Mezcal Campante Review

Travel Distilled reviews Mezcal Campante, a mezcal made with the aim of being a mezcal that’s a good first-time try for mezcal novices and handy in cocktails.

I’m always interested when there’s a new mezcal in town, as I’ve yet to try one I didn’t like. Some are as smoky as a fine Laphroaig, some are more like tequila (which technically is a mezcal anyway, while others are somewhere inbetween.

Mezcal or Tequila?

To learn more about the differences between mezcal and tequila, and what exactly mezcal is, read my post here.

Mezcal Campante Bottles and Cocktail — Mezcal Campante

Where is Mezcal Campante Made?

Mezcal Campante is made in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, which is where 70% of Mexican mezcal originates. Specifically it’s made in the area around Ejutla de Crespo, which is about a 90-minute drive south of the city of Oaxaca. It’s made from two types of agave, the espadin and the barril, although about 14 different agaves grow around Ejutla de Crespo.

How is Mezcal Campante Made?

The complicated production process is described on their website. First the two types of agave are harvested and taken to the distillery. Here the hearts of the plants (called piñas) are cooked, like the blue agave that make tequila, in an above-ground stone oven. Inside the oven they are covered with the fertile local soil and what’s called bagasse, which is the dried fibrous pulp from earlier cookings. After a few days the agave will have caramelized, and be ready for the next stage in the process.

This is how the website describes the next step: ‘ The piñas are then separated and double distilled in copper before being cold blended back together and then bottled. This results in a softening of the intensity of the smoke allowing the other notes of the varietals to evolve. The mash is then collected and placed in large wooden vats and left to ferment for days, until the Master Mezcalero decides it is time to distill.’

When fermentation is complete, the resulting mash is then distilled twice in copper stills and the mezcal spirit is bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof).

Mezcal Campante Bottle

My bottle of Mezcal Campante arrived in a lovely gift box, which also contained two of the wooden cups in which mezcal is traditionally drunk. The bottle itself was nicely wrapped in white paper, which tells you all about the mezcal, and some of the information is repeated on the clear glass bottle, and wraps around giving a pleasing effect on the shelves. The whole presentation makes for a perfect gift for the mezcal-lover in your life, or for someone you want to try to turn on to mezcal.

Mezcal Campante Review

I opened the bottle when we had a couple of friends round for dinner, and the husband is definitely a mezcal convert. ‘This is really good,’ was his verdict, ‘smoky but not too smoky.’ He was right. If you’re going to introduce someone to mezcal, this is an excellent way to do it. I had been worried that there might be no smoke at all, just a clean spirit, but no. It’s very subtly smoky, with the agave earthiness of its origins, and an almost flowery taste.

Mezcal Campante with Two Mezcal Drinking Cups

While my friend had a second shot in one of the lovely black wooden drinking cups that come with the gift pack, I mixed mine with a Q Mixer Tonic. It was excellent. If you want a change from a G&T (which our wives were enjoying) or a Vodka and Tonic, then do try a Mezcal and Tonic with a dash of lime juice. Just be sure to use a quality tonic like Q or Fever Tree.

Mezcal Campante : The Professional’s View

Don’t just take my word for how good this mezcal is. Ana Maria Romero Mena is a Maestra Tequilera and is known to have one of the best noses in the agave spirits industry. She was the woman behind the excellent Mijenta Tequila that I reviewed a while back. Here’s what she said when she tasted Mezcal Campanta:

Bringing these two varietals together creates a perfectly balanced profile that on first impression, one perceives a smokey nuance. The cooked agave gives forth aromas of vanilla, chocolate, and caramel, light herbal tones such as rosemary, eucalyptus, mint, and wisps of floral notes including lavender and orange blossom. As the liquid develops, the imprint on the palate is sweet and silky, the fruity aromas decant to citrus, leaving delicate smoky tones in the mouth.

Mezcal Campante Cocktails

There are lots of fun mezcal cocktail recipes on the Mezcal Campante website. Many people don’t realise what a versatile spirit mezcal is. You can use it in any cocktail where you’d normally use tequila, like a Margarita or Tequila Sunrise. You can also use it in recipes that traditionally use whisky or bourbon, like an Old Fashioned, especially if the mezcal is one of the smokier spirits. You can even make a Martini using mezcal instead of gin, and if you search around online you’ll find cocktails that combine mezcal with rum. It really is an adaptable spirit.