“But leave us some magic in the world. Leave us some mystery to enjoy.” – Stuart Hill
My Smells: wet gravel
My Tastes: sweetness
My Summary: Honestly, it’s a smooth taste on the back end, and then not much before or after that. I’ve had plenty of mezcals that leave me with something memorable, Se Busca’s Madrecuishe left a memory. My cheaper equivalents, while not nearly as smooth, still left a feeling or a memory. Código 1530 Mezcal Artesanal, in my opinion, is not memorable. I instantly began researching more information on Codigo to try and figure out why there is a lack of “oomf” that I usually receive with my Mezcals. Check out my crash course and review of Madre Mezcal for more details.
There is one input that stands out from all of the other mezcals that I’ve tried. They rested the mezcal for a short period of time in Sauvignon Blanc barrels. This must do something to the original product that reduces the, for lack of a better word, potency. Alright, let’s dive into some science to figure out what the barrels do chemically to the liquor.
Hmmm… Interesting… I know some of these words.
Basically, when liquor is aged in barrels, from wherever they are sourced, they will eventually pick up the flavors and colors from the wood. I learned all about this during my recent trip to Kentucky where my buddies and I toured the bourbon trail.
While I can research the chemistry and determine what exactly happens to a spirit when it is aged in a barrel I am still missing a critical component of the question. How long is the mezcal rested in these Sauvignon Blanc barrels from Napa Valley?
There is absolutely no color that I can detect with this Mezcal so the aging or resting could not have been for very long.
Hold up, Codigo 1530 is owned by Pernod Ricard, which has wine companies under its company in Napa. Huh, the only one listed on their website is Kenwood out of the Sonoma coast in California which is nearby Napa. I submitted an email request to Kenwood so I guess we’ll see. Both Kenwood and Codigo fall under the Pernod Ricard umbrella so there’s a chance I may have found their barrel provider.
Post-Posting: (After 24 hours I received a response from the winery that stated that they reuse their SB barrels for red wine purposes and have more flexibility with their Chardonnay barrels. He did not confirm if they send them to Codigo though. So Codigo may be getting barrels from somewhere else. Fun little side quest though).
I think this has to be the answer to why I don’t find anything unique with this Mezcal. That slight variation of resting in a barrel created a product, not necessarily a bad one, which is smooth but one that I do not enjoy… but George Strait does.
Alright, I’ve avoided another topic that plays a part in my full review; this is a celebrity-branded company. I am not sure what the trend is with celebrities branding themselves to agave-based spirits. Could the barrier to entry be much more accessible compared to a winery or bourbon or vodka? I personally don’t like celebrity-branded spirits because the focus is shifted from the crafters to the celebrity. You drink this brand because of George Strait, who is the celebrity behind Codigo 1530.
As I dove deeper into the story of Codigo and what it used to be I kinda got upset about it. It used to be a brand, El Tequila Privado, that only private families in Mexico were privy to. They held the recipe and were distilling the spirit for hundreds of years… until Ron Snyder got the idea to start making it commercially available. Ron Snyder, Crocs CEO, tasted the tequila at a private club in Cabo San Lucas and wanted to bring the brand to the public. He established Codigo 1530 alongside Federico Vaughan, George Straight, and… NFL Coach Mike Shanahan???… and NHL star Brett Hull??? That’s quite a strange cast of characters.
I read through the lyrics of his song “Codigo” and it read like the music you would hear in the background of the tequila commercial. What is nutty is that George had not made any new music since 2015 and his first song on the new album is “Codigo”… As my mom says, “We all need hobbies”, but that song showing up first on the album alongside the torn down walls of mystery and allure of this family brand for commercial appeal says enough for me.
A majority stake was bought by Pernod Ricard in 2022.
Magic plays a critical part in my tasting review. Taste can be described as sense but to me it’s magic. It’s amazing that there are cultures, people, and ingredients on this planet that can make each individual taste something unique that no one else tastes. Have you ever sat in a bourbon tasting and they tell you about the notes on the scent, the aftertaste, the complexity of flavors? Those are what that person feels and maybe what the majority of people smell and taste, the magical part is that nothing you taste is anything like what someone else tastes because we are all unique down to the minute taste buds on our tongues. Learn about my adventure to Oaxaca where I experienced this magic first hand.
I’ve bashed enough over celebrity-branded spirits so to sum up: grab a bottle and try it out for yourself.
Perhaps as this bottle sits on my shelf and my tastes change so too will my review of this Mezcal.
Cheers,
William
W Is For Will 
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