Swanky Conservative

Over at Liquor Snob, they take a look at Scorpion Mezcal.

You have to hand it to them for marketing. Most mezcal labels put a worm in the bottom of their bottles. Not these guys. As the name implies, there’s a scorpion down there. Some of you are asking, isn’t this stuff just cheap tequila? Nope. Cheap tequila’s cheap tequila. Mezcal is derived from the agave plant. Tequila is derived from one type of agave, the Blue Agave. So, tequila is a type of mezcal.

My only experience (that I can remember) with mezcal involved a Spring Break trip to South Padre Island and the requisite trip to Matamoros. A bottle of mezcal was purchased and brought back to the island. It actually survived the week, as our supply of beverages seemed to increase as the week went on. We worked on it a little bit more and one pal’s then-girlfriend dumped the remainder down the sink, worm and all. I think at that point, after sifting through the fog that was the previous week’s memories, I bid the liquor a fond farewell.

I may have to revisit this tío abuelo of my favorite spirit, tequila. This shot recipe on Scorpion’s site looks like one to start a day at the chili cookoff with a bang:

Scorpion Stinger

• 3/4 oz Scorpion Silver Mezcal
• 3/4 oz Kahlua Especial (70 proof)
• cocao powder
• dried chili powder