Post #805374 by Celeres517 on Tue, Sep 6, 2022 11:05 AM

Hi all,

Up until recently I've managed to avoid getting in on mezcal, but it's become a fairly important spirits category in newer Tiki recipes so I'm finally taking the plunge. Based on some exceptionally half-assed spot research (and further incentivized by sale pricing), I picked up a bottle of Del Maguey Vida. Although my understanding is that this is generally accepted as a good 'entry' Mezcal, I'm not entirely thrilled with my results so far. The smokiness seems overbearing and out of balance, and the overall impression is kind of one dimensional along those lines, contrary to a very different (and more complex-sounding) tasting note advertised on the back label.

The long and short of it is that even with as little as a quarter ounce in some of the recipes I've made, I end up with drinks that taste primarily like smoke. Like, this is what I assume Laphroaig and Ardbeg might taste like if they were unaged. Am I perhaps the victim of outlier batch variation? Are there different mezcals the community would recommend for more balanced results? Or or does everything I'm saying check out and this is a 'me' problem?

[ Edited by Celeres517 on 2022-09-06 11:07:00 ]