I used 2:1 OP Spanish brandy and Cognac in order for it to stand up to the rest of the ingredients, yet I think I should've gone all in on the OP Spanish brandy. You can tell it's there but it's very soft and quiet behind the loud Mezcal and Lucano. It softens over time but I still think it's a bit too Mezcal forward (at least with the Del Maguey Vida).

The amaro matters. I didn’t have any Lucano, so I subbed in Averna. That didn’t work, too syrupy. Then I went out and got myself a bottle of Baulio (Simon mentions that the original Treadway recipe actually called for Braulio, not Lucano). This made a huge difference— not too sweet, plenty of piney “alpine” notes. Definitely a keeper!

this is almost too rich, gonna play around with the proportions because it's *really good*

Very good. Proper grown-up Vieux Carre.

Awesome. Good complexity

Presumably a riff on a Vieux Carré?