OK this one could be my favorite

Episode Transcript
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>> (00:00):
On the next episode of Sips, Suds and Smokes
Mezcal. Our, uh, cast has their favorites, and I
decided to toss them into a blind tasting for
discussion. So it's our favorite method to remove
all of the marketing hype, preconceptions, direct
payoffs, not that I would mention any names like
Moss that would engage in such an activity.

>> Good ol’ Boy Benjamin (00:22):
So you got paid? Wait. Yeah. So, uh, we're going
to go over mezcal lineup, um, here and discuss
today, uh, the following spirits. The, uh, Rumbus,
San Luis Potosi, Cico Santidos, Ancho, the La Luna
Mezcal, Chino, the Monso Ensemble, uh, Mage
Malate, uh, from Philippe Cortez, Venegas,

(00:44):
Darumbas, Michoacan, uh, Ray Kimpero, Tabazate
Casa Zipe, and then Alipus San Andreas.

>> Announcer (00:53):
We'll be right back after this break. Brought to

(01:18):
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 smokin
host, the good old boys. And now it's sipping.

>> (01:59):
Hello and welcome to this episode of Sip, Suds and
Smokes. I'm your host today, one of your co hosts,
good old boy Mike. And joining me here at the
table is good old boy Benjamin.

How's your dog, Nelson?

>> (02:11):
Well, you know, probably still scratching. Itchy.
Looking for a treat again.

Milk bath.

>> (02:18):
Yes. Probably looking for something good to drink
just like everybody else. Also joining us here is
good old boy Moss.

>> Speaker D (02:25):
Hello.

>> (02:25):
Hello. And good old boy Jason.

>> Speaker D (02:30):
How we doing?

>> (02:31):
Good. Um, Moss and, uh, Jason are newbies on here.
Um, so I wanted to introduce, uh, them as well as
talk a little bit about some of the things they do
outside of this show. Uh, Jason is the owner of a
couple of bars in Nashville, and, uh, one of them
is called Barrel Proof and is a just a walking

(02:54):
savant around Mezcal. So the less I talk and the
more he talks, the better off we're all going to
be, right? Yes.

>> Speaker D (03:00):
Just happy to be here, man.

>> (03:01):
For sure.

Hire the right people. Get out of the way.

>> (03:04):
Mike Moss is the executive director of a private
social club in Nashville, Tennessee, called
Whiskey House Nashville. Um, if you ever get
invited to go, you'll spend some time with Moss or
myself for Benjamin, um, as well as several other
really wonderful trustees. Great organization.
And, um, uh, hopefully, uh, we'll have more mezcal

(03:26):
at the Whiskey House. For sure. Right? Yeah,
hopefully.

>> Moss (03:30):
I would, uh, very much like that.

>> (03:33):
Yeah. Our sip segments are all about wine, gin,
whiskey, scotch. And today it is going to be about
Mezcal, for sure. So. And, uh, since we have, you
know, everybody here has been tasting Mezcal, you
know, for, uh, several. Several days. Anyway.
Well, our cast has their favorites, and I decided

(03:55):
to toss them into a blind tasting for discussion.
So it's our favorite method to remove all of the
marketing hype, preconceptions, direct payoffs.
Not that I would mention any names like Moss that
would engage in such an activity.

>> Moss (04:10):
So, um, you know, I like to tell people that I,
uh, drink bourbon at work and agave at home. Uh,
so that's exactly what I'm doing right now. Uh,
and the blind that Mike has set up for us is
interesting because I'm usually the one doing that
to him. So, um, having said that, you know, let's.
Let's be clear about this. I. I drink agave all

(04:30):
the time. Uh, but, you know, I go to Jason when I
need the, uh, particulars on what to drink. So
often, um, I would say. I would say often is. Is
maybe it's my favorite brand. It's a little short,
but. Yes. Oh, of course. Um, anyways, let me hand
it right off and, uh, keep moving along.

>> (04:49):
Benjamin, tell us what we're going to do today in
our lineup.

Yeah, so, uh, we're going to go over a Mezcal
lineup, um, here and discuss today, uh, the
following spirits. The, uh, rubbish. San Luis
Potosi, uh, Cinco Centidos, Ancho, the La Luna
Mezcal Chino, the Monso Ensemble, uh, Miguel
Malate, uh, from Philippe Cortez, Venegas,
Darambus, Michoacan, uh, Ray Campero, Tabazate,

(05:19):
Casa Zipe, and then Alipus San Andreas.

>> (05:24):
Wow. I'm just gonna have to give him a five for
five.

>> Speaker D (05:28):
You know, man, his flowers.

That was really good.

>> (05:32):
You nailed. Yes. You know, I was. I was way
betting against you. So what our listeners don't
see is that on our script, I, you know, I hose up
so many things. I actually wrote out the phonetics
of everything. I did that for myself, but mostly
for Benjamin. So.

Yeah, shine a light on me, big dog.

>> (05:53):
You know what I mean?

Yeah. I'm going yard.

>> (05:57):
Jason, tell us what we're going to do as we talk
about these, uh, products today. Uh, yeah.

>> Speaker D (06:02):
Ben, you nailed it. I'm so proud of you, man.

Thanks, brother.

>> Speaker D (06:05):
Um, we're gonna go over these Mezcals and give our
opinions that have not been paid for, and we are
going to be rating them with our sip suds and
smokes. Sips. Rating one to five. Uh, one being
not, uh, our favorite one being best, uh, with
accompanied by some signature sounds. An example
is something, uh, we don't like. If we give it a
one, you know, it's not great. But just because we

(06:33):
don't like it doesn't mean you won't. So just be
experimental, get out there and try some stuff.

>> Moss (06:38):
Um, so if you guys are agave newbies, or maybe you
just don't know how to pronounce Oaxaca correctly.
Don't fret it.

>> (06:44):
Correct.

>> Moss (06:46):
Um, don't fret it. We've got you covered on our
Agave 101 episode. Where, uh, where we're going to
decode all this agave speak. Uh, just search for
sip suds, Agave 101. And that episode should pop
right up or follow the link in our show notes.

>> (07:02):
So, uh, thanks a lot. Um, Moss and Jason and
Benjamin. So everyone ranked, uh, this list of
products from 1 to 8, and we're, uh, going to
cover as many of these as time permits. Hopefully
we'll get to maybe five at least today. Uh, so if
for some reason, um, the product you were
interested hearing about, we don't talk about it

(07:24):
on the episode, take a look at our show notes.
You'll see our, our, uh, ratings and our rank for
those products that we didn't get to today. So we
will rate and rank everything, but maybe not have
time to talk about, you know, every one of, um,
them. But we'll see how it goes along. So we're
going to start off. Let's just rip the band aid
off and, and start at the top. Because everybody's

(07:44):
like, well, I wonder what their number one was.
So, you know, I don't wait until the end. Uh, so
we are just gonna, you know, make it, uh, pretty
simple and start off with our top ranked product.
Jason's gonna introduce this product.

>> Speaker D (07:56):
Uh, so we all resoundingly chose this one as our
favorite of the blind. And granted, there's a lot
of Mezcal out there. So these are all two bottles
we, we picked each to put up for a blind. And it's
Darumbus San Luis Potosi. Um, it's one of my
favorites. It is one that I actually use very
often in my bars to not, uh, educate people, but

(08:17):
introduce people to Mezcal. Uh, oftentimes there's
this preconceived notion that Mezcal is just low
quality tequila that tastes like, you know, rubber
tires. And there's so much depth and so much
variety to Mezcal.

>> (08:27):
It's the opposite.

>> Speaker D (08:29):
It's the opposite. Um, and this bottle in
particular is one I'd like to introduce to people,
uh, just to change that. That thinking. Um, and
I'd love to give Darumbus their flowers. I think
the three most, you know, important brands, um,
for Mezcal are Del Mague, uh, Darumbas and El
Hagorio. I think those are the three most, most

(08:51):
important brands you could have. And we don't have
this opportunity today to talk about Mezcal if
it's not for those three brands. Darumas, uh,
mostly because they, uh, really focused on the
other Mezcal producing regions that isn't just
Oaxaca, where most of its espadine Darumbas went
out, and they found producers from San Luis, from
Michoacan, uh, from Tamaulipas, from. From

(09:12):
Durango. And, uh, all their bottles are really
special. They're all made with. With producers
that have been doing it for several generations in
those areas. And it's. For them, it's indicative
of how they make them in those regions. This
bottle is one of my favorites. I. I find that it's
very tropical. I find that it is creamy. Uh, it's

(09:35):
floral. It's got some savory notes to it. And it's
just a. It's one of those few, like, complete
Mezcals that I don't have any notes on anything
bad to say about it.

>> (09:45):
I'm going to chime in with some tasting notes here
on this first product. Um, so on the nose, it's
kind of sweet with the soft, pungent, Parmesan,
lactic, you know, kind of note. Um, the palate is
kind, uh, of sweet agave, uh, creamy lactic
cheese. And the finish is reminiscent of milk
chocolate chips, for sure. Uh, the mouth feels

(10:07):
kind of viscous, and the, uh, finish is smooth.
Um, has a little bit of heat, you know, coming off
the back end. So, um, I. I thought this was great.
I really. I love this. And, um, you know, I do
think it's a great representation. Our SIPs rating
for the DBAs St. Louis, uh, Potosi is going to be

(10:29):
a four.
That's classified.
What a great product. Out of the shoot. Uh, you
had a website you wanted to mention, uh, to tell
everybody about, right, Jason?

>> Speaker D (10:40):
Yeah, uh, it's something I reference in my
educations a lot. Mezcal, um, reviews dot com.

>> (10:45):
Oh, yeah. Good friends of the show.

>> Speaker D (10:47):
Oh, hell yeah. I think I've been. I've been
following them for years, and I, I use them all
the time. And any information you Want about it is
there.

>> (10:54):
We'll be right back after this break. Hey, welcome
back to Sip Suds and Smokes. Today on our SIPS
episode, we are covering Mezcal. I'm just, you
know, really excited now. We've enjoying so many
great products. Um, and, um, you know, Mezcal is.

(11:16):
It's simple, it's complex, has a lot of variety.
I've asked our host to come up with a couple of
their favorites, um, for us to talk about. Today
we just went through our number one pick, which
was the Darimba St. Louis, uh, Potosi, which was a
Sips rating of four that, uh, Jason, uh, brought

(11:37):
to the table. He also has number two product that
we ranked today. Jason, why don't you tell us
about this next product.

>> Speaker D (11:43):
Uh, this second product is pretty limited, but,
uh, if you live near New Orleans, you can get it.
It is Cinco Santitos on show. It is a, uh, is a
small batch pick that was done by two restaurants,
Bearcat and Vals, which is a Mezcal bar in New
Orleans that I love dearly. Um, story goes, is
that they were doing his pick with, with Cincos,
uh, and Titos. And the owners of both places, who

(12:06):
are, like myself, obsessed with Mezcal, weren't
really, uh, finding what they wanted for the
samples that they bought that were brought to
them. And they asked the rep, okay, well, these
are great, but like, you know, what are you
drinking? What do you take on the road with you?
And, uh, the rep brought out a, A glass, uh,
flask. And so, uh, this is what I drink. And it
was this ancho. And, uh, they tasted it and

(12:26):
immediately knew is what they wanted. And, uh, I
know there's a store Keith, uh, and company, I
think they also had a few bottles to sell. But if
you ever go to New Orleans, go, uh, to Bearcat, go
to Val's. Tell them Jason from Barrel Proof sent
you. They might, they might be able to sell you a
bottle of this, but they will definitely sell you
pour, uh, of it. And uh, for me, it's one of my
favorites. It's very complex. It's, uh. And the

(12:49):
nose, it's like, it's very burnt orange, but also
like this weird, like, um, uh, vinegar and flaming
hot Cheetos vibes. It's just so weirdly fruity and
savory and it's one of my favorites. And, uh, it's
a bottle I go back to all of the time, but it's
really special brand. Cinco Santitos is cool.
Unregulated Mezcal, uh, because they don't want to
pay the government to be called Mezcal, which I

(13:11):
respect. Um, and really, really cool stuff.

>> (13:16):
Uh, I'm gonna chime in on this one. Not because I
liked it, because the opposite. Um, so I thought
I'd, uh, you

know, there's Mike, there's the mic. We all know.

>> (13:24):
There we go. I knew it would come in and just
crush somebody like a bug today. Well, you know,
if we all just want to be a bunch of lemmings and
walk off the cliff and go, this is all really
good. Okay. All right. The ground getting closer.
Uh, so on the nose, I got a lot of burnt, you
know, brown sugar kind of molasses. You know, if
you've ever been to, like, an open fair, um, like,

(13:47):
there's one that is, uh, you know, that I've been
to where they cook with molasses in a giant, you
know, copper pot. Um, you know, it has a very
distinctive odor to it, uh, when you apply heat to
molasses, uh, or blackstrap, or if you've ever
been around a rum distillery that, you know,
that's definitely when I pick up on the nose. Um,

(14:09):
so that was not what I was expecting at all on the
palate, um, you know, it actually tasted exactly
like mold. So I was like, ah, you know, it was
definitely not what I was expecting. And, uh, you
know, it didn't taste anything like it smelled at

(14:29):
all. And, uh, it was probably my next to least
favorite. So this is my seven out of eight, you
know, this. This particular product. But, uh,
anyway, uh, our collective, uh, SIPS rating, uh,
for the Cinco Centauro Sancho is going to be a
SIPs rating of.
That's classified.

(14:50):
I will not pound sand on everything. Promise.

>> Speaker D (14:55):
Ben. Ben voted it as, uh, his favorite.

>> (14:57):
I know. That's why I didn't ask him to chime in,
you know, many times. Can you guys hold hands?

>> Moss (15:03):
You know, the.

The juxtaposition, the balance here. I just think,
you know, uh, part of that conversation is. Is,
you know, uh, myself also being in the spirits
industry and. And making, um, you know, cocktails
for a long time. A bit of a, you know, fortunate
enough to taste a lot of spirits. Um, you know, I
tend to be more of a flavor chaser, so I'm not
necessarily, um, always just looking for, uh, the

(15:27):
most enjoyable thing. Right? I'm looking for
something that kind of starts a conversation or.
Or, like, sparks some interest. And, uh, I think
that this is one of those spirits that. That
really, um, delivers, um, to, to continue the
conversation from the baseline of like the, the
guests that I see every day. Uh, and, and so like

(15:48):
those cool kind of like funky, you know,
fermenting, uh, overripe, fruity kind of notes,
uh, is always something that, you know, just kind
of draws me in. Um, and, and those are the kind of
products, you know, that I'm looking for because I
want to be able to put, you know, hopefully a
little something exciting into a glass, um, for,

(16:10):
for the people that are, you know, coming to hang
out with us and decide to spend their time in it.
It's uh, such an experiential, um, conversation
that we get to have. Um, and I'm always just
trying to kind of keep the ball rolling in that
direction. Right. So like you come and you try
something that you're comfortable with, which I
think that's kind of every consumer's approach.

(16:32):
And then, you know, from there, uh, we just kind
of get in the weeds a little bit. Man. Let's get
weird.

>> (16:36):
Mm, mhm. Well, that brings us around to our number
three pick, which Benjamin, uh, chose this. It's a
product from Ray Comparo. I'll let you introduce
this product for us.

Yeah, so I introduced the Ray Compare Tapazate.
Um, so this one actually has a little bit more
proof on it, uh, as well, 48%. Um, and this is one
of the agave, uh, miguels that has to have a
little bit more maturity before they start cutting
it down and grinding it up. So 15 to 30 years, uh,
on the Tapazate, um, for me, like real mineral

(17:10):
Ford Mezcal kind of green fruits, tropical fruit,
um, and then it's got this like cool kind of, um,
aloe, earthy, minty kind of vibe to it. Um, but
you know, Rick and Pero, man, you know, they do a
really great job, uh, all hand harvested by the

(17:30):
Sanchez family, um, and using, you know, the
traditional methods of distillation with uh,
roasting and stone pits, open air fermentation and
then copper pot distillation. So, um, you know, I
think that that's also something uh, to note about
Mezcal specifically is, you know, it's a true
hands on process, uh, from start to finish.

>> (17:52):
I like rim Ron Ron. Ray Comparo uh, was on our
espadine episode, covered their espadine and um,
um, I like how prolific this brand is. It's, it's
widely available. You really find an awful lot of
this, um, you know, actually globally. And that's
what I love is they have real Great distribution.

(18:13):
So, Moss, why don't you tell us what you thought
about the Ray compare here.

>> Moss (18:17):
I think this is really, really great. Um, you
know, I hate to go back on something that was
already said, but it's really interest. Every
single one of these that we've had is just a
different experience. It's. It's hard to rate
these things sometimes because they're just. It's
not that they're bad or good, they're just
different, I think. Um, so this one right here, I

(18:38):
ranked, uh, I ranked well. I actually gave this a
four. Ah, out of five on this one. Uh, I think
this is really, really delicious. Um, and, uh,
it's definitely, definitely one to talk about for
sure.

>> (18:53):
The pepper off this is very pronounced. I mean,
it's like mid palate at the finish. I mean, it is
like there and then loud and proud, isn't it?

>> Moss (19:01):
Oh, for sure. I agree with that. 100.

>> (19:03):
Cool. Our SIPs rating for the, uh, Ray Comparo
line is going to be a four.
That's classified.
That's how we're going to handle this. We're just
gonna step right in, just help Mike get through
all of these big, you know, Latino words, you

(19:25):
know, as we go, go around. So, uh, really, uh,
great, uh, first three products, you know, that
we've talked about so far, and, uh, all really
great ratings, um, and things you can find except
the ancho, maybe kind of hard to find. Yeah, maybe
a little bit. Yeah.

>> Speaker D (19:43):
Go to New Orleans. You'll find it.

>> (19:44):
We'll be right back after this break. And ah,
welcome back to sip Suds and Smokes. On today's
SIPS episode, we are going through a mezcal flight
of some products that each of our co hosts have
brought. We tasted these in a blind. We've ranked
them and rated them, and we're sharing some of our
tasting notes, rankings and ratings as well. We're

(20:08):
on number four out of our eight, which is a
product that Moss brought for us from Aleppos. Why
don't you tell us about this product, Moss?

>> Moss (20:16):
Yeah. So, um, this one is, is a relatively
younger, uh, brand. This one's only been around
since like 2009. And you can find this in, uh,
they make this in Santa Maria La Pia, near
Miahuatlan. Uh, um, which is actually really not
too far away from, uh, from Waka City. Uh, it is
really high up there though. Uh, I've read that

(20:37):
it's 1600 meters, uh, above the ocean. So we're,
we're way, way up there. Um, anyways, I think one
of the first things you'll notice when you taste
this is it's not smoky. Uh, and I think that's a
lot to do with the. They use these big, like, flat
earth pits that they cook in, and it just doesn't.
It doesn't create as much of that smoky flavor
that you get out of a lot of other Mezcals. Um,

(21:00):
they also don't use tohonas, so they actually use,
um. They just crush. They just do crushing
without, uh, that stone mill. And, uh, it. It just
gives it this really soft. For me, the palette is
just super perfumey nose and then a really, really
light, light, easy, uh, on the tongue. And, uh, I

(21:21):
think this is one of those things that I would
just sit around and drink all day. Um, you know,
this isn't a five for me, but it's definitely a
good one to keep. Keep around the house, for sure.

>> (21:31):
Cool. Benjamin, what'd you think of this one?

Yeah, so I, you know, I think that this one really
drives, um, that kind of, like, slaty, earthy,
minerally kind of vibe home, uh, with some cool
fruitiness. I think Moss hit on a. A really cool
taste. And note that I enjoy is that a lot of the
mezcals, um, that I, you know, get to taste,
they're. They're refreshing. Right.

>> (21:57):
And.

And I don't know that there's a lot of people
that. That describe spirits that way. Right. They.
They can. They tend to be a little bit harsh and
abrasive, you know, and we tend to kind of fall
into, you know, our areas of comfortability. Um,
but for. For Mezcal, at least the experience that
I've had is, man, it. It's. It's inviting, it's
refreshing. You. You think about where they come

(22:18):
from and the hard work that goes into them. M. And
then after a long day, um, you could sit around
and sip some of these things. Neat. Most of these
things neat. And feel like you are, you know, kind
of being refreshed, uh, and. And. And feeling, you
know, kind of recharged after, uh, rejuvenating a

(22:41):
hard work. Yeah. 100. Um, which, you know, I, uh,
think goes along the lines of, you know, this, um,
common misnomer about, you know, agave being a
stimulant. Um, but it. It is invigorating and
inviting to. To try these Mezcals.

>> (23:03):
Well, uh, our SIPs rating here for the Alipus, uh,
sand dress is going to be a four.
That's classified.
Our next product in this flight is going to be
from Benjamin. He went to Darumbus as well, but a
different one than the one that Jason picked. Why
don't you tell us about this one? Because
Benjamin.

Yeah, you know, I think, uh, just to echo Jason,
um, sentiment, man, the people at Darumbus, uh, I
think are doing some really awesome work, uh, in
the Mezcal world and bringing some really cool
products, um, from, you know, these really small,
not, um, well known areas of Mexico, uh, you know,

(23:41):
out into the rest of the world for us to, to be
able to experience. And even so that like, their,
Their marketing around them, uh, highlights these
places, right? So like, you can, you can actually
kind of take that, um, you know, small mental
trip, uh, to some of the places where. Where
they're finding these really cool expressions. Um,

(24:02):
so, yeah, mine is the, um, Darumbus Mezcal
Michoacan. And so this one is cooked underground
stone pit and black oak, um, fermented, an
underground wood and clay vats. Um, and then, uh,
the distillation is a pine wood and copper vessel.
Uh, and I think that those are really important

(24:23):
things to touch on because, you know, um, as
distillation technology has, uh, moved so far, um,
you know, from its inception, you still have these
like, really cool ancestral production methods,
um, to bring these products to life, um, and, and
really tell the story of where they come from. Um,

(24:44):
so this one, uh, is actually, ah, two different
agaves. It's the, the chino and alto agaves. Um,
and then they blend those together so it's this
really nice, like, delicate, kind of herbaceous
character. Um, but you still get that kind of, um,
overripe kind of desiccated fruit from the open

(25:04):
air, uh, like wooden vat fermentation. Um, and so,
you know, makes this thing a cool sip and a cool
conversation.

>> (25:14):
Jason, I know that you, uh, love all things, some
darumbus, but you didn't pick this particular
product as your top pick. I'm curious why not or
m. If this would make your short list in their
product line.

>> Speaker D (25:25):
It would definitely make the short list. Um, I
mean, my short list for them is the, uh, toma
lipos, the San Luis and this Metro con, um, and
the agave they use. Uh, the alto is one of my
favorites. I, uh, think it frequently when I
taste, uh, Mezcals with agave alto. It has this
really cool, uh, aloe esque flavor that you find

(25:48):
like in cucumbers and in melons. And it's one of
my favorite flavors to find in Mezcal. Uh, so I
wasn't my favorite from this line, we had eight
Mezcals to choose from. It was a little difficult
to narrow down. Uh, definitely one that I think is
worth a place on everyone's back bar. It's really
just truly a very good complete Mezcal.

>> (26:07):
Moss, we've got plenty of time here. What did you
think about this Darumbus Mishkan?

>> Moss (26:10):
Uh, so this one was actually my lowest ranked one,
which is, um, I really need to drive this home
again. It's. All of these are great. I don't think
I've had a truly a bad thing. I think in
comparison to the rest of the things we've had,
though, this one was just falling a little short
on the flavors I was looking for. Um, but you know

(26:31):
what? It again, it's super delicious. One of the
interesting things about this one for me is it
kind of had that cheesy nose. I think that a lot
of Mezcals give you. And what I will say, and
really this is why I ranked it so low, is because
it is what I expect a traditional Mezcal to taste
like. Um, and what I mean by that is the rest of

(26:54):
the things had something in there that was complex
or fascinating to me or something that popped out.
And this one, just, if I had to describe it, I'd
say it tastes like Mezcal. Um, so again, it's one
of those things where it's hard to describe, but I
think it's a good product. It just wasn't my
favorite on the list.

>> (27:13):
Yeah, it's, um. You know, the thing that's
striking me is the word complex. Here, um, are my
own, uh, tasting notes here on the Michio okan,
uh, from Darumas. Um, you know, papaya juice on
the nose, vanilla icing, um, peppermint. Um,
seriously, that peppermint thing was, like, okay,

(27:34):
kind of invading my space. Um, you know, on the
palette, it definitely translated, uh, really
quick with that, you know, starlight, peppermint,
you know, breath mint kind of thing going on. Um,
the mid palate had something kind of strange,
which was sweet pickle. Um, I like bread and
butter. Yeah, like butter pickles. Yeah. Um, if

(27:56):
you ever had those, um, you know, cake frosting,
you know, kind of on the, uh, on the back end. Um,
it was a bit of a texture kind of thing where I'm,
like, trying to lick something off the back of my
tongue. I'm like, just can't, you know, get this
quite, you know, out of my mouth, you know, fast
enough. Um, so, yeah, you know, I like this, but I

(28:19):
like it because it was different, um, and complex
as a, you know, compared to, you know, the St.
Louis, uh, Potosi, which I thought was very clean,
you know, didn't have a lot of complexity to it.
So I like the fact that these are two very, very
different products, you know, from the exact same,
you know, distillery. That's for sure. So our, uh,

(28:42):
SIPS rating for, uh, the Darumbus, uh, metooicon
is going to be a four.
That's classified.
And, uh, so, so glad you, uh, brought it for us to
all try. Benjamin. And I love the fact that, you
know, without you guys talking to each other, you
ended up bringing two things out of the same
product line. I thought that was super

(29:03):
interesting. That was your go to.

>> Moss (29:06):
To be fair, I was gonna bring one, too.

What's good? It's good, brother.

>> (29:11):
So which one would you have picked out of the
product line then, Moss?

>> Moss (29:14):
Oh, man.

>> (29:16):
Do you remember?

>> Moss (29:17):
I sure don't. I was so excited. I actually, as
soon as you told me that somebody was already
bringing one, I put it out of my mind.

>> (29:23):
Okay.

>> Moss (29:24):
And then there was two, and then the, uh, both of
them brought it. Oh, man.

>> (29:27):
Well, for Jason or Benjamin, would there have been
something else out of that product line you would
have thrown in the flight just to complete, you
know? Uh, I'm sorry. We'll be right back after
this break. Hey, welcome back to Sip Suds and
Smokes. On today's SIPS episode, we are talking
about Mezcal, and this is a blind tasting. Each of

(29:51):
our co hosts have brought two products for us to
talk about and, um, introduce, uh, this and share
our tasting notes for each of these. Uh, we have
time for two more. Um, and I'm gonna, uh, talk
about the next one. Uh, that was, uh, ranked
number. What am m I on? Number six. And, uh, this

(30:15):
is, uh, from a monthly Mezcal club called
Miguelate, uh, where they actually send you two
bottles, uh, each month from various monsters.
This particular product is from Philippe, uh,
Cortez Van Heias, and, um, it, uh, didn't come out
recently. Yeah, I really shy away from these kind

(30:38):
of, you know, monthly club, you know, type things,
especially in a blind like this, because this is
not a product you can walk into a store and buy
off a shelf. If you're not part of their monthly
club, the chance of you getting this exact product
is pretty much zero. But it does expose you to
some products that normally are not available, you
know, in retail. So there's kind of a flip side to

(31:00):
it. Uh, but I think that, you know, if you're
starting just to get into enjoying, you've got
like, let's call it five Mezcals that you like.
And you're like, I really, you know, there's so
many out there, really like, to expand the base of
my knowledge, join one of these, uh, Mezcal of the
Month clubs. I really, I think the, uh, McGay

(31:22):
Malante, um, has probably, you know, one of the
best ones out there available. Very affordable as
well. So not that I want to plug them. I just, you
know, I think the concept works really well for a
lot of consumers. You know, it's, uh, definitely a
great way to explore Mezcal without actually, you
know, all the hunting process that it takes to
find something kind of new and unique as well. So

(31:45):
that I can definitely attest to. I've walked into
a lot of retail stores and I'm like, uh, you know,
this is really a lot of work, you know, trying to
find, you know, this product both online as well
as, you know, going to physical stores. And so,
you know, it's kind of, instead of, you know,
going out for the hunt, this is, you know, the
products show up your front door and, you know,

(32:05):
kind of unbox something and wham, it's right
there. Kind of like that part of the equation. And
the only thing kind of sucks about, you know, uh,
these clubs is you have to kind of navigate all
the goofy blue laws in the US and about how
alcohol can be shipped directly to you. So we're,
you know, I'm definitely used to that. I actually

(32:26):
live in two goofy, you know, blue law states. And
it's very difficult getting stuff, you know,
shipped, uh, to those particular locations. So
just a reminder of, uh, this particular product is
McGay Malante. Philippe Cortez Van Heias tell you
a little bit about him. He's a third generation
Mescalero from Oaxaca. His palenque sits about two

(32:47):
hours south, um, in the state. Uh, you'll find him
with the sun working on the palenque from January
to June. And then they go out to the fields, um,
and, uh, work the fields from July to December. So
it's interesting. You know, I'm going to leave you
in July. See you. Uh, I'm going to go out, just,
you know, cut penas all day long or tend to the

(33:09):
field. It's a vast piece of land with stunning,
uh, McGays growing, uh, both cultivated and wild.
And Felipe field sits right next to their home,
demonstrating just how integrated their lives are
with those plants that they care for. Uh, this is
a mescalero from November of 2019. This is a, uh,

(33:32):
beakwish in, uh, generally, the McGay beak wish
takes about 15 years to mature. So it's, uh, you
know, you got to have it, you know, that long in
order to get that very intense and attractive
flavor as well. Grows in some of the more arid
regions of Oaxaca as well. I mainly toss this in
because of the unique profile of this particular

(33:54):
style of agave. Uh, beakwish. Uh, here are my
quick tasting notes, and then I'll ask somebody
else to chime in a couple of people. Um, it's easy
to get excited about this unique mezcal. The SM
impact on that really pops in your face, and I'll
try not to take that for granted. A well rounded
staple, which, you know, definitely worked really
well for me. It was down the middle all the way

(34:17):
with the perfect amount of Karwinsky greenness.
Um, that's a very distinctive variety of agave,
uh, line. Mia.

>> Speaker D (34:26):
What?

>> (34:27):
Mia Walton. So close. Minerality and roasted agave
fruitiness. See, I can. I can spell it, but I
can't say it. That's a problem. So, uh, some other
noteworthy elements. Ah, kind of lactic on the
nose, light. Ah, herb chocolate notes. Gender, uh,
on the mouth and flavor finish. Kind of smoke. Uh,

(34:48):
just hint, you know, of smoke. Uh, silky mouth
feel. I just. I love this. I loved how unique it
was, and I really wanted to throw it in the blind.
Jason, what did you think of this one?

>> Speaker D (35:00):
Uh, I love this one. Um, I. Whenever I do
educations, I try and, uh, I want to make sure
people know to. Or I want to. I want to make sure
people are paying attention to the species and not
the colloquial name. So, like, example is, like,
it's called be quish here, but 100 miles away in
Oaxaca, they might call it something else, but
it's always a carinsky regardless. And that

(35:21):
Karwinsky, the greenness, what you're talking
about is something I. I often look for. I love
Karwinsky's species and like, the varietals that
come from that species. And. Yeah, I agree. I
mean, it, uh, was floral and the pink peppercorn
and like, the. The kind of, like, Szechuan
peppercorn vibe is something I get from a lot of
Kinskis, and it's just a really good, strong,

(35:41):
strong mezcal.

>> (35:42):
Cool. Benjamin, what'd you think of this?

Yeah, uh, you know, I think that the. The spice
complexity on this is something, um, that I really
enjoy from a lot of Mezcals, right? It's that,
that fresh, like, sun basted chili, right? It's
got some really cool, like, green chili notes on
it. Um, that giveaway to, uh, like this really
nice kind of bright, spearminty, herbal kind of

(36:09):
vibe. And so, like, if you're really looking for
things that, that really, you know, drive those
flavor notes home, I think that Mezcal is one of
the products that, you know, you should be adding
to your home bar. And the smoke on it isn't. Isn't
overwhelming, right? Uh, I think that when we talk
about smoke, I think people automatically build

(36:29):
this certain mental picture of this, like,
bellowing, overwhelming, you know, kind of smoke.
These are definitely more kind of like fire
roasted kind of toasty accents to the tasting
notes that you're getting, which, you know, tend
to make it a little bit more approachable and
agreeable to a lot of people. Right? Like,
nobody's upset about like, fire roasted salsa or,

(36:52):
you know, a nice, you know, charred steak or
whatever that is. Uh, and that's more of the
influence, reflection of the smoke and the, and
the, the kind of roasty notes that you get through
some of these, uh, you know, tasting us that we're
describing.

>> (37:06):
I will say this is the best thing I've had with
those orange slices all day. It's really, really
good pairing. I. I'm, um. You've. You've got me
hooked, Jason. So, uh, you know, for sure.

>> Speaker D (37:17):
And try, try chocolate too. Try chocolate. Like,
like Moss suggested. Try some dark chocolate in
there.

>> (37:22):
All right. Uh, rating for the McGay Malante. Uh,
Philippe Cortez. The Heias is going to be a four.
That's classified.
Well, really exciting flight. Um, did you guys.
You, uh, guys brought it? I, I thought this was a
great flight. Any other comments about the, the
flight itself?

>> Moss (37:41):
I would just say real quick. That last one, I
would say it was really dusty on the nose and I
got a lot of dry, like, as soon as I held it up to
my nose, I got that dry spice. And, uh, you know,
I even handed this one off to, uh, my girlfriend.
I know, isn't that a miracle? Uh, and she was
immediately saying a similar thing. She was like,
it's very dusty and musty, but not a bad, not like

(38:01):
an indoor, like you're stuck in a library thing,
like, uh, outdoorsy. And it had this earthy melon
kind of combo on the, on the flavor.

>> (38:10):
Really good. I'm going to sign us off here, Moss.
Thank you. For joining us for this episode. Moss.

>> Moss (38:15):
Yeah, no, this has been a pleasure. Thanks guys.

>> (38:17):
Good old boy Benjamin, thanks for joining us for
this, uh, exciting episode.

Again, every chance I get, brother. Thanks for
having me.

>> (38:23):
Good old boy Jason, thanks for joining us.

>> Speaker D (38:26):
Thank you for having me guys. It was a blast.

>> (38:28):
Hey, this is good old boy Mike. Thank you for
joining us for this exciting episode of Sip, Suds
and Smokes. I'll ask you to keep on sipping. Be
sure and check out our back catalog over 800 plus
episodes for you to enjoy. Come back, join us for
another exciting episode and keep on sipping.

We hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're
listening to us online, do yourself a favor and
tap the subscribe button.

>> Speaker D (38:55):
Give it a little tappy. Tap, tap taparoo.

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(39:21):
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(39:44):
sipping.

(40:05):
This has been a one tan hand production of Sips,
Suds and Smokes, a program devoted to the
appreciation of some

>> (40:12):
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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