2oz pour at Ironside Fish & Oyster. San Diego is big on Cigars and mezcals. Might as well partake in one of them, and I’m not smoking cigars. I will try the “Del ma-GOO-ee chichisomethingsomething I can’t pronounce”. I somehow feel the excitement someone new to scotch must feel saying Laphroaig for the first time. The rating is based on my actual enjoyment, which should be taken with a grain of salt, as this was my first artisanal mezcal. The scotch comparison is definitely springbank. There’s funk going on here. Butterscotch caramel chlorinated water. Rubbery smoke. Burnt rubber and wintergreen gum on the palate. Obvious agave sugars are present, but variety of flavors I get from them are far from obvious, and I will need more practice to appreciate. A good unaged Mexican spirit will actually lose complexity with barrel aging. The finish is long and complex, but eventually settles on this green ethanol note that I associate with my younger days of tequila shots. I get the feeling that if Scotch is Chess, mezcal is Go (more complexity out of less structure, in comparison). Definitely more interesting than most tequilas and something I will be trying more of. MARK: 80/100