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OK this one could be my favorite · Sips, Suds, & Smokes

• 0:00
  > >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.
• 0:22
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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, Darumbas, Michoacan, uh, Ray Kimpero, Tabazate Casa Zipe, and then Alipus San Andreas.
• 0:53
  > Announcer>We'll be right back after this break. 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 smokin host, the good old boys. And now it's sipping.
• 1:59
  > >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.
• 2:09
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>How's your dog, Nelson?
• 2:11
  > >Well, you know, probably still scratching. Itchy.
• 2:14
  > >Looking for a treat again.
• 2:17
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>Milk bath.
• 2:18
  > >Yes. Probably looking for something good to drink just like everybody else. Also joining us here is good old boy Moss.
• 2:25
  > Speaker D>Hello.
• 2:25
  > >Hello. And good old boy Jason.
• 2:30
  > Speaker D>How we doing?
• 2:31
  > >Good. Um, Moss and, uh, Jason are newbies on here.
• 2:37
  > >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 savant around Mezcal. So the less I talk and the more he talks, the better off we're all going to be, right? Yes.
• 3:00
  > Speaker D>Just happy to be here, man.
• 3:01
  > >For sure.
• 3:02
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>Hire the right people. Get out of the way.
• 3:04
  > >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.
• 3:22
  > >And, um, uh, hopefully, uh, we'll have more mezcal at the Whiskey House. For sure. Right? Yeah, hopefully.
• 3:30
  > Moss>I would, uh, very much like that.
• 3:33
  > >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.
• 3:52
  > >Well, our cast has their favorites, and I decided to toss them into a blind tasting for discussion.
• 3:58
  > >So it's our favorite method to remove all of the marketing hype, preconceptions, direct payoffs.
• 4:04
  > >Not that I would mention any names like Moss that would engage in such an activity.
• 4:10
  > Moss>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.
• 4:27
  > Moss>Let's be clear about this. I. I drink agave all 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.
• 4:49
  > >Benjamin, tell us what we're going to do today in our lineup.
• 4:52
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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, Casa Zipe, and then Alipus San Andreas.
• 5:24
  > >Wow. I'm just gonna have to give him a five for five.
• 5:28
  > Speaker D>You know, man, his flowers.
• 5:30
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>That was really good.
• 5:32
  > >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.
• 5:51
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>Yeah, shine a light on me, big dog.
• 5:53
  > >You know what I mean?
• 5:55
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>Yeah. I'm going yard.
• 5:57
  > >Jason, tell us what we're going to do as we talk about these, uh, products today. Uh, yeah.
• 6:02
  > Speaker D>Ben, you nailed it. I'm so proud of you, man.
• 6:04
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>Thanks, brother.
• 6:05
  > Speaker D>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 don't like it doesn't mean you won't. So just be experimental, get out there and try some stuff.
• 6:38
  > Moss>Um, so if you guys are agave newbies, or maybe you just don't know how to pronounce Oaxaca correctly.
• 6:43
  > Moss>Don't fret it.
• 6:44
  > >Correct.
• 6:46
  > Moss>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.
• 7:02
  > >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 on the episode, take a look at our show notes.
• 7:26
  > >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 like, well, I wonder what their number one was.
• 7:46
  > >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.
• 7:54
  > >Jason's gonna introduce this product.
• 7:56
  > Speaker D>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 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.
• 8:27
  > >It's the opposite.
• 8:29
  > Speaker D>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 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 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 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.
• 9:45
  > >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 kind of viscous, and the, uh, finish is smooth.
• 10:10
  > >Um, has a little bit of heat, you know, coming off the back end. So, um, I. I thought this was great.
• 10:16
  > >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 a four.
• 10:31
  > >That's classified.
• 10:33
  > >What a great product. Out of the shoot. Uh, you had a website you wanted to mention, uh, to tell everybody about, right, Jason?
• 10:40
  > Speaker D>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.
• 10:47
  > Speaker D>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.
• 11:19
  > >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 to the table. He also has number two product that we ranked today. Jason, why don't you tell us about this next product.
• 11:43
  > Speaker D>Uh, this second product is pretty limited, but, uh, if you live near New Orleans, you can get it.
• 11:49
  > Speaker D>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 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?
• 12:18
  > Speaker D>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 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 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.
• 13:06
  > Speaker D>Unregulated Mezcal, uh, because they don't want to pay the government to be called Mezcal, which I 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
• 13:23
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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.
• 13:36
  > >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, 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, 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 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.
• 14:47
  > >That's classified.
• 14:50
  > >I will not pound sand on everything. Promise.
• 14:55
  > Speaker D>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?
• 15:03
  > Moss>You know, the.
• 15:04
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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 most enjoyable thing. Right? I'm looking for something that kind of starts a conversation or.
• 15:32
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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 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, for the people that are, you know, coming to hang out with us and decide to spend their time in it.
• 16:15
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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.
• 16:45
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>Yeah, so I introduced the Ray Compare Tapazate.
• 16:49
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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 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 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.
• 18:17
  > Moss>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 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?
• 19:01
  > Moss>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.
• 19:13
  > >That's classified.
• 19:16
  > >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 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.
• 19:43
  > Speaker D>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 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?
• 20:16
  > Moss>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 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.
• 20:53
  > Moss>It doesn't create as much of that smoky flavor that you get out of a lot of other Mezcals. Um, 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 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?
• 21:34
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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.
• 21:57
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>And I don't know that there's a lot of people that. That describe spirits that way. Right. They.
• 22:01
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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 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 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.
• 23:09
  > >That's classified.
• 23:11
  > >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.
• 23:20
  > Good ol’ Boy 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, 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, 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.
• 24:20
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>Uh, and I think that those are really important 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, 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 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.
• 25:25
  > Speaker D>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 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?
• 26:10
  > Moss>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 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 the things had something in there that was complex or fascinating to me or something that popped out.
• 26:59
  > Moss>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, 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 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 like it because it was different, um, and complex as a, you know, compared to, you know, the St.
• 28:26
  > >Louis, uh, Potosi, which I thought was very clean, you know, didn't have a lot of complexity to it.
• 28:33
  > >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, SIPS rating for, uh, the Darumbus, uh, metooicon is going to be a four.
• 28:48
  > >That's classified.
• 28:51
  > >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 interesting. That was your go to.
• 29:06
  > Moss>To be fair, I was gonna bring one, too.
• 29:09
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>What's good? It's good, brother.
• 29:11
  > >So which one would you have picked out of the product line then, Moss?
• 29:14
  > Moss>Oh, man.
• 29:16
  > >Do you remember?
• 29:17
  > Moss>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.
• 29:24
  > Moss>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 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 is, uh, from a monthly Mezcal club called Miguelate, uh, where they actually send you two bottles, uh, each month from various monsters.
• 30:24
  > >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 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 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.
• 31:11
  > >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 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 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, 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 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 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 field. It's a vast piece of land with stunning, uh, McGays growing, uh, both cultivated and wild.
• 33:16
  > >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, 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 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 with the perfect amount of Karwinsky greenness.
• 34:19
  > >Um, that's a very distinctive variety of agave, uh, line. Mia.
• 34:26
  > Speaker D>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, 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.
• 34:58
  > >Jason, what did you think of this one?
• 35:00
  > Speaker D>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 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, strong mezcal.
• 35:42
  > >Cool. Benjamin, what'd you think of this?
• 35:46
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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 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 this certain mental picture of this, like, bellowing, overwhelming, you know, kind of smoke.
• 36:35
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>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, 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.
• 37:17
  > Speaker D>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.
• 37:29
  > >That's classified.
• 37:31
  > >Well, really exciting flight. Um, did you guys.
• 37:35
  > >You, uh, guys brought it? I, I thought this was a great flight. Any other comments about the, the flight itself?
• 37:41
  > Moss>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.
• 37:53
  > Moss>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 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.
• 38:13
  > >Thank you. For joining us for this episode. Moss.
• 38:15
  > Moss>Yeah, no, this has been a pleasure. Thanks guys.
• 38:17
  > >Good old boy Benjamin, thanks for joining us for this, uh, exciting episode.
• 38:21
  > Good ol’ Boy Benjamin>Again, every chance I get, brother. Thanks for having me.
• 38:23
  > >Good old boy Jason, thanks for joining us.
• 38:26
  > Speaker D>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.
• 38:46
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• 38:55
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• 38:58
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• 40:05
  > Announcer>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
• 40:14
  > Announcer>the dude in the basement Studios. Your host, the good old boys will see you all next time.