Xiaman

This unaged spirit, bottled at 44% ABV and priced around $140, was once the top bottle I opened in 2023. However, I bought and opened another bottle as an early Christmas gift to myself, which then claimed the title of both the best and most costly bottle of 2023. A review of that other spirit will follow this year. Though I claim Scotch as my preferred drink, I actually dislike it. Perhaps I'm too acquainted with it; to the point that if I had the time and resources to get a domain for a review website, it would likely be YourScotchSucksAss.com. In contrast, I'm still new to mezcal and thoroughly enjoy it. Some mezcals still amaze me, making me wonder how a spirit can possess such aromas and tastes. This mezcal evoked memories of trying a dusty 10-year-old Laphroaig from a past era, when Laphroaig bottles on this side of the Atlantic primarily gathered dust. It wasn't the peat that captivated me, but a rubber note. I'm not sure why this unusual characteristic appeals to me, but this mezcal also features a rubber note, albeit in a distinct style compared to the Laphroaig. The Laphroaig offered rubber, rope, and the sea—like a tugboat. This Xiaman's rubber note is akin to a combination of the Botanical Gardens and Trinidad and Tobago's Pitch Lake—an aromatic menagerie of sweet tropical fruits and flowers, spices that are dried after baking, and fresh asphalt. To clarify, I'm mixing concepts in my head; if you visit Trinidad, you won't experience the Botanical Gardens and Pitch Lake simultaneously due to the significant travel time between them. Can you think of anything that genuinely smells sweet, floral, and rubbery? The aroma of the Xiaman is rich and fragrant, possessing qualities of both youth and age. It presents the zestiness of the common Espadin agave alongside the earthy, fruity essence of the wild Tepextate agave, which has matured for 25-30 years. The subtle smoky, rubbery, and clay notes likely stem from the traditional underground pit cooking of the agave, hand milling, and open-air fermentation. The taste of the Xiaman is less intense than its aroma; I'd consider the 44% ABV strategically restrained. Your palate will need to work slightly to discern the flavors, but the subtlety is rewarding. The texture is remarkable for the low ABV, feeling somewhere between a soup and a sauce. Finally, let's address the value. This mezcal has not been aged in wood, but while whiskies often rely on post-distillation processes, mezcals are defined by what occurs before distillation. The creation of this mezcal takes 25-30 years due to the Tepextate agave, a scarce ingredient in most mezcals. The production effort involved would likely rival that of Springbank distillery. The bottle itself appears modest, perhaps even inexpensive at first glance, but then you discover the stopper is a hand-beaded jaguar head, the ferns and flowers are hand-etched, and the neck label is hand-applied leather. Unbelievable. If this were a whisky, it would command an auction price of $25,000. There are 500 bottles of this mezcal available. I located a store with two bottles. I bought one without knowing its contents, waited a couple of months to open it, was thoroughly impressed, returned to the store, and purchased the remaining bottle. I adore mezcal.