Mezcal Don Ramon Review

Cocktails, Mexico, Mezcal, Spirit Reviews

Don Ramon is already known for its tequila, and its Brand Ambassador Pierce Brosnan, but it has now brought out a Mezcal Joven, and it’s brilliant.

Mezcal is often regarded as tequila’s poor cousin, the spirit with a worm in it. The worm was a marketing ploy to draw attention to one particular brand of mezcal over 60 years ago, and the ploy worked so well that mezcal-makers ever since have struggled with that image. Perhaps James Bond can help change that?

Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan is the Brand Ambassador for Don Ramon, who have a wide range of classy tequilas, including several limited editions. If someone of Pierce Brosnan’s stature is prepared to put his name to them, they ought to be good.

So it’s interesting that the company in late 2020 released their first mezcal, a Joven or young mezcal. Mezcals have traditionally been drunk young as the small-scale family distillers that make the majority of mezcals can’t usually afford expensive barrels, or afford to wait a few years before they can sell their aged mezcals. Mezcals can be aged like tequila, producing both Reposado and Añejo expressions.

Jimador harvesting agave for Mezcal Don Ramon — Harvesting Agave

Salmiana Agave

One immediately interesting thing about Mezcal Don Ramon is that it’s made from 100% Salmiana Agave. We’re less familiar with the agaves used for mezcal production than we are with the Blue Agave used to make tequila. However, of the 30 or so types of agave used to make mezcal, Salmiana Agave is not one of the most common ones.

Don Ramon’s agave comes from the state of Zacatecas, one of the Mexican states approved for mezcal production, and the company must be confident of their mezcal’s success because for every agave they harvest, they are planting two in its place. As the agave can’t be harvested till they’re 8-10 years old, they need to plan ahead.

Mezcal Don Ramon Review

The bottle itself is really striking. It’s solid and stylish, tapering slightly towards the top, and crowned with the silver head of a jaguar. In Mayan mythology the jaguar is the ruler of the underworld and is a symbol of power, ferocity, and valor.

On the nose the mezcal is as striking as the bottle. It’s immediately appealing and complex, with a strong grassy and herbal aroma. It’s slightly smoky, but nowhere near as strong as a peated whisky or other mezcals I’ve tried. I thought I detected some mint, while in contrast my wife said ‘farmyard’. What? Well, it is actually a compliment, as it does have that very earthy farmyard smell that you find in really good pinot noirs, my favorite red wines.

The taste backs up the smell, and then some. It has the earthy and smoky elements, but also now some vanilla sweetness and hints of citrus too. Like a good scotch, it’s a taste that keeps on giving, making it a remarkably smooth and satisfying sipping mezcal. My wife had said that if she didn’t like it neat then I could make her a mezcal and tonic with it, but after one taste she said ‘forget the tonic’.

I’ll definitely be on the look-out for more mezcals made with this Salmiana Agave, and also more mezcals from Casa Don Ramon. As they’ve labelled this a Joven, I’m willing to bet some of it is currently being aged in barrels to produce a Reposado and eventually an Añejo expression.

Mezcal Don Ramon Cocktails

Although we’ll probably be mostly sipping this neat, I’ll try it with tonic sometime. Casa Don Ramon has also come up with some mezcal cocktail recipes, as the spirit does make a great ingredient for cocktails. That’s how I first discovered mezcal, and a bartender did once say that any cocktail you can make with tequila, you should try with mezcal.