PBMichiganWolverine
Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal
Mezcal Joven — Oaxaca, Mexico
Reviewed
February 4, 2017 (edited October 21, 2024)
I finally opened up a new bottle from my stash last night. After having Whiskey every weekend for weeks, was in the mood for something totally different, and this delivered faultlessly. Mezcal is unique...it's distilled from agave plants, but the distillation technique sets it apart from tequila. The difference shows in terms of a crisper, grassier flavor with a strong smoke profile. And these small village micro-craft distilleries produce it organic, natural fermentation (no yeast), and nothing added except the agave , local water, and intense sun. The smokiness here isn't the same as Islay or Islanders, where the peat is blasted constantly by salt and wind. This is the smokiness you get from heat. More like ground charcoals. The flavor profile is grassy, charcoal smoky, with some sweetness from the variety of agave. Highly recommended as a departure from whiskey, something equally good but different.
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The part that isn't funny is that if I went into my local liquor store and started walking down the tequila aisle instead of the scotch they'd probably think I was about to steal something. I swear I've worn the wax off of the floor over there, lol.
@Lee: Funny! Had to dabble a bit in other places to appreciate what I have (or so I used to tell my ex girlfriends during my college days when they saw me going astray ;-)
Ha ha Lee! Slow down gringo. Never had Yoichi, but I have had a couple other Nikka offerings. To be honest, I don't remember much about them. My foray into Japanese whiskey has been a step above non-existent. But yes, I'd say terroir is a factor with any craft beverage—from coffee to wine to ale to scotch and beyond.
Whoa whoa whoa...what the heck is going on here? Pranay is flipping the script and drinking mezcal. If we are going all south of the border let me dust off that old Jose Cuervo Gold bottle I have stashed behind the bean dip and let's dance...who wants salt on the rim? Enough of that babble. Great review Pranay! I used to like to mix it up with good tequila before I got into the single malt whisky game. It's been so long I wouldn't know where to start now, though. Maybe I will slide to the liquor store and see what I can find down some of those other aisles....cheers, guys.
@Damon: you're right, it really is a factor of terroir, sort of like wine. Have you ever tried Yoichi? I think the smoke in Mezcal reminded me of that. And not by coincidence, Yoichi uses charcoal fired distillation
Incredible description of how they're different. It's hard to pinpoint for me since I've only had s handful of mezcal experiences, but the charcoal direction you discern is spot on I think. Mezcal is another great example of how essential terroir is.