First, an admission; I am not an “experienced” mezcal drinker. I mostly drink “brown goods”; whiskey and single malt Scotch are my favored. Recently I was given a bottle of Susto (bottle #3927-8064; batch# 01) as a gift from friends in Texas. I decided to open and share it with a couple of my buddies. I drank mine “neat” (as I do whiskey and Scotch) and found the flavor of Susto to be very smooth, smokey with subtle notes of vanilla, and quite delicious! My buddies also tried some of the Susto “recipes” and liked it as a cocktail. Being more of a “purist”, I went only so far as to pair my Susto neat with some (Halo) orange slices, which was a tasty combo, and oddly refreshing! Everyone gave Susto a “2 thumbs up”, so I rated Susto as 5 stars! Based on drinking Susto neat, I think it’s more savory flavor profile would make it pair nicely with meat, so I can easily see Susto being an alternative to a good whiskey, Scotch or even cognac. My ONLY complaint is thst Susto is not available anywhere near me (in Utah), at least not now. But I’ll keep watching for it to get “out west”, and hopefully soon.