Sombra Mezcal

Was great in a Oaxacan old fashioned

elote dulce, carnitas, naranja agria, muy pegón, y orégano fresco. 27/7/20

As this is the first mezcal I’ve tried, I don’t have any experience to draw on for tasting notes. Well, that’s not entirely correct, I have tasted several tequilas, and I am well experienced in peaty scotch, so those are the connections I can make. The nose comes on like barbecue sauce, smokey, sweet, tangy, spicy. There is agave present, bright like a blanco tequila. I pick up some citrus zest, and pepper corn, mint, and sage. The smoke has a slight mesquite hint. First taste, the bright clean agave sweetness hits the tongue. There’s vanilla, and light agave syrup. Then the smoke arrives, for scotch enthusiasts, this is much more like Laphroaig than say Ardbeg or Talisker, the smoke is like a newly started fire, when the moisture is being burnt off, this isn’t toasted wood. The flavors don’t stop with smoke, there is more citrus, and a fresh green vegetable, like fresh sweet peas or green beans (I know that’s in the “expert review” too, but that doesn’t make it wrong). The mesquite and mint linger for a very long time.