Casamigos Mezcal

George Clooney, Rande Gerber, and Mike Meldman co-founded Casamigos (“House of Friends”) with the purpose of designing a tequila that they all personally enjoyed.  In fact it wasn’t originally intended to be sold at all.  After commercialization the tequila brand saw huge success and was subsequently purchased by Diageo in 2017.  

 A smoky nose gives way to earthy, sweet agave character.  Notes of oregano and orange zest show on the palate.  Relatively soft and smooth compared to the prototypical mezcal which often shows a punchier, smokier profile.

Mezcal is a distilled beverage made from the agave plant.  It is a “mother spirit” of sorts, as any agave based spirit is technically mezcal.  This is similar to how whiskey has many subcategories (bourbon, scotch, irish, etc.).  Mezcal often carries a smokey character to it, which is a result of roasting the agave hearts in underground pits.  This is contrary to Tequila which is typically roasted in above ground ovens, allowing the smoke to escape.