@Ripper2860 How is the Dos Hombres Mezcal? I've been sampling the "400 Conejos" Espadin/Tobala mezcal, and, it's, well, somewhat drinkable. It starts with a, 'agricultural' taste, finishes with a do I really want anymore of it.
Not Ripper…
I have, at last count, 75 bottles of Mezcal in my cabinet. They range from brands like Dos Hombres to tiny clay still production runs that topped at out at under 100 bottles from producers in the mountains of Michoacán…
Dos Hombres is… fine. It’s a decent example of relatively high production Espadin and for what it’s worth, the celeb owners are involved and fairly not cringe when they do work for the brand.
400 Conejos is also… fine. That Espadin/Tobala is the only one I kept for my cabinet.
if you want to explore reasonably sane price point Mezcal, anything from Del Maguey, Mezcal Vago, Rey Campero, Alipus or Siembra Metl is a good place to start. Drink it out of a wide mouth copita, a votive or, as a last resort, a champagne flute or sherry glass. If it’s made right, it will be at least 45% ABV, and concentrating those alcohol vapors, without the softening of wood aging, in something like a glencarin class, will kill the enjoyment. I generally go with a couple ounce, shallow, clay copita. YMMV.
(Source: I do work for a very good artisanal Mezcal, not one of the ones listed above because of how my NDA works, and have spent the last 15 years studying the spirit, from ground to bottle, both informally and professionally, with growers, producers, brokers and regulatory agencies. It is my favorite thing I do for work).
There are many good products, but if it’s under $40-50 a bottle, there are either major corners being being cut (with people, process or both) or it is a loss leader for a multinational spirits brand. For Espadin, the most commonly cultivated agave used in Mezcal production, the plants take 7-12 years to ripen, and it takes about 1,300kg of agave to produce 3 liters of finished spirit.
For some of the wild agaves, that ripening time can go 30-40 years, and they’re much, much smaller than Espadin, with much lower potential sugar that can be converted into alcohol.