August 1, 2025 • 40 mins
A piña for espadín
@Reycampero @montelobos @delmagueymezcal @mezcalvago @graciasadiosmezcal #agave #agavespirits #mezcal #podcast #radioshow #host #Espadín Co hosts : Good ol Boy Michael, Good ol Boy Mike, and Good ol Gal Cary Ann
SIPS – A Deep Dive into Espadín Mezcals - Join us for a spirited exploration of Espadín Mezcals in this episode of Sips, Suds, & Smokes! A flavorful journey to discover the nuances of each spirit as they discuss tasting notes, production methods, and the cultural significance behind these beloved agave spirits.
From the smoky depths of Oaxaca to the unique flavors of each bottle, our hosts share their insights and ratings on these mezcals, revealing the complexity and character that Espadín brings to the table. Whether you're a mezcal novice or a seasoned aficionado, this episode promises to enlighten and entertain as we sip, savor, and celebrate the rich tapestry of mezcal culture.
We will be discussing this Mezcal’s featuring Espadín and rating them from 1-5 with 5 being the best:
7:33 Del Maguey Vida Classico from San Luis de Rio SIPS - 4
11:25 Rey Campero Espadín Joven from Candelaria Yegole SIPS - 4
16:20 Montelobos Espadín Joven Rancho Loma Larga in Santiago Matalan, Oaxaca SIPS - 5
20:29 Vago - Ensemble en Barro SIPS - 4
29:11 Gracias a Dios Pechuga de Guajolote Espadín Joven SIPS - 5
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Mezcal, Espadin, Agave, Del Maguey, Ray Camparo, Monte Lobos, Vago Ensemble, Oaxaca, Mezcal Tasting, Spirits, Sips Suds And Smokes, Craft Cocktails, Cocktail Books, Agave Spirits, Pechuga, Distillation, Artisan Mezcal, Flavor Profiles, Tasting Notes, Mezcal Regions
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
>> Announcer (00:00):
On the next episode of sips, Suds.
>> Mike (00:03):
And smokes, Mezcal, and specifically
espadine, which is the most popular variety of agave
used to produce mezcals. We have Del
Maguey Vita Classico from San Luis del
Rio, we have Ray Camparo Espadinhoven
from Candelaria Igole, we have Monte
Lobos Espadinhoven, Rancho Loma
Larga in Santiago Matalan in
(00:25):
Oaxaca, we have Vago Ensemble in
Barro, a blend with 50% espadine
hoven. Gracias. Adios.
Pechuga de guajuo,
Guajolote espadin, Hoven.
Espadine is the most widely used agave variety for
mezcal. The do for mezcal is nine
regions, and these plants must be grown and
(00:47):
cultivated in those regions. The vast majority
of espadine comes from Oaxaca.
>> Announcer (00:53):
We'll be right back after this break.
(01:17):
Brought to you almost live from the dude in the
basement studios. Why? Because that's where the
good stuff is. It sips, suds and
smokes with your smoking host, the good old
boys.
(01:50):
And now it's sipping.
>>
Hey, welcome to this SIPS episode where everything good
in life is worth discussing. We are the best thing
on at 2am and we thank you for choosing to
listen to us instead of the food chain.
And groundbreaking discussion on stadium food.
This looks good, doesn't it? So, uh, for
journalist Kunwar, uh,
Kaldoon Shahid has lived and
(02:21):
breathed cricket since he was a young age. And there's a technique of
eating whilst watching the game. When
a fast bowler. I was going to do an Indian accent.
When a fast bowler, his is. Has a long
run up and the Pakistani fast bowlers have
long run up. You wait until the delivery is done
and have one or two spoonfuls of
(02:41):
Birani during that time. So, yes,
not bad. Thank you. I've offended both a country and an
individual all in the same moment.
>> Carrie Ann (02:49):
That was a continent.
>>
It's a gift.
>> Carrie Ann (02:51):
That was an entire continent offended just now.
>>
Well, this is good old boy Mike. Uh, and, uh,
joining me today on pharmaceuticals with Mike, our good old
gal, Carrie Anne.
>> Carrie Ann (03:05):
I'm not trying to offend anyone.
>>
M. All right, I'll. I'll hang with that for a
moment here, so. And good old boy Michael.
>> Mike (03:16):
How we doing? I'll offend, uh, some people in Oaxaca,
I'm sure.
>>
Well, you know, everybody has to have a gold mic, so I appreciate
that.
>> Mike (03:22):
I love their product, though.
>>
Um, so Carrie Ann has, uh, a
blog and all things spirits related at straight, uh,
up 615. Michael is an author of many
cocktail books, including my favorite, which is Garden to
Glass. He's also hosts his own podcast,
which is Liquid Gold. One of my favorite episodes
is on Corpse Reviver number two.
>> Mike (03:44):
Bring the some absinthe, the greatest
morning cocktail ever created.
>>
So I have to say, I actually fell in love with
the, uh, cognac version. First was number one,
and I really found my favorite was Pierre
Ferrand. Um, but I
moved to the absinthe so hard and fast.
And so, uh, I make those on a routine and regular
basis. So I really enjoyed that episode a lot.
>> Carrie Ann (04:09):
I hope Sazrak picked that up. Send you
some extra.
>>
Yeah, that'll be great. Um, well, our,
um, sip segments are all about wine, distilled spirits,
tea, and coffee. Um, good old boy Michael is. Tell us
a little bit more about our episode today.
>> Mike (04:24):
All right, here's what we're going to discuss in this segment.
Mezcal. And specifically Espadine, which is the most
popular variety of agave used to produce Mezcals,
we have Del Maguey Vita Classico. From
San Luis del Rio, we have Ray Camparo
Espadinhoven. From Candelaria.
Iagole, we have Monte Lobos.
Espadinhoven, Rancho Loma
(04:46):
Larga in Santiago, Matalan.
>>
In.
>> Mike (04:48):
In Oaxaca, we have Vago Ensemble In
Baro, a blend with 50% espadine
hoven. Gracias. Adios.
Pachuga de Guaju.
Guajolote. Espadine Hoven.
So I only had one road. Road bump.
>>
Um, it's pretty good. Well,
if you need a primer on agave spirits, which includes
Mezcal, check out our Agave 101
episode. I'm just going to apologize in advance for
butchering the pronunciation of these brands, these
towns, all these nice Spanish words
that this good old boy cannot simply roll. My R's well
enough. And I flunked out of Spanish in the ninth grade, and
(05:26):
nearly all of the Spanish I know was acquired from Taco
Bell commercials.
>> Carrie Ann (05:30):
Yo quiero Taco Bell.
>>
So Carrie Ann has the honor, uh, of going
over our SIPs ratings for today.
>> Carrie Ann (05:38):
So we'll be tasting and discussing these Mezcals and
rating them with these sip Ra
Sips ratings, plus our signature
sounds. Here are those ratings now.
1. Give me a glass of water to wash
out my mouth water.
>> Mike (05:58):
Bring water.
>> Carrie Ann (05:59):
Two. Nice. But what else do you have?
Well, isn't that nice?
3. Interesting.
What was it interesting?
4. Let's keep this one a secret to
ourselves. Pour me another.
>>
That's Classified.
>> Carrie Ann (06:23):
And five, the Holy Grail. Oh
my. I was unaware anything could be this good.
>>
Oh my goodness.
>> Carrie Ann (06:30):
Yes, yes, yes.
>>
Michael's going to introduce us to espadine.
>> Mike (06:37):
Espadine is the most widely used agave variety for
Mezcal. The do for Mezcal is 9
regions and these plants must be grown and
cultivated in those regions. The vast majority of
espadine comes from Oaxaca. The initial
smokiness, a hallmark of mezcal, is often
balanced by earthy vegetal notes that reflect the
agave's origin. This brings us to
(06:59):
our first mezcal. The Del Maggi Vita
Classico is a handcrafted
mezcal alongside the tropical riverbed
in the village of San Luis del Rio, where the Red Ant
river flows naturally. Fermented and twice
distilled in wood fired copper stills.
Village state is San Luis del Rio,
Oaxaca. The palenquero is Pasiano
(07:21):
Cruz Nolasco. The agave
varietal is Espadin ABV comes in
at 42%. They are doing that on a copper
still and uh, it was
really good.
>>
What are some of your other tasting notes here, Michael?
>> Mike (07:36):
Uh, I got some cool stone fruit notes on this one.
Uh, some like really neat lemongrass stuff
on the finish. Um, this one notable, I feel
like, because this is the one mezcal that you might find
most often around the country, the easiest one to find.
>>
I agree. You know, they, they're branding with the very
iconic green bottles and very common
artwork are very distinguishable. But
you know, a lot of people, um, the one thing I've seen
them get confused about is thinking, oh, well
that's only one product and they don't recognize that each
one of those green bottles is something completely different.
(08:11):
Yeah. Um, Carrie Ann, what do you think?
>> Carrie Ann (08:14):
Mhm. I think across the board, like we always pick up a
pepper note on the ah, Mezcals, but this one
is more like a serrano than a black
pepper. There's something like slightly
spicy to it, but like vegetal.
I really, I thought it was really nice.
>>
Um, I got a lot of sweet grass, you know, off the nose
with.
>> Carrie Ann (08:33):
Uh, this, I love that sweet crab.
>>
And um, you know, the pepper was very
light, you know, with this, it was not kind of
overbearing and just kind of clubbing you over the
head. Um, super squeaky clean.
I mean it was just on and off the palate and you
know, there was just not like a lot of things hanging around and
I really love that. Um, had a very
(08:55):
fiery, you know, pepper finish off the Back end.
I just thought that, you know, if somebody were just to
say, you know, what's the flag bearer for
Mezcal? This would probably be on my short list, you
know, for sure.
>> Mike (09:08):
Definitely.
>>
Um, what was your rating for this?
All right, we'll go with a four here for, uh, this
classified. For the, uh,
Del McKay Vita Classico, our, uh,
SIPS rating was a four. You know, I.
The. You know, the comments that I had, you know, kind of leading into
this were just that, uh, how complex,
(09:31):
you know, espadine can get. And
yet at the same time, it has. It can be
just, like, super, very iconic like this,
you know, as well. Um, and you guys are, you know,
all nodding your head here. So, I mean, there's
definitely a lot, you know, very iconic
element in a way that, you know, dumb gay hair has actually
(09:51):
captured that and done it so consistently. I m. Mean, it's
a product I've probably. I've tasted, you know, five,
seven years now, and it's like, man, it tastes
exactly the same way today. This is the first time I
tasted it.
>> Mike (10:03):
Yeah. To me, I feel like it's gotten lighter
over the years, um, because I feel like it used to be
a little bit smokier back when Mezcal was just
starting to become a thing in. In the United States.
But I feel like they've been smart, that they've kind
of gone more, um, nuanced,
lighter.
>>
Um.
>> Mike (10:22):
Um, that. That's what it seems like to me anyway. But maybe I'm
just drinking more Mezcal these days.
>> Carrie Ann (10:29):
I think it. I mean, the reason I rated it
at three against their fours is it just. It.
It lacks some of the character that I really like in a pure
espadding.
>>
Oh, well, I think we're about to get to some of that character, uh,
definitely with some of these other products made with
espadine. So I'm looking forward to
all of the ones that we're going to go in our lineup today.
But, uh, thought this was a good, you know, opening
salvo for sure. Well, uh,
we'll be right back right after this break.
(11:01):
Hey, welcome back to Sip, Suds and Smokes. On
today's episode, we are going over
Mezcal and specifically talking about
products that are made with espadine. And
so our first product was the Del Maguey Vita
Classico, which we actually rated a 4
under protest by Kerrianne.
So, um, well, Carrie, uh,
(11:24):
Ann is going to actually introduce our next espadine products.
>> Carrie Ann (11:27):
So next up, we have Ray Campero
Espadinhoven it is from
Candelaria Yagole, Oaxaca.
It's a, uh, 48.6 ABV
distilled twice in copper stills.
And the bottle we have today was made in May of
2020 from lot
D5033E.
(11:51):
Maestro is Romulo
Sanchez Parada.
Candelaria Yagole is a sacred
place. Its inhabitants number just over 100,
and young people are few and far between.
Hardship, lack of employment, and a bleak future
have led the remaining population to migrate
(12:11):
in this imposing and rugged setting, where the river
that meanders through the town mourns the departure
of its children who head north to seek new
dreams. It is the same place where nature has
capriciously dotted the canyons and slopes of the
ravines with agave and leaves the
soil fertile after the storms.
(12:31):
This is a place where they know how to make a mezcal.
The Sanchez.
The Sanchez distillery, located in this corner of
Oaxaca, has been operating for over
seven decades. And its master distillers have
been making mezcal and
(12:52):
improving upon the generational knowledge
for.
>>
Sorry, seven decades.
>> Carrie Ann (13:00):
Thank you. Their knowledge has given them experience
to understand and respect the land, water, and
fire. For several years now, this family of
mezcal makers has shared their knowledge and employed
several people from the community and more recently, from
the region's towns. In this palenque,
not only is the distillation done, but friendly
(13:22):
ties are also forged to rebuild the community
fabric and keep the mezcal tradition alive.
Ray Comparo describes this as having
aromas of sweet agave smoke,
citrus, and vegetal notes. Flavors
include agave, smoke, pepper,
and often citrus, vanilla, and mineral
(13:42):
undertones. Definitely, like the
vegetal green pepper stands out to me. And
the lime zest, kind of. Those are the two big
flavors I feel. Describe this one.
>>
Yeah, things got definitely kicked up, you
know, with this, for sure. Um, I wrote very pepper
nose and almost like twice the pepper, you
know, um, on up front for this, it was,
you know, almost kind of this, you know, attacking kind
of thing. You know, it's just kind
of playing out. Um, and,
(14:14):
you know, I had this, um, earthy element to
it. Um, you know, didn't really kind of
move all the way to, I don't know, smoke. But,
um, it definitely had a earthy tone
to it. Um, of definitely a peppery finish
off this, for sure.
>> Carrie Ann (14:30):
Pick up just the hint of smoke, like, on the back, on the
finish. But it's not like there.
>>
But it's just kind of like in the background.
Yeah. Michael, what'd you think?
>> Mike (14:39):
Yeah, I thought it was really big, bold,
um, especially compared to the Del Maguey,
um, this one has a lot more going on. I also
got some cool, like, spices in there, like
cinnamon,
m clove, a little bit like some
cool baking spices are in there. So just thought it was really
complex, really delicious.
>>
Uh, what's your. What's going to be your rating for this?
You sure that's your rating, Mike?
Right. Our SIPs rating here
for the uh, Ray Comparo Espadine Hoven
is going to be a four. That's classified.
And you know, um, the. I think
the storyline here, you know, for uh,
(15:23):
Ray Comparo is they are
very much about the people, you know,
that's in their company. That was the thing that really
impressed me is that they're kind of one of
the early brand adopters, you know, as well.
And I like the fact that we've had both
Dell Maguey and Ray Comparel, you know,
literally, you know, back to back here. And a lot of
(15:46):
it is even the way in the maturity that,
you know, they've. They've been selling their products as well.
They've been around, you know, for quite some time now.
Ray, uh, Compare doesn't have nearly the
complexity, um, of a lot of their product
line. But I really think this
Espadine is, ah, I think such a. Another
great example and yet something completely
(16:08):
different than, uh, the. Than the Del Maguey
was. So, um, I like the story
that we're kind of weaving with these products as well.
All right, so we're going to change things up and
uh, with this something different because this is our only
Mezcal, um, Artisanal that's actually
in the, in the uh, lineup here. Michael's going to
(16:29):
introduce this product, which is from Monte Lobos.
>> Mike (16:32):
Yeah, this is Monte Lobos. Espadin Hoven,
uh, from, uh, Rancho Loma
Larga in Santiago matalan in
Oaxaca. ABV on this
one clocks in at 43.2.
Uh, this is Mezcal Artisanal.
And the still is copper with
(16:53):
direct wood fire. There's a roast
that they do in a stone pit with Encino
and pine wood from lot
KP6924. The
Maestro is Ivan Saldana and
Guadalupe Garcia. They
describe this as, uh, on the nose,
some damp earth with freshly cut grass,
(17:15):
honey, citrus, asparagus and
smoke. And on the palette, green
maguet with nuts, earth
and smoke. I
love this one. And I honestly think
this would be a good, like, introduction
for a lot of people from Mezcal because It's so much lighter
(17:36):
than it's hard to find.
>> Carrie Ann (17:38):
I agree with all of that, except for, I don't know who tasted
this on their nose. The nose is like
confectionary almost. There's something
so sweet and vanilla y
and tastes like, or smells like
baked goods.
>> Mike (17:55):
Yeah, like one of those good bakeries that makes like tres
leches cake.
>> Carrie Ann (17:58):
Mhm.
>> Mike (17:59):
It smells like what, what it smells like.
>> Carrie Ann (18:00):
I am not getting any damp earth here.
>>
Yeah, I mean, that was the very first thing that I wrote down
was sweet. Yeah, for sure.
Um, some of my own tasting, uh, notes here. Beyond just
sweet, you know, very complex,
um, and you know, very. Ah,
I thought it was, uh, nice, um, and kind of
easygoing. Um, I love the
(18:25):
finish off of this as well. Um, I really
had a tough time, you know, putting
adjectives and really kind of nailing something down, you know,
within the taste profile. Um, it was
all that complexity that I was really kind of torn about. I'm like,
man, there's just like, you know, 15, 20 things
going on here. And I. It's like, how do you deconstruct, you
(18:46):
know, that complexity kind of going on here?
So, um, it's definitely one of those things where
every time I've gone back to it, I pick
up something, you know, just different than I did in the first
or the last taste, you know, out of this. I have a
sneaky feeling that both, uh,
water food, um, would
(19:06):
really change things up with this and I think
present itself, you know, in a different way, you know,
each time. Because those other things that, uh, you know,
might be hanging around on your palate or you ate
just, you know, or sipped it, you know, right before or after that,
I would think would have some, you know, influence, you know,
about how that would, would go down.
>> Carrie Ann (19:25):
So the nose totally carries through to the palate that
it's a mouthful, but I mean, it still maintains that
very confectionary taste as well as the way
your mouth feels like it's a little creamy almost.
>>
So what's your rating for this one?
Oh, well, how about that? So our SIPs rating here for the
Monte Lobos Espadine Joven is going to be
a five. Oh my goodness.
>> Carrie Ann (19:48):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's what she said.
>>
Yeah. We'll be right back after this message.
Hey, welcome back to Sip Studs and Smokes.
And on today's episode, we are going over
Espadine Mezcals, uh, from
a variety of producers. And,
uh, we just covered the product from Monte Lobos
(20:14):
Espadine Havan, which we gave a five. Oh, my
goodness.
So our next product is actually going to be from
Vago. Um, this is a very popular
brand. You can find, you know, Vago in a lot of
places. So, you know, um, some of
these products may be a little more difficult to find, but
(20:36):
this particular product, which is the ensemble and
Barro, you, uh, can find, you know, in a
lot of places. The mes. This is a mezcal,
uh, ancestral. It's, uh, Havan, which means
it's young. Uh, the village is Sola de
Vega, uh, in southern Oaxaca.
Uh, the still was clay. This is
(20:56):
specifically lot
S02ECM20. It
was made in March of 2020. The
Maestro was Dior, a,
um, soft bouquet of pine
needles and fertile earth. Its full body has
an essence of charred cinnamon and finishes with
notes of pumpkin and chestnuts.
>> Carrie Ann (21:16):
I don't know who tasted that.
>> Mike (21:22):
I do have roasted vegetables as one of my notes
that I did think it was super complex and, like,
strange in a good way.
>> Carrie Ann (21:31):
I got, like, the feeling of a Sichuan
berry. Like, that numbs your tongue for a second.
>> Mike (21:36):
Yeah.
>> Carrie Ann (21:37):
And then, like, the taste that follows that up
is a little anise. Um, but it does have
that vegetable quality. But then there's something that, like, literally
tongue numbing for just a second.
>>
Yeah. You know, this definitely. It
played, like a huge band, you know, on
my palate.
>> Mike (21:55):
Yeah, pretty much.
>>
Um, I mean, it was. It was just. Was
a lot of heavy sugars, you know, right up front.
Um, a lot of pepper. The body on this
was really big. I mean, this. I
mean, it tasted, you know, two to three times the
style of body that, you know, some of these other products that
we've had here. Um, it had a really
(22:16):
long finish off of it still. You know, pepper
was. Was present off of it. But, man, this thing had
a lot going on, and I just. I love the whole
thing.
>> Carrie Ann (22:26):
What's the proof on this one?
>> Mike (22:29):
Uh, hundred proof.
>> Carrie Ann (22:30):
Okay, there you go.
>>
Um, a little bit more, uh, octane in the barrel as well.
Um, yeah, I wouldn't even mind going back and trying this with
a touch of water just to see if it changes, you
know, any, you know, really that dramatic. But,
man, I like this a lot. Um,
and it was interesting. This was a bottle I've had for a little
while, and it was a lowrider. And you could tell because I kept on
(22:52):
going back to it, uh, quite a bit, which means that
I was trying it neat. I was trying it in a variety of
cocktails. You know, I was probably you know,
tasting it in, um, a lot of different ways.
And, um, um, I really, uh. You
know, the whole Vago line is. Is really.
I've yet to have anything in their product line that I went,
(23:12):
you know, this one was just okay. They're all
exceptional. Yeah, for sure.
>> Mike (23:17):
Really good.
>>
Uh, what's your rating here for the, uh, for the Vago?
>> Carrie Ann (23:22):
Oh, my God.
>>
We agree across the board
is a. Is a SIPs rating of 4 for
the Vago ensemble and borrow. So
definitely, uh, um, you know, that.
>> Carrie Ann (23:34):
Would make a really nice Mezcal. A Negroni situation.
>> Mike (23:37):
Oh, yeah. Definitely cut through all those big
flavors.
>> Carrie Ann (23:40):
Hm.
>>
Any, uh, anything else that you would think you would do
with, you know, with this one or with
cocktails?
>> Mike (23:48):
I think for cocktails, this could be a really
interesting one to do something really unique. Like they
mentioned pumpkin to do like a really cool, like,
pumpkin cocktail or, ah, a
cocktail where you're using vegetables, which is. Can be hard to
do. But, um, I would definitely try it with
celery juice. Yeah, totally.
(24:08):
You could do a really amazing, like Mezcal bloody, uh,
Mary with this one where it would still come through making
watermelon rind.
>>
So m. Yeah. Michael, when you approach,
uh, when Mezcal cocktails
are to you, do you start with
the Mezcal and then you think about, you
know, what, I'm going to go with that, or do you think
more about the other components that you might
be making with a cocktail and then you're trying
(24:37):
to find a Mezcal to kind of fit into. It's
kind of like, you know, do you start from the top or the bottom?
>> Carrie Ann (24:43):
It depends on the goals of your list.
>> Mike (24:45):
Yeah. Sometimes you have like, an idea for a drink that you're just like,
chasing after the right spirit to use with it.
Um, but with this one,
there's so many different tasting notes and unique ones. Like,
I never taste roasted cauliflower and spirit
usually, or charred pumpkin. You know, stuff
like that. And then you're like, huh, huh. Well, I'm getting that I could
(25:06):
probably make something really unique where that.
Where you're honoring the. The spirit too, where you're picking
out, um, different tasting notes and
accentuating those.
>>
Yeah. You know, I think that there's probably a
lot more trial and error, you know, with
Mezcal, uh, cocktails specifically,
where I'm always, I don't
know, it's very rare for me to charge in with.
With a Mezcal cocktail and say, I'm absolutely
going to nail this on the very first try.
Um, I always wind up with,
(25:38):
something's off, I know what to fix, or
something's off, and I'm not quite sure. But here's
two or three things that I'm going to adjust or try, you know,
from there. And, you know, I find
that there's, you know, two things that I
wind up doing. One is I'm trying to
accentuate what the Mezcal is trying to do, and
(25:59):
I'm trying to drop, you know, bag other things
that are in that cocktail, or the vice versa
of that, which is, you know, the Mezcal is
basically not in balance with the rest of the ingredients
in this that I'm going for.
And that's always, you could argue,
this.
>> Carrie Ann (26:17):
Is a cocktail in itself. I mean, I think the way that they've
chosen those ingredients and how much of which
agaves they put into it was very, very
intentional. And I think it's really beautiful. I would like to
just, like, sip on it on an ice cube.
>>
I actually did not go over the variety of, uh, you
know, agaves. Can you read off that label there?
>> Mike (26:35):
Yes. So we have, uh, 60% espadine,
36% coyote, and
4% Mexicano. So those are different varieties that are in
there. So it's pretty cool.
>>
Yeah. So in this lineup, I think this is the
only product that has such a broad range
of agave in it as well.
And, um, so I think that,
again, that can. That can make your,
you know, approaching it as a cocktail, you know,
product easier or far more complex,
(27:06):
you know, as well. It's like that, you know,
the Del McGee is, you
know, exactly. You know, where you're starting. I mean, it's like somebody
handing you a, uh, blanco Tequila. You know, it's like,
I know exactly what this is going to taste like every
single time. So you absolutely know the baseline
that you're always going to be working. Um, as opposed
to, you know, some of these, uh, blended
(27:29):
Mezcals, it's like, this one's going to taste this one.
But, you know, is the next batch or the batch after that
going to be, you know, just like this? So
that's always the challenge.
>> Mike (27:39):
Yeah. And it's just like, Mezcal cocktails are
like life. When in doubt, make a
margarita.
>> Carrie Ann (27:47):
And this one is like, I think of everything we've
been tasting, tasting today. It's, um. The
finish just goes on and on and on. Where a lot of them are, when
we say they're clean, I mean, the. They're
hitting you on the palette, and then they're Almost immediately gone. This
one I can still. It's still lingering. I
think it's kind of. I might want to change my writing
up.
>> Mike (28:08):
That's a big one.
>>
Are there other Vago, uh, products that you can
recall off the bat about it? Michael?
>> Mike (28:15):
The elote one is awesome.
>>
It is a very unique, uh, version in the
lineup. And I almost, you know, uh,
I really love that as well. But the story here that we're
going over is espadine. I agree. I love that
elote, uh, version as well. It's not,
as somebody says, you know, I'm going after
corn. It's like, whoa, this is going to be, you
know, very abrasive. And it's exactly the
(28:39):
opposite of that. Yeah, yeah.
>> Mike (28:40):
Delicious.
>>
Yeah, I love that one as well.
Well, um, you know, uh,
so far we're cooking along and I really appreciate
all of the, uh, espadines that we've gone, uh, so
far. I'm really looking forward to this next
one because it's not just about the
Mezcal, um, but it is about family,
it's about festival, it is about all of
(29:04):
the culture that's surrounding this. And
you don't get a lot of this particular product
that actually crosses the border. So
I'm really looking forward to not only talking about
this particular product, but, you know, you
get to hear a lot more about how,
um, these products have been incorporated into the
(29:24):
cultures, you know, that they're made as well. So
I'm looking forward, you know, to part of that discussion.
Well, hopefully you've enjoyed following along with us so far.
And, uh, we'll be back right
after this break.
>> Carrie Ann (29:41):
With Pachuga.
>>
With Patouga.
Hey, welcome back to Sip Suds and Smokes. On
(30:03):
today's episode, we are going over
Mezcals that are made with espadine, which is a
variety of agave plant.
And, uh, we've gone over some really great products so far.
Um, the last product we went over was, uh, Mezcal
Vago Ensemble Ambaro, uh, which
we rated a 4. So.
(30:23):
And, you know, we talked a little bit about, uh, some
cocktails, you know, that we've kind of approached,
you know, uh, with making. But it's this
next storyline that Carrie Anne's going to go over that all of a
sudden it's going to be weaving culture and
a spirit, um, with Mezcal as well. So I look forward
to this.
>> Carrie Ann (30:41):
Tequila is life. Mezcal is life.
>>
Mhm.
>> Carrie Ann (30:46):
So our, uh, next product is
Gracias. Ah, Dios Pechuga de
guajalot how's that
sound? Mezcal Artisanal. It's an
espadine, it's a hoven, and
it's very delicious. Um,
it is made in a copper still. It is made
(31:07):
by Oscar Hernandez Santiago. This
is lot 110 with only 200
bottles produced. Uh,
gracias a dios. Pachuga is made
with agave, uh, espadine, wild
turkey, not the bourbon and
fresh fruit. Mezcalero
Oscar Hernandez made the special release in
(31:30):
honor of the Day of the Dead, which has a, um,
massive celebration in Oaxaca. After the
party for the special release.
Nope, sorry. After the party for the Day of the
Dead, Oscar used all of the fruit that people had
brought to him to make this mezcal pachouga. Before
the second distillation, wild turkey meat and fresh
(31:50):
fruit were added to the distillate to create this
special festive mezcal. The fruit
were added were local
cocoa, pecans, bananas,
apples, pineapples, and raisins,
which could be why I thought it tasted like rum.
Um, the nose is very strong, peppery, and
(32:11):
very much a lot. Um, it's hot.
It's going to give you some
Caribbean flavor. Um, I think blind
tasting this, I wouldn't off the bat, uh,
peg it as a mezcal. Um, but
the flavor, um, it incorporates a lot of, like, cinnamon,
allspice, poblano pepper, ground white corn.
(32:31):
And it does fill your mouth. Um,
thick viscosity and
long lasting from the rich coating.
>>
Uh, some of my own tasting notes here. The first thing I wrote
down was complex. Um, it's
just very well balanced. Um, is
the way I would describe, you know, this, um,
this is not more of the same, you know,
ah, if there's a corner where, which one of these things is
not like the other, this is totally, you know,
(33:01):
in a very different, um,
experience. Um, you know,
it was, ah, it was very subtle.
Um, you know, I didn't find that there was
something that was just jumping out at me that was saying, hey,
this is the dominant, you know, uh, flavor profile.
I just really was really good. Um,
(33:23):
I mean, I love the storyline as well, and
I just. It's interesting when,
you know, I always tell people when I'm traveling
that the way I tend to enjoy
traveling is through food. Uh, because
if, you know, the food of the region, you know, the people of the
region, and that includes, you know,
(33:43):
alcohol as well and other drinks and
products that are available. And I think that this,
this to me was saying, what would you know, the town
of Santiago Matalan Uh, actually,
you know, taste, like, in a glass. And to me, that's.
That's what I'm. I'm tasting is the culture of that
environment. Mike, Michael, what you think?
>> Mike (34:02):
I thought it was really cool. Um, the thick
mouthfeel is really nice. Um,
it makes me want to drink it, like, after a meal. Makes me want to drink it, like,
after Thanksgiving or Christmas. It reminded me. One of
my tasting notes is figgy pudding at Christmas.
So it had that vibe to it, which was really cool.
Um, there's just not a lot of things like
(34:24):
this. Um, and you were talking about traveling and having cool
spirits. Reminds me a little bit of
pitoro in Puerto Rico. Oh,
if you're in Puerto Rico and you go
to, like, a small restaurant, maybe at somebody's house. We went to
one, um, where it was just, like a family
cooking, you know, whole red snapper. And then at the
(34:44):
end of the meal, they would offer you their own family recipe of
pitoro. They were using, like, tamarind and
pineapple in theirs. But I. I had another one
when we were on the island where people, uh, were using
coconut. A lot of coconut, a lot of spices.
And I know that's like their own rum that they make, and then add
a bunch of different ingredients. Families have different recipes.
(35:05):
They usually pull it out around Christmas time, bury it in the
backyard, pull it back out. So that's pretty.
It's. It reminds me of that.
>> Carrie Ann (35:12):
That's funny. I was going to say, uh, like Clarin
in. In Haiti, because everybody has their
own m. Way to go. Um, it's just now
commercially available in the U.S. um, but
that's something very personal to each family and
what kind of clarion they might make or
distribute amongst their friends. I think, like,
(35:32):
that community, that sense of community and what it brings
together. Um, and I love the. The idea that this is
made from the fruits that they brought this guy.
Um, because I think, like, the reason it tastes like rum
to me is where rum is made from sugar cane. Now
you're adding in the sugars from these fruits and all of
the flavors we might get out of sugar cane, that would equal
(35:53):
pineapple or banana are actually in there.
And it's a. It's just really cool in your mouth.
>>
Yeah. Let's rate this up. Cool in your mouth conversation.
So what's your rating gonna be here for the, uh, pachuga?
How about that? Well. Oh, my God.
>> Carrie Ann (36:07):
Yes, yes, yes,
yes.
>>
So our sips, uh, rating here for the, uh,
Gracias Dios Pachuga. El
Jalante boy, I really butchered. That was a
five. Um, but so the
one example that I was.
>> Carrie Ann (36:22):
Sorry, Oscar.
>>
Yeah, ah, um, the one
example I was going to throw out when I think of, you know,
combining culture and a beverage is
limoncello. Um, because
uh, you know, in Italian cultures,
um, uh, the
dowry that is paid for,
(36:44):
um, on the bride side is
the limoncello recipe, um,
that is only passed around through a point of
marriage. And it's, you know,
spoiler, it's lemon and sugar. Yeah.
Hey, you know, I've, I've seen a lot of Nonna's that
go. Mine is much better than yours. So,
(37:06):
um, but um, I just, I,
I uh, love this storyline. But more importantly, I really,
really love this. And if you can get your
hands on, you know, a pachuga,
um, hopefully you'll have the opportunity to enjoy
it, uh, much like we have today.
>> Carrie Ann (37:23):
Um, anybody worried about the whole Wild Turkey
thing? No, it is more for ah,
the ceremony of it. Ah,
and the steam is going up through the turkey
and then being at.
>>
The end of the day.
>> Mike (37:37):
I know, um, it's ornamental Wild turkey.
>>
What'd you guys think of this flight?
>> Carrie Ann (37:45):
I'd do it again.
>>
Great example, really amazing.
>> Mike (37:47):
Yeah, all kinds of different varieties. You've got light,
subtle, uh, clean, you've got big
smacking you in the face, uh,
roasted vegetables. Um, and
then we started off with like stone fruit,
pear, lemongrass. Really cool.
>> Carrie Ann (38:03):
And the smoke is all over the place. From hardly noticeable
to a good part of the tasty notes.
>>
Well, I hope you'll check out mezcal espadines
on your own because um, such a great variety of
things you'll get to enjoy. Well, I want to thank my co
host for being here, Carrie Ann. Tell us uh,
anything you got going on and uh,
tell us, you know, what's your favorite color of the
day?
>> Carrie Ann (38:27):
Black. Always black. Um, I have a lot going on
which will be revealed soon. Straight up615
on Instagram and dot com.
>>
Good old boy Michael. Thanks for being here. Tell us
all about Liquid Gold with books and anything else.
>> Mike (38:42):
Yeah, you can find my books@mikewolfbooks.com
I um, feel like people who listen to the agave episodes would like
my book Cheer, which has a whole agave section
and tiki section as well.
Um, um, next up I'll be working on a
book about trees, so.
>> Carrie Ann (38:58):
Wow, interesting. In a
tiki drink.
>> Mike (39:02):
Oh yeah, definitely. Pachuca Mai
tai's for the win.
>> Carrie Ann (39:06):
Mhm.
>>
Interesting. Well, this is good boy Mike asking you to
come back and to keep on sipping.
>> Announcer (39:13):
We hope you enjoyed this episode. If
you're listening to us online, do yourself a favor
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>> Carrie Ann (39:22):
Give it a little tappy tap tap
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(39:48):
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(40:11):
and keep on sipping.
>> Mike (40:12):
Uh,
this has been a one tan.
>> Announcer (40:26):
Hand production of Sips, Suds and
Smokes, a program devoted to the appreciation
of some of the finer slices of life from the
dude in the Basement Studios. Your host, the Good Old
Boys will see you all next time.
On the next episode of sips, Suds.
>> Mike (00:03):
And smokes, Mezcal, and specifically
espadine, which is the most popular variety of agave
used to produce mezcals. We have Del
Maguey Vita Classico from San Luis del
Rio, we have Ray Camparo Espadinhoven
from Candelaria Igole, we have Monte
Lobos Espadinhoven, Rancho Loma
Larga in Santiago Matalan in
(00:25):
Oaxaca, we have Vago Ensemble in
Barro, a blend with 50% espadine
hoven. Gracias. Adios.
Pechuga de guajuo,
Guajolote espadin, Hoven.
Espadine is the most widely used agave variety for
mezcal. The do for mezcal is nine
regions, and these plants must be grown and
(00:47):
cultivated in those regions. The vast majority
of espadine comes from Oaxaca.
>> Announcer (00:53):
We'll be right back after this break.
(01:17):
Brought to you almost live from the dude in the
basement studios. Why? Because that's where the
good stuff is. It sips, suds and
smokes with your smoking host, the good old
boys.
(01:50):
And now it's sipping.
>>
Hey, welcome to this SIPS episode where everything good
in life is worth discussing. We are the best thing
on at 2am and we thank you for choosing to
listen to us instead of the food chain.
And groundbreaking discussion on stadium food.
This looks good, doesn't it? So, uh, for
journalist Kunwar, uh,
Kaldoon Shahid has lived and
(02:21):
breathed cricket since he was a young age. And there's a technique of
eating whilst watching the game. When
a fast bowler. I was going to do an Indian accent.
When a fast bowler, his is. Has a long
run up and the Pakistani fast bowlers have
long run up. You wait until the delivery is done
and have one or two spoonfuls of
(02:41):
Birani during that time. So, yes,
not bad. Thank you. I've offended both a country and an
individual all in the same moment.
>> Carrie Ann (02:49):
That was a continent.
>>
It's a gift.
>> Carrie Ann (02:51):
That was an entire continent offended just now.
>>
Well, this is good old boy Mike. Uh, and, uh,
joining me today on pharmaceuticals with Mike, our good old
gal, Carrie Anne.
>> Carrie Ann (03:05):
I'm not trying to offend anyone.
>>
M. All right, I'll. I'll hang with that for a
moment here, so. And good old boy Michael.
>> Mike (03:16):
How we doing? I'll offend, uh, some people in Oaxaca,
I'm sure.
>>
Well, you know, everybody has to have a gold mic, so I appreciate
that.
>> Mike (03:22):
I love their product, though.
>>
Um, so Carrie Ann has, uh, a
blog and all things spirits related at straight, uh,
up 615. Michael is an author of many
cocktail books, including my favorite, which is Garden to
Glass. He's also hosts his own podcast,
which is Liquid Gold. One of my favorite episodes
is on Corpse Reviver number two.
>> Mike (03:44):
Bring the some absinthe, the greatest
morning cocktail ever created.
>>
So I have to say, I actually fell in love with
the, uh, cognac version. First was number one,
and I really found my favorite was Pierre
Ferrand. Um, but I
moved to the absinthe so hard and fast.
And so, uh, I make those on a routine and regular
basis. So I really enjoyed that episode a lot.
>> Carrie Ann (04:09):
I hope Sazrak picked that up. Send you
some extra.
>>
Yeah, that'll be great. Um, well, our,
um, sip segments are all about wine, distilled spirits,
tea, and coffee. Um, good old boy Michael is. Tell us
a little bit more about our episode today.
>> Mike (04:24):
All right, here's what we're going to discuss in this segment.
Mezcal. And specifically Espadine, which is the most
popular variety of agave used to produce Mezcals,
we have Del Maguey Vita Classico. From
San Luis del Rio, we have Ray Camparo
Espadinhoven. From Candelaria.
Iagole, we have Monte Lobos.
Espadinhoven, Rancho Loma
(04:46):
Larga in Santiago, Matalan.
>>
In.
>> Mike (04:48):
In Oaxaca, we have Vago Ensemble In
Baro, a blend with 50% espadine
hoven. Gracias. Adios.
Pachuga de Guaju.
Guajolote. Espadine Hoven.
So I only had one road. Road bump.
>>
Um, it's pretty good. Well,
if you need a primer on agave spirits, which includes
Mezcal, check out our Agave 101
episode. I'm just going to apologize in advance for
butchering the pronunciation of these brands, these
towns, all these nice Spanish words
that this good old boy cannot simply roll. My R's well
enough. And I flunked out of Spanish in the ninth grade, and
(05:26):
nearly all of the Spanish I know was acquired from Taco
Bell commercials.
>> Carrie Ann (05:30):
Yo quiero Taco Bell.
>>
So Carrie Ann has the honor, uh, of going
over our SIPs ratings for today.
>> Carrie Ann (05:38):
So we'll be tasting and discussing these Mezcals and
rating them with these sip Ra
Sips ratings, plus our signature
sounds. Here are those ratings now.
1. Give me a glass of water to wash
out my mouth water.
>> Mike (05:58):
Bring water.
>> Carrie Ann (05:59):
Two. Nice. But what else do you have?
Well, isn't that nice?
3. Interesting.
What was it interesting?
4. Let's keep this one a secret to
ourselves. Pour me another.
>>
That's Classified.
>> Carrie Ann (06:23):
And five, the Holy Grail. Oh
my. I was unaware anything could be this good.
>>
Oh my goodness.
>> Carrie Ann (06:30):
Yes, yes, yes.
>>
Michael's going to introduce us to espadine.
>> Mike (06:37):
Espadine is the most widely used agave variety for
Mezcal. The do for Mezcal is 9
regions and these plants must be grown and
cultivated in those regions. The vast majority of
espadine comes from Oaxaca. The initial
smokiness, a hallmark of mezcal, is often
balanced by earthy vegetal notes that reflect the
agave's origin. This brings us to
(06:59):
our first mezcal. The Del Maggi Vita
Classico is a handcrafted
mezcal alongside the tropical riverbed
in the village of San Luis del Rio, where the Red Ant
river flows naturally. Fermented and twice
distilled in wood fired copper stills.
Village state is San Luis del Rio,
Oaxaca. The palenquero is Pasiano
(07:21):
Cruz Nolasco. The agave
varietal is Espadin ABV comes in
at 42%. They are doing that on a copper
still and uh, it was
really good.
>>
What are some of your other tasting notes here, Michael?
>> Mike (07:36):
Uh, I got some cool stone fruit notes on this one.
Uh, some like really neat lemongrass stuff
on the finish. Um, this one notable, I feel
like, because this is the one mezcal that you might find
most often around the country, the easiest one to find.
>>
I agree. You know, they, they're branding with the very
iconic green bottles and very common
artwork are very distinguishable. But
you know, a lot of people, um, the one thing I've seen
them get confused about is thinking, oh, well
that's only one product and they don't recognize that each
one of those green bottles is something completely different.
(08:11):
Yeah. Um, Carrie Ann, what do you think?
>> Carrie Ann (08:14):
Mhm. I think across the board, like we always pick up a
pepper note on the ah, Mezcals, but this one
is more like a serrano than a black
pepper. There's something like slightly
spicy to it, but like vegetal.
I really, I thought it was really nice.
>>
Um, I got a lot of sweet grass, you know, off the nose
with.
>> Carrie Ann (08:33):
Uh, this, I love that sweet crab.
>>
And um, you know, the pepper was very
light, you know, with this, it was not kind of
overbearing and just kind of clubbing you over the
head. Um, super squeaky clean.
I mean it was just on and off the palate and you
know, there was just not like a lot of things hanging around and
I really love that. Um, had a very
(08:55):
fiery, you know, pepper finish off the Back end.
I just thought that, you know, if somebody were just to
say, you know, what's the flag bearer for
Mezcal? This would probably be on my short list, you
know, for sure.
>> Mike (09:08):
Definitely.
>>
Um, what was your rating for this?
All right, we'll go with a four here for, uh, this
classified. For the, uh,
Del McKay Vita Classico, our, uh,
SIPS rating was a four. You know, I.
The. You know, the comments that I had, you know, kind of leading into
this were just that, uh, how complex,
(09:31):
you know, espadine can get. And
yet at the same time, it has. It can be
just, like, super, very iconic like this,
you know, as well. Um, and you guys are, you know,
all nodding your head here. So, I mean, there's
definitely a lot, you know, very iconic
element in a way that, you know, dumb gay hair has actually
(09:51):
captured that and done it so consistently. I m. Mean, it's
a product I've probably. I've tasted, you know, five,
seven years now, and it's like, man, it tastes
exactly the same way today. This is the first time I
tasted it.
>> Mike (10:03):
Yeah. To me, I feel like it's gotten lighter
over the years, um, because I feel like it used to be
a little bit smokier back when Mezcal was just
starting to become a thing in. In the United States.
But I feel like they've been smart, that they've kind
of gone more, um, nuanced,
lighter.
>>
Um.
>> Mike (10:22):
Um, that. That's what it seems like to me anyway. But maybe I'm
just drinking more Mezcal these days.
>> Carrie Ann (10:29):
I think it. I mean, the reason I rated it
at three against their fours is it just. It.
It lacks some of the character that I really like in a pure
espadding.
>>
Oh, well, I think we're about to get to some of that character, uh,
definitely with some of these other products made with
espadine. So I'm looking forward to
all of the ones that we're going to go in our lineup today.
But, uh, thought this was a good, you know, opening
salvo for sure. Well, uh,
we'll be right back right after this break.
(11:01):
Hey, welcome back to Sip, Suds and Smokes. On
today's episode, we are going over
Mezcal and specifically talking about
products that are made with espadine. And
so our first product was the Del Maguey Vita
Classico, which we actually rated a 4
under protest by Kerrianne.
So, um, well, Carrie, uh,
(11:24):
Ann is going to actually introduce our next espadine products.
>> Carrie Ann (11:27):
So next up, we have Ray Campero
Espadinhoven it is from
Candelaria Yagole, Oaxaca.
It's a, uh, 48.6 ABV
distilled twice in copper stills.
And the bottle we have today was made in May of
2020 from lot
D5033E.
(11:51):
Maestro is Romulo
Sanchez Parada.
Candelaria Yagole is a sacred
place. Its inhabitants number just over 100,
and young people are few and far between.
Hardship, lack of employment, and a bleak future
have led the remaining population to migrate
(12:11):
in this imposing and rugged setting, where the river
that meanders through the town mourns the departure
of its children who head north to seek new
dreams. It is the same place where nature has
capriciously dotted the canyons and slopes of the
ravines with agave and leaves the
soil fertile after the storms.
(12:31):
This is a place where they know how to make a mezcal.
The Sanchez.
The Sanchez distillery, located in this corner of
Oaxaca, has been operating for over
seven decades. And its master distillers have
been making mezcal and
(12:52):
improving upon the generational knowledge
for.
>>
Sorry, seven decades.
>> Carrie Ann (13:00):
Thank you. Their knowledge has given them experience
to understand and respect the land, water, and
fire. For several years now, this family of
mezcal makers has shared their knowledge and employed
several people from the community and more recently, from
the region's towns. In this palenque,
not only is the distillation done, but friendly
(13:22):
ties are also forged to rebuild the community
fabric and keep the mezcal tradition alive.
Ray Comparo describes this as having
aromas of sweet agave smoke,
citrus, and vegetal notes. Flavors
include agave, smoke, pepper,
and often citrus, vanilla, and mineral
(13:42):
undertones. Definitely, like the
vegetal green pepper stands out to me. And
the lime zest, kind of. Those are the two big
flavors I feel. Describe this one.
>>
Yeah, things got definitely kicked up, you
know, with this, for sure. Um, I wrote very pepper
nose and almost like twice the pepper, you
know, um, on up front for this, it was,
you know, almost kind of this, you know, attacking kind
of thing. You know, it's just kind
of playing out. Um, and,
(14:14):
you know, I had this, um, earthy element to
it. Um, you know, didn't really kind of
move all the way to, I don't know, smoke. But,
um, it definitely had a earthy tone
to it. Um, of definitely a peppery finish
off this, for sure.
>> Carrie Ann (14:30):
Pick up just the hint of smoke, like, on the back, on the
finish. But it's not like there.
>>
But it's just kind of like in the background.
Yeah. Michael, what'd you think?
>> Mike (14:39):
Yeah, I thought it was really big, bold,
um, especially compared to the Del Maguey,
um, this one has a lot more going on. I also
got some cool, like, spices in there, like
cinnamon,
m clove, a little bit like some
cool baking spices are in there. So just thought it was really
complex, really delicious.
>>
Uh, what's your. What's going to be your rating for this?
You sure that's your rating, Mike?
Right. Our SIPs rating here
for the uh, Ray Comparo Espadine Hoven
is going to be a four. That's classified.
And you know, um, the. I think
the storyline here, you know, for uh,
(15:23):
Ray Comparo is they are
very much about the people, you know,
that's in their company. That was the thing that really
impressed me is that they're kind of one of
the early brand adopters, you know, as well.
And I like the fact that we've had both
Dell Maguey and Ray Comparel, you know,
literally, you know, back to back here. And a lot of
(15:46):
it is even the way in the maturity that,
you know, they've. They've been selling their products as well.
They've been around, you know, for quite some time now.
Ray, uh, Compare doesn't have nearly the
complexity, um, of a lot of their product
line. But I really think this
Espadine is, ah, I think such a. Another
great example and yet something completely
(16:08):
different than, uh, the. Than the Del Maguey
was. So, um, I like the story
that we're kind of weaving with these products as well.
All right, so we're going to change things up and
uh, with this something different because this is our only
Mezcal, um, Artisanal that's actually
in the, in the uh, lineup here. Michael's going to
(16:29):
introduce this product, which is from Monte Lobos.
>> Mike (16:32):
Yeah, this is Monte Lobos. Espadin Hoven,
uh, from, uh, Rancho Loma
Larga in Santiago matalan in
Oaxaca. ABV on this
one clocks in at 43.2.
Uh, this is Mezcal Artisanal.
And the still is copper with
(16:53):
direct wood fire. There's a roast
that they do in a stone pit with Encino
and pine wood from lot
KP6924. The
Maestro is Ivan Saldana and
Guadalupe Garcia. They
describe this as, uh, on the nose,
some damp earth with freshly cut grass,
(17:15):
honey, citrus, asparagus and
smoke. And on the palette, green
maguet with nuts, earth
and smoke. I
love this one. And I honestly think
this would be a good, like, introduction
for a lot of people from Mezcal because It's so much lighter
(17:36):
than it's hard to find.
>> Carrie Ann (17:38):
I agree with all of that, except for, I don't know who tasted
this on their nose. The nose is like
confectionary almost. There's something
so sweet and vanilla y
and tastes like, or smells like
baked goods.
>> Mike (17:55):
Yeah, like one of those good bakeries that makes like tres
leches cake.
>> Carrie Ann (17:58):
Mhm.
>> Mike (17:59):
It smells like what, what it smells like.
>> Carrie Ann (18:00):
I am not getting any damp earth here.
>>
Yeah, I mean, that was the very first thing that I wrote down
was sweet. Yeah, for sure.
Um, some of my own tasting, uh, notes here. Beyond just
sweet, you know, very complex,
um, and you know, very. Ah,
I thought it was, uh, nice, um, and kind of
easygoing. Um, I love the
(18:25):
finish off of this as well. Um, I really
had a tough time, you know, putting
adjectives and really kind of nailing something down, you know,
within the taste profile. Um, it was
all that complexity that I was really kind of torn about. I'm like,
man, there's just like, you know, 15, 20 things
going on here. And I. It's like, how do you deconstruct, you
(18:46):
know, that complexity kind of going on here?
So, um, it's definitely one of those things where
every time I've gone back to it, I pick
up something, you know, just different than I did in the first
or the last taste, you know, out of this. I have a
sneaky feeling that both, uh,
water food, um, would
(19:06):
really change things up with this and I think
present itself, you know, in a different way, you know,
each time. Because those other things that, uh, you know,
might be hanging around on your palate or you ate
just, you know, or sipped it, you know, right before or after that,
I would think would have some, you know, influence, you know,
about how that would, would go down.
>> Carrie Ann (19:25):
So the nose totally carries through to the palate that
it's a mouthful, but I mean, it still maintains that
very confectionary taste as well as the way
your mouth feels like it's a little creamy almost.
>>
So what's your rating for this one?
Oh, well, how about that? So our SIPs rating here for the
Monte Lobos Espadine Joven is going to be
a five. Oh my goodness.
>> Carrie Ann (19:48):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
That's what she said.
>>
Yeah. We'll be right back after this message.
Hey, welcome back to Sip Studs and Smokes.
And on today's episode, we are going over
Espadine Mezcals, uh, from
a variety of producers. And,
uh, we just covered the product from Monte Lobos
(20:14):
Espadine Havan, which we gave a five. Oh, my
goodness.
So our next product is actually going to be from
Vago. Um, this is a very popular
brand. You can find, you know, Vago in a lot of
places. So, you know, um, some of
these products may be a little more difficult to find, but
(20:36):
this particular product, which is the ensemble and
Barro, you, uh, can find, you know, in a
lot of places. The mes. This is a mezcal,
uh, ancestral. It's, uh, Havan, which means
it's young. Uh, the village is Sola de
Vega, uh, in southern Oaxaca.
Uh, the still was clay. This is
(20:56):
specifically lot
S02ECM20. It
was made in March of 2020. The
Maestro was Dior, a,
um, soft bouquet of pine
needles and fertile earth. Its full body has
an essence of charred cinnamon and finishes with
notes of pumpkin and chestnuts.
>> Carrie Ann (21:16):
I don't know who tasted that.
>> Mike (21:22):
I do have roasted vegetables as one of my notes
that I did think it was super complex and, like,
strange in a good way.
>> Carrie Ann (21:31):
I got, like, the feeling of a Sichuan
berry. Like, that numbs your tongue for a second.
>> Mike (21:36):
Yeah.
>> Carrie Ann (21:37):
And then, like, the taste that follows that up
is a little anise. Um, but it does have
that vegetable quality. But then there's something that, like, literally
tongue numbing for just a second.
>>
Yeah. You know, this definitely. It
played, like a huge band, you know, on
my palate.
>> Mike (21:55):
Yeah, pretty much.
>>
Um, I mean, it was. It was just. Was
a lot of heavy sugars, you know, right up front.
Um, a lot of pepper. The body on this
was really big. I mean, this. I
mean, it tasted, you know, two to three times the
style of body that, you know, some of these other products that
we've had here. Um, it had a really
(22:16):
long finish off of it still. You know, pepper
was. Was present off of it. But, man, this thing had
a lot going on, and I just. I love the whole
thing.
>> Carrie Ann (22:26):
What's the proof on this one?
>> Mike (22:29):
Uh, hundred proof.
>> Carrie Ann (22:30):
Okay, there you go.
>>
Um, a little bit more, uh, octane in the barrel as well.
Um, yeah, I wouldn't even mind going back and trying this with
a touch of water just to see if it changes, you
know, any, you know, really that dramatic. But,
man, I like this a lot. Um,
and it was interesting. This was a bottle I've had for a little
while, and it was a lowrider. And you could tell because I kept on
(22:52):
going back to it, uh, quite a bit, which means that
I was trying it neat. I was trying it in a variety of
cocktails. You know, I was probably you know,
tasting it in, um, a lot of different ways.
And, um, um, I really, uh. You
know, the whole Vago line is. Is really.
I've yet to have anything in their product line that I went,
(23:12):
you know, this one was just okay. They're all
exceptional. Yeah, for sure.
>> Mike (23:17):
Really good.
>>
Uh, what's your rating here for the, uh, for the Vago?
>> Carrie Ann (23:22):
Oh, my God.
>>
We agree across the board
is a. Is a SIPs rating of 4 for
the Vago ensemble and borrow. So
definitely, uh, um, you know, that.
>> Carrie Ann (23:34):
Would make a really nice Mezcal. A Negroni situation.
>> Mike (23:37):
Oh, yeah. Definitely cut through all those big
flavors.
>> Carrie Ann (23:40):
Hm.
>>
Any, uh, anything else that you would think you would do
with, you know, with this one or with
cocktails?
>> Mike (23:48):
I think for cocktails, this could be a really
interesting one to do something really unique. Like they
mentioned pumpkin to do like a really cool, like,
pumpkin cocktail or, ah, a
cocktail where you're using vegetables, which is. Can be hard to
do. But, um, I would definitely try it with
celery juice. Yeah, totally.
(24:08):
You could do a really amazing, like Mezcal bloody, uh,
Mary with this one where it would still come through making
watermelon rind.
>>
So m. Yeah. Michael, when you approach,
uh, when Mezcal cocktails
are to you, do you start with
the Mezcal and then you think about, you
know, what, I'm going to go with that, or do you think
more about the other components that you might
be making with a cocktail and then you're trying
(24:37):
to find a Mezcal to kind of fit into. It's
kind of like, you know, do you start from the top or the bottom?
>> Carrie Ann (24:43):
It depends on the goals of your list.
>> Mike (24:45):
Yeah. Sometimes you have like, an idea for a drink that you're just like,
chasing after the right spirit to use with it.
Um, but with this one,
there's so many different tasting notes and unique ones. Like,
I never taste roasted cauliflower and spirit
usually, or charred pumpkin. You know, stuff
like that. And then you're like, huh, huh. Well, I'm getting that I could
(25:06):
probably make something really unique where that.
Where you're honoring the. The spirit too, where you're picking
out, um, different tasting notes and
accentuating those.
>>
Yeah. You know, I think that there's probably a
lot more trial and error, you know, with
Mezcal, uh, cocktails specifically,
where I'm always, I don't
know, it's very rare for me to charge in with.
With a Mezcal cocktail and say, I'm absolutely
going to nail this on the very first try.
Um, I always wind up with,
(25:38):
something's off, I know what to fix, or
something's off, and I'm not quite sure. But here's
two or three things that I'm going to adjust or try, you know,
from there. And, you know, I find
that there's, you know, two things that I
wind up doing. One is I'm trying to
accentuate what the Mezcal is trying to do, and
(25:59):
I'm trying to drop, you know, bag other things
that are in that cocktail, or the vice versa
of that, which is, you know, the Mezcal is
basically not in balance with the rest of the ingredients
in this that I'm going for.
And that's always, you could argue,
this.
>> Carrie Ann (26:17):
Is a cocktail in itself. I mean, I think the way that they've
chosen those ingredients and how much of which
agaves they put into it was very, very
intentional. And I think it's really beautiful. I would like to
just, like, sip on it on an ice cube.
>>
I actually did not go over the variety of, uh, you
know, agaves. Can you read off that label there?
>> Mike (26:35):
Yes. So we have, uh, 60% espadine,
36% coyote, and
4% Mexicano. So those are different varieties that are in
there. So it's pretty cool.
>>
Yeah. So in this lineup, I think this is the
only product that has such a broad range
of agave in it as well.
And, um, so I think that,
again, that can. That can make your,
you know, approaching it as a cocktail, you know,
product easier or far more complex,
(27:06):
you know, as well. It's like that, you know,
the Del McGee is, you
know, exactly. You know, where you're starting. I mean, it's like somebody
handing you a, uh, blanco Tequila. You know, it's like,
I know exactly what this is going to taste like every
single time. So you absolutely know the baseline
that you're always going to be working. Um, as opposed
to, you know, some of these, uh, blended
(27:29):
Mezcals, it's like, this one's going to taste this one.
But, you know, is the next batch or the batch after that
going to be, you know, just like this? So
that's always the challenge.
>> Mike (27:39):
Yeah. And it's just like, Mezcal cocktails are
like life. When in doubt, make a
margarita.
>> Carrie Ann (27:47):
And this one is like, I think of everything we've
been tasting, tasting today. It's, um. The
finish just goes on and on and on. Where a lot of them are, when
we say they're clean, I mean, the. They're
hitting you on the palette, and then they're Almost immediately gone. This
one I can still. It's still lingering. I
think it's kind of. I might want to change my writing
up.
>> Mike (28:08):
That's a big one.
>>
Are there other Vago, uh, products that you can
recall off the bat about it? Michael?
>> Mike (28:15):
The elote one is awesome.
>>
It is a very unique, uh, version in the
lineup. And I almost, you know, uh,
I really love that as well. But the story here that we're
going over is espadine. I agree. I love that
elote, uh, version as well. It's not,
as somebody says, you know, I'm going after
corn. It's like, whoa, this is going to be, you
know, very abrasive. And it's exactly the
(28:39):
opposite of that. Yeah, yeah.
>> Mike (28:40):
Delicious.
>>
Yeah, I love that one as well.
Well, um, you know, uh,
so far we're cooking along and I really appreciate
all of the, uh, espadines that we've gone, uh, so
far. I'm really looking forward to this next
one because it's not just about the
Mezcal, um, but it is about family,
it's about festival, it is about all of
(29:04):
the culture that's surrounding this. And
you don't get a lot of this particular product
that actually crosses the border. So
I'm really looking forward to not only talking about
this particular product, but, you know, you
get to hear a lot more about how,
um, these products have been incorporated into the
(29:24):
cultures, you know, that they're made as well. So
I'm looking forward, you know, to part of that discussion.
Well, hopefully you've enjoyed following along with us so far.
And, uh, we'll be back right
after this break.
>> Carrie Ann (29:41):
With Pachuga.
>>
With Patouga.
Hey, welcome back to Sip Suds and Smokes. On
(30:03):
today's episode, we are going over
Mezcals that are made with espadine, which is a
variety of agave plant.
And, uh, we've gone over some really great products so far.
Um, the last product we went over was, uh, Mezcal
Vago Ensemble Ambaro, uh, which
we rated a 4. So.
(30:23):
And, you know, we talked a little bit about, uh, some
cocktails, you know, that we've kind of approached,
you know, uh, with making. But it's this
next storyline that Carrie Anne's going to go over that all of a
sudden it's going to be weaving culture and
a spirit, um, with Mezcal as well. So I look forward
to this.
>> Carrie Ann (30:41):
Tequila is life. Mezcal is life.
>>
Mhm.
>> Carrie Ann (30:46):
So our, uh, next product is
Gracias. Ah, Dios Pechuga de
guajalot how's that
sound? Mezcal Artisanal. It's an
espadine, it's a hoven, and
it's very delicious. Um,
it is made in a copper still. It is made
(31:07):
by Oscar Hernandez Santiago. This
is lot 110 with only 200
bottles produced. Uh,
gracias a dios. Pachuga is made
with agave, uh, espadine, wild
turkey, not the bourbon and
fresh fruit. Mezcalero
Oscar Hernandez made the special release in
(31:30):
honor of the Day of the Dead, which has a, um,
massive celebration in Oaxaca. After the
party for the special release.
Nope, sorry. After the party for the Day of the
Dead, Oscar used all of the fruit that people had
brought to him to make this mezcal pachouga. Before
the second distillation, wild turkey meat and fresh
(31:50):
fruit were added to the distillate to create this
special festive mezcal. The fruit
were added were local
cocoa, pecans, bananas,
apples, pineapples, and raisins,
which could be why I thought it tasted like rum.
Um, the nose is very strong, peppery, and
(32:11):
very much a lot. Um, it's hot.
It's going to give you some
Caribbean flavor. Um, I think blind
tasting this, I wouldn't off the bat, uh,
peg it as a mezcal. Um, but
the flavor, um, it incorporates a lot of, like, cinnamon,
allspice, poblano pepper, ground white corn.
(32:31):
And it does fill your mouth. Um,
thick viscosity and
long lasting from the rich coating.
>>
Uh, some of my own tasting notes here. The first thing I wrote
down was complex. Um, it's
just very well balanced. Um, is
the way I would describe, you know, this, um,
this is not more of the same, you know,
ah, if there's a corner where, which one of these things is
not like the other, this is totally, you know,
(33:01):
in a very different, um,
experience. Um, you know,
it was, ah, it was very subtle.
Um, you know, I didn't find that there was
something that was just jumping out at me that was saying, hey,
this is the dominant, you know, uh, flavor profile.
I just really was really good. Um,
(33:23):
I mean, I love the storyline as well, and
I just. It's interesting when,
you know, I always tell people when I'm traveling
that the way I tend to enjoy
traveling is through food. Uh, because
if, you know, the food of the region, you know, the people of the
region, and that includes, you know,
(33:43):
alcohol as well and other drinks and
products that are available. And I think that this,
this to me was saying, what would you know, the town
of Santiago Matalan Uh, actually,
you know, taste, like, in a glass. And to me, that's.
That's what I'm. I'm tasting is the culture of that
environment. Mike, Michael, what you think?
>> Mike (34:02):
I thought it was really cool. Um, the thick
mouthfeel is really nice. Um,
it makes me want to drink it, like, after a meal. Makes me want to drink it, like,
after Thanksgiving or Christmas. It reminded me. One of
my tasting notes is figgy pudding at Christmas.
So it had that vibe to it, which was really cool.
Um, there's just not a lot of things like
(34:24):
this. Um, and you were talking about traveling and having cool
spirits. Reminds me a little bit of
pitoro in Puerto Rico. Oh,
if you're in Puerto Rico and you go
to, like, a small restaurant, maybe at somebody's house. We went to
one, um, where it was just, like a family
cooking, you know, whole red snapper. And then at the
(34:44):
end of the meal, they would offer you their own family recipe of
pitoro. They were using, like, tamarind and
pineapple in theirs. But I. I had another one
when we were on the island where people, uh, were using
coconut. A lot of coconut, a lot of spices.
And I know that's like their own rum that they make, and then add
a bunch of different ingredients. Families have different recipes.
(35:05):
They usually pull it out around Christmas time, bury it in the
backyard, pull it back out. So that's pretty.
It's. It reminds me of that.
>> Carrie Ann (35:12):
That's funny. I was going to say, uh, like Clarin
in. In Haiti, because everybody has their
own m. Way to go. Um, it's just now
commercially available in the U.S. um, but
that's something very personal to each family and
what kind of clarion they might make or
distribute amongst their friends. I think, like,
(35:32):
that community, that sense of community and what it brings
together. Um, and I love the. The idea that this is
made from the fruits that they brought this guy.
Um, because I think, like, the reason it tastes like rum
to me is where rum is made from sugar cane. Now
you're adding in the sugars from these fruits and all of
the flavors we might get out of sugar cane, that would equal
(35:53):
pineapple or banana are actually in there.
And it's a. It's just really cool in your mouth.
>>
Yeah. Let's rate this up. Cool in your mouth conversation.
So what's your rating gonna be here for the, uh, pachuga?
How about that? Well. Oh, my God.
>> Carrie Ann (36:07):
Yes, yes, yes,
yes.
>>
So our sips, uh, rating here for the, uh,
Gracias Dios Pachuga. El
Jalante boy, I really butchered. That was a
five. Um, but so the
one example that I was.
>> Carrie Ann (36:22):
Sorry, Oscar.
>>
Yeah, ah, um, the one
example I was going to throw out when I think of, you know,
combining culture and a beverage is
limoncello. Um, because
uh, you know, in Italian cultures,
um, uh, the
dowry that is paid for,
(36:44):
um, on the bride side is
the limoncello recipe, um,
that is only passed around through a point of
marriage. And it's, you know,
spoiler, it's lemon and sugar. Yeah.
Hey, you know, I've, I've seen a lot of Nonna's that
go. Mine is much better than yours. So,
(37:06):
um, but um, I just, I,
I uh, love this storyline. But more importantly, I really,
really love this. And if you can get your
hands on, you know, a pachuga,
um, hopefully you'll have the opportunity to enjoy
it, uh, much like we have today.
>> Carrie Ann (37:23):
Um, anybody worried about the whole Wild Turkey
thing? No, it is more for ah,
the ceremony of it. Ah,
and the steam is going up through the turkey
and then being at.
>>
The end of the day.
>> Mike (37:37):
I know, um, it's ornamental Wild turkey.
>>
What'd you guys think of this flight?
>> Carrie Ann (37:45):
I'd do it again.
>>
Great example, really amazing.
>> Mike (37:47):
Yeah, all kinds of different varieties. You've got light,
subtle, uh, clean, you've got big
smacking you in the face, uh,
roasted vegetables. Um, and
then we started off with like stone fruit,
pear, lemongrass. Really cool.
>> Carrie Ann (38:03):
And the smoke is all over the place. From hardly noticeable
to a good part of the tasty notes.
>>
Well, I hope you'll check out mezcal espadines
on your own because um, such a great variety of
things you'll get to enjoy. Well, I want to thank my co
host for being here, Carrie Ann. Tell us uh,
anything you got going on and uh,
tell us, you know, what's your favorite color of the
day?
>> Carrie Ann (38:27):
Black. Always black. Um, I have a lot going on
which will be revealed soon. Straight up615
on Instagram and dot com.
>>
Good old boy Michael. Thanks for being here. Tell us
all about Liquid Gold with books and anything else.
>> Mike (38:42):
Yeah, you can find my books@mikewolfbooks.com
I um, feel like people who listen to the agave episodes would like
my book Cheer, which has a whole agave section
and tiki section as well.
Um, um, next up I'll be working on a
book about trees, so.
>> Carrie Ann (38:58):
Wow, interesting. In a
tiki drink.
>> Mike (39:02):
Oh yeah, definitely. Pachuca Mai
tai's for the win.
>> Carrie Ann (39:06):
Mhm.
>>
Interesting. Well, this is good boy Mike asking you to
come back and to keep on sipping.
>> Announcer (39:13):
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>> Carrie Ann (39:22):
Give it a little tappy tap tap
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>> Announcer (39:25):
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(40:11):
and keep on sipping.
>> Mike (40:12):
Uh,
this has been a one tan.
>> Announcer (40:26):
Hand production of Sips, Suds and
Smokes, a program devoted to the appreciation
of some of the finer slices of life from the
dude in the Basement Studios. Your host, the Good Old
Boys will see you all next time.
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