50.64% ABV. Batch RML-010, 2018 harvest, avg maguey age-14yrs, clay pot still, ambient yeast, palenquero: Edgar Angeles Carreño. Had it at home. My wife picked up on a sweetness and refinement. I get a light woody smokiness up-front, which gets nuked by that enormous alcohol content. One I’ve worked through the heat, the lighter sweetness of the agave comes out. Still wrestling with the high alcohol. A drop of water brings out some sweet banana-like and earthy flavors and settles things down for me a little. Nearing the end of the glass, some more fruit flavors are coming out, with a granite undertone. A drop of water transforms the flavor, bringing it a roasty-sweetness, over an earthy fruitiness. Beet-like maybe.

batch AMB-32. Cheech Marin mezacal! Tried it at Dos Coyotes. My wife found it flat and boring with smoke at the end. I find a clear agave smell, with a vegetal, almost nutty flavor with a light sweetness. A little smoke and burn at the end, but generally smooth. I like it, especially at the price and it’s available at a burrito chain no less!

Less aroma generally. Kind of a quiet, lightly fruity flavor. Less flavorful than most. Not super exciting. Light roastiness. Pass.

Vegetal, cactus like nose. The agave flavor takes a prominent role where the toasted sweet taste you it normally get is supplanted by a little lightly sweet plant flavor. Not overly harsh, but tangy. Almost a bread like smooth flavor. A little smokiness, maybe a charcoal flavor. Great for the price.

Batch R170-02, 2015 harvest. Angeles Carreno family. 51.2%. Tried at Mayahuel. Sweet caramel aroma with a rich vegetal flavor that brings me back to Oaxaca. A flavor I would almost describe as round, maybe that is mouth feel. Some kind of tanginess comes toward the end. Overall, despite the high alcohol, this doesn’t blow my head off, suspect that is the age, as I think this one is aged on glass– or anyway it was near the bottom of the bottle. Lots of plant like-herbal?-flavors that I can’t place. Probably the best mezcal I’ve had, notwithstanding that description. . .

Batch YJ02-19. San Juan del Rio. Mezcalero: Isaias Martinez Juan. 48%. Had it at home. Light fresh flavor. Easy drinking, mild sharpness. A green agave flavor arrives subtly after a few sips. A sweet caramel roastiness comes later. Seems like the initial alcohol blast numbs up the mouth and the other flavors come out.

Tried at my local mezcaleria, Mayahuel. Distinct smoky smell, lightly vegetal. Somewhat earthy flavor. Somehow smells like I would imagine the Sierra Negra maguey smells like. Really interesting, and flavorful. Most of the enjoyment comes from the smell, the taste is has a powerful alcohol sharpness that overwhelms the more subtle aroma. Seems hella strong.