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.