm giving this a 15, Chichicapa a 17, and Casamigos Mezcal a 14, I think that this and the Chichicapa are closer. The key here is that this is a high 15 and Casamigos is a low 14. They are all ones that I would be happy to drink though :)

malvavisco asado en fogata, serrano, piña con Tajín, y minerales. 30/5/20