Mezcal Vago Espadin

Sage-y. Smoky.

Joel Barriga, Oct 2018, 49.4%abv The nose keeps switching back and forth between butterscotch and cheesy jalapenos (jalapeno poppers). The taste is very green...jalapeno peppers, roasted agave, slight wintergreen mint, backed with some caramel sweetness. The finish very vegetal but dipped in raw honey and sprinkled with black pepper. A bit hot like most Vagos but I expect it to round out a bit as the bottle volume continues to go down. Great espadin as to be expected from a Vago.

First mezcal I’ve ever tried (not counting tequila if you want to get technical), and honestly this is unlike any other spirit I’ve ever had. Mine is from a May 2017 batch by Joel Barriga. 50.7% ABV. I’ll admit I don’t entirely like the smell, I find it reminiscent of tire rubber, but sharper. Not necessarily bad but far from appetizing. Everything from there is amazing though. Smoke is apparent from the outset. Equally present is a sweetly vegetal taste with notes of rubber band (there’s a note I never thought I’d find in a drink). The smoke stays through the finish, with the vegetal and rubber notes switching places before fading away, the smoke and rubber battling for the upper hand as they linger. I was expecting something similar to tequila, as they’re both agave spirits. This is a whole nother animal, and a beautiful one at that.

Not super smooth but tasty, lots of flavor, a bit Pepery on the tongue

Floral cactus, inhaling a fistful of needles, an oasis of crime. Flavor of a sweaty uninhabitable tropical dehydrated mung fruit, earthy, effervescent, pungent... like the scent of a room after a marathon fuck session, you can taste the damage in the air. Cunning, seductive, raunchy, with a hint of latex... this is small village gonzo porn in a bottle.