So savory and chocolaty! Sage turkey stuffing, Bbq sauce, cinnamon, Mexican hot chocolate out of a raw clay mug, with a lime-aid refreshing finish. I put this in a blind tasting against other Minas Mezcaleros including Lalo and Conejo and surprisingly to me it came out on top!! I have to visit this Mezcalera next time I’m in Minas!!

Solid Tepextate. Fresh Jalapeño, fresh green bell pepper, I totally get Jonny’s rose petal notes, and GreenspointTexas’s blueberries, blueberry jam actually for me. This is really good. I’ve had her Tepextate before with Piquete Zina and La Clandestina and this is on the same level.

Really clean, soft, light, well balanced, and delicate. It’s floral with plumeria flower, jasmine flower, lychee, rambutan, lime leaves, lemongrass, and a finish that is salty and woody like sea salt and those yellow number 2 pencils I would chew in school. I like it as the first Mezcal of the night but if I switch to a Mezcal with stronger flavors and then go back to it, it seems too soft.

Very hot! Nail polish remover and rubbing alcohol hot. Banana, big league chew, and red vines. It’s possible it would have mellowed out over time but this was only a one ounce sample.

One ounce sample no batch number. Rainbow cupcake sprinkles, chocolate frosting, medjool dates, molasses, cream sherry, cinnamon, and powdered sugar. This is really nice but there is a slight rubbing alcohol harshness that keeps it from scoring higher.

PLSM-01 2017. This was a special edition for Proyecto LAM. This is the best Real Minero I’ve ever had. It’s magic. It’s like sitting on a log deep in a redwood forest after a rainstorm drinking Mexican hot chocolate and eating carrot cake. Mexican chocolate, carrot cake, cinnamon, wet redwood forest, caramel, brown sugar, and some kind of delicious herbal finish that reminds me of cilantro. If you find a bottle from this batch please share it with me.

Lot 3 Vol 3A. Pine needles, dried thyme, York Peppermint Patties, black pepper, Dragonwell green tea, and a salty green olive brine finish. A well made, unique Mezcal. I really dig this brand and I hope to visit them some day and try all of their Angustifolia’s.

PEC 171. This is a particularly good Pechuga. Tons of interesting flavors but nothing overwhelms and the Agave flavor is still present. That’s something of a rarity in Pechugas I’ve tasted. Orange soda, vanilla bean, pineapple upside down cake, sweet and sour chicken, and fresh wet carnations. I don’t buy many Pechugas but if I see this batch for sale I’ll probably buy it.

L19325. I just bought my second bottle of this South African Mezcal. This one ticks a lot of boxes for me. It’s unique, I can’t put this in a blind tasting because I recognize it right off the bat. It’s complex but very soft and easy drinking, and it’s relatively cheap. The producer is Adi Badenhorst a very talented minimal intervention style winemaker whose wines I love. They collect the Agaves from the Great Karoo Desert which has the largest concentration of succulents in the world, I can’t wait to visit. There seems to be some disagreement on the species of these Agave but I’m pretty sure they are some type of Americana. The Piñas are roasted underground with Blue Gum Eucalyptus and Cabernet Sauvignon vines for fuel. I’ve tasted a lot of different notes but the one that always stands out to me is new leather jacket, like those thick black heavy metal jackets with lots of zippers. Also Macadamia nuts, vanilla bean, eucalyptus oil, grapefruit, orange blossoms, crushed shells, rock salt, and green bell pepper. I rarely taste smoke in Mezcal anymore but this has a subtle smoke running through it that reminds me of steak cooking on a barbecue. I always want to have a bottle of this in my collection.

1 ounce sample. Sometimes Mezcals remind me of a certain place or time in my life. When I tasted this Mezcal I was brought back to my childhood in India where we would buy fresh peanuts from a vender who roasted them to order in hot sand then wrapped them in newspaper. I couldn’t really separate the notes from my memory and my one ounce sample was gone way too soon. This is definitely a nutty Mezcal. I love it.

1/2 ounce sample no batch number. This is surprisingly good for the price! Roses, table salt, honeydew melon, caramel, cinnamon, and spearmint. Just the right amount of heat.

1 ounce sample no batch number. I love earthy Mezcals and this one is very nice. Decaying leaves, eucalyptus, oak, black pepper, golden raisins, peppermint, and roasted yams with brown sugar. This is tasty!

1/2 ounce sample no batch number. Sandalwood, nail polish remover, Banana Now and Laters, cantaloupe, and calamansi. Pretty nice for the price.

1/2 ounce sample no batch number. Caramel, Fig Newtons, Djarum nonfilter clove cigarettes, and something sour on the finish like lemon pith. It’s ok. If it wasn’t for the sour finish it would be quite nice.

1/2 ounce sample no batch number. Not complex, but tasty pound cake and vanilla frosting notes. Quite nice but tastes watered down unfortunately.

1/2 ounce sample no batch number. Rubbing alcohol, vanilla extract, cookie dough, pineapple soda, and plastic. I remember this being better, maybe it’s a bad batch.

1oz sample no batch number. This is a really frustrating Mezcal. It’s got some really great flavors but they are very soft and watered down. I’m not against low ABV Mezcals as long as they still taste good, but this tastes like it’s half water. This would be so much better with higher alcohol, it’s a real shame. Lemon oil, vanilla, coconut water, and allspice.

1/2 ounce sample no batch number. Bamboo leaves, hot fudge, rose milk, Pernod liqueur, and banana pudding. This is really good.

0415FC. This has been sitting in glass for five years and you can tell. So clean and perfectly balanced. Jonny really nailed the tasting notes on this one. Tons of flowers, perfectly ripe papaya, and carrot cake with cream cheese vanilla frosting. This is just beautiful.

Agave Mixtape Volume #3.
Red Hots, White Tic Tacs, cherry jam, plywood, and peaches. A little hot but still quite good.