Clase Azul, Guerrero

Very little smoke on the nose of this mezcal. There's a burnt rubber note, barbecue sauce and HP Sauce (British brown sauce), and an odd meaty note. I'm looking for bright fruit but can't find any — almost a rotting fruit, farmyard note. The palate has some fruit, with green apple, red gooseberry, and overripe pineapple coming through, backed by leathery smoke and a hint of freshly cut grass. The finish has more of those brown-sauce spices from the nose, along with gone-off fruit and some leather.

This mezcal is really fun on the nose — think cheese, funk, and some greenery too, from bell pepper and jalapeño, not to mention aniseed and fresh dill. The palate is bright and citrusy, resinous in texture, morphing into wax. The smoke builds and sits deftly on the palate without overpowering. A mezcal that shows great balance and integrity too.

Very bold immediately on the nose: a blast of charred cocoa, a touch of cheesiness, burnt sweetcorn, cooked agave, and iodine-led smokiness, with lighter bonfire embers. The farmyard funk and wet hay aren't as pronounced as in other mezcals, but it's well balanced, and the smoke is nicely integrated. On the palate, it's intensely oily and viscous — mouth-coating, which it does with aplomb — followed by malted barley, some ripe fruit sweetness, caramel dairy fudge, and a waft of pepper. The finish is soft and lightly lingering, the smoke changing into a more coastal salinity. Very, very good indeed.