Interesting historical fact: In 1791, a bunch of rebels had an issue with the federal government of the US taxing their hard liquor. “This is America!” they said. “It's hard enough to be a farmer of rye and barley without the government's hand in your pocket! It runs against the spirit of this country!” George Washington rode out to meet them with 13,000 armed men and a clear message: pay up.
In other words, before the country was old enough to buy itself a drink, the federal government established that when it comes to booze, it does not fuck around. Up until very recently, you could only choose between a set number of official sizes for spirits. Producers have to run the label of any upcoming product past the ATF for approval.
Even here in liberal 'ol California, if a company rep wants to give out free liquor as a product demo, they need to obtain a special “tasting license” for $300, are limited in their choice of venues by square footage and the percentage of alcohol sales at that location, and they can't pour more than a quarter of an ounce.
“I understand where the Ilegal Reposado’s detractors are coming from, because it’s absolutely a mixed bag. But its vegetal + sweet flavors are abolutely not incongruous.”
Now, apparently Ilegal's name is pretty on the nose, if its official history is to be believed. A guy named John Rexer had a bar in Nicaragua, discovered that Mezcal was pretty tasty, and then started smuggling the hooch over international borders. The bar, “Cafe No Se,” is essentially translates to English as Cafe “I dunno nothin.” For a time, consumers in Nicaragua had no idea what, precisely, they were getting, since the Mezcal was sourced from any number of producers.
Sure, this all seems very punk rock. And yet, I imagine an agent from the ATF reading the copy on the Ilegal website from behind a pair of dark sunglasses, jotting down notes as a tight smile forms on his lips. “Mmm hmm,” thinks the regulatory agent. “Noted.”
Naturally (probably), Ilegal is above-board now and past its bootlegging days. That said, if I were going to start selling prescription drugs, I probably wouldn't lead by saying my company earned its stripes by selling weed to middle schoolers. Or, if I wanted to start a fireworks company, I’d be tight-lipped if I formerly made a good living selling hand grenades to the narcos.
Beyond its origin story, Ilegal is one of a very few mezcals that comes in a reposado form (meaning the mezcal is stored in an oak cask for a handful of months prior to bottling). Almost always, mezcals are clear and unaged, and the blanco / reposado / anejo classification is really more of a tequila thing. If I had to guess why, maybe part of it's tradition, and maybe another part of it is that mezcal producers might want the characteristics of the agave to be the star of the show. Maybe they think the oak is trying to obfuscate some part of the experience?
After trying the Ilegal, however, I have to ask: why aren't more people doing reposado mezcals? I honestly don't think it's a bad idea. Ilegal ages their stuff for six months, give or take, and it's enough to round off a lot of rough edges people normally associate with mezcal. There's still a level of earthiness that has historically polarized drinkers on the category, but there's also a lot of softness and sweetness I'm attributing directly to the oak interaction.
I'll preface the rest of this by saying that I can absolutely understand where the Ilegal's detractors are coming from. The spirit is absolutely a mixed bag, which I'll get to later, but it's my damned site and I like this stuff.
If I were going to sell someone on the Ilegal, I'd lead with that wonderful softness. This isn't “baby's first mezcal.” They didn’t leave every interesting or challenging quality on the cutting room floor. There are a lot of rich, bold flavors in here if you want to pay attention to them, including sage and pasilla chiles. Apparently Ilegal uses both mesquite and eucalyptus wood in their agave roasting pits—the latter brings a good amount of mint and dill into the glass. These are unexpected flavors in a mezcal, but I find them very welcome.
And yet, some people online just hate the shit out of this stuff. “Vanilla and dill,” said one critic, clearly meaning it as a damning mic drop. That might seem like a reasonable criticism to some: vegetable + sweet seems like an incongruous combination. It's not like we'd want a big heaping of sage leaves on our birthday cake, and there probably isn't a big demand for smoked vanilla ice cream.
But let's not go so far as to say that Ilegal's combination of flavors is prima facie gross. In actual fact, vegetables can indeed be sweet and smoky. Just tonight, I took advantage of some nice spring weather to BBQ, and let me tell you: there's nothing quite as simple and delicious as a grilled onion or grilled bell pepper, especially when sugars in the veggies caramelize and they pick up the flavor of the grill itself. Ilegal provides some similar bliss points.
Let me restate that these flavors are all layered over oak and vanilla. That combo is a crowd pleaser in bourbon, and it works here as well. And you know what? Sometimes it's nice to sip a spirit that's quietly pleasing as opposed to one that's trying to bring the pain at 55% ABV right out of the still. (“Extra tire fire flavors for me, please,” exclaim the mezcal purists.)
Simply put, I like Ilegal’s reposado, and I like that it’s an option on the market. Let’s see where more oak-rested mezcal takes us.
