Not long ago I was in at a fancy tasting and overhead and esteemed wine and spirits reviewer refer to mezcal as "the bastard, cousin" of tequila.  His contempt, or shall I say, dislike for the spirit was intense, to say the least.  I rather wondered if it was due to bad experiences with mezcal- what few make their way to store shelves in the U.S. tend to be rotgut, rotgut occasionally softened by adding a revolting looking worm to each bottle.

Whatever the sources of his discontent, I could not disagree further.  Mezcal, like tequila, or like any other spirit, has its trashy and its classy versions.  Del Maguey, it seems clear, falls into the latter category.  Evidence?  Well, their handiwork was named "best tasting mezcal" in the 1999 World Spirits Championships.

Del Maguey is particularly interesting in that they are doing something similar to what single malt scotches do- take a local product with great character and bring it to the market.  Del Maguey offers "single village" mezcals, meaning that they take the maguey grown in this village or that village and distill it separately (as opposed to blending it with others).  As with single malts showing off parochial peculiarities, so it is with single-village mezcals.

Below are my tasting notes for five of their mezcals.  Without exception, all were worth seeking out, and some were astonishingly good.  I say of Del Maguey what Geoffrey Fermin, the good consul in Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano was prone to say when under mezcal's influence, "Absolutamente!"

Santo Domingo Albarradas-
Bolder than Chichicapa, and likely the most mezcal-ly on the nose of the bunch.  Herbal, spicy, vegetal and slightly medicinal with light smoke on the close.  A touch hot, but quite good.  (Rating ***1/2)
(Click here to order Santo Domingo Albarradas)

Minero-
Noses and tastes of lemon, followed by barrel then lemon with mint and a soft tropical note.   No heat, just taste. (Rating ***3/4) (Click here to order Minero)

San Luis Del Rio-
Grassy, earthy, with some berries on the nose.  Grassy, slightly sweet, followed by barrel, and bold forest scents.  Very impressive, and super smooth.  Highly recommended.  (Rating ****)
(Click here to order San Luis Del Rio)

Tobala-
A very rare, very pricey mezcal made from a wild mountain maguey.  Worth every penny- it's crisp, herbal on the nose, then smooth, dry, tasting of vegetation, wood, a bit of blackberry then light smoke.  Super soft, almost caresses the mouth.  Outstanding and highly recommended. (Rating ****1/2)
(Click here to order Tobala)