For those unaware of what Mezcal is, it is often distinguished from bottles marketed as Tequila in that Mezcal is made from roasted agave. As a result, Mezcal tends to have smokiness to it. For whatever reason, agave larvae (simply referred to as the worm/gusanos) were added to some brands of Mezcal in a marketing attempt to distinguish itself from Tequila and make it popular America. It worked remarkably well, somehow, considering that westerners have a huge ick factor with bugs. Monte Alban is indeed one of those brands with a larva floating around in it, but I didn’t buy it but got it it as a gift so what the hell, I’ll give it a try.
To boot, the bottle definitely utilizes the marketing gimmicks associated with it; a sense of authenticity with Spanish adorning much of the bottle, and obscure engravings here and there. The bottle originally came with a little pamphlet and some salt seasoning (it found a home in my margaritas), to add to that touristy feel. As for the taste, it was definitely quite unique. It’s not as smoky as other Mezcals I have tried; instead, it’s just like a more “raw”, or earthy tequila, more so than 1800 Tequila (which to me has a distinctive enough profile to it). As such, it actually mixes well in margaritas and cocktails, like a Paloma (which is grapefruit and tequila; in my case it was a Squirt Soda and the Mezcal. Not being so smoky made it quite enjoyable, if I pretended it was just a more vibrant Tequila.