El Rey Zapoteco is one of Oaxaca’s oldest artisanal mezcal brands that still produces its mezcal entirely in-house.
About this mezcal
El Rey Zapoteco Espadin is made from the family’s estate grown “capon”, fully mature, Espadin agaves that are cut by hand with machete and hoe and cooked using oak wood in an underground conical oven made of river rocks covered with soil. The cooked agaves are crushed by horse-driven Chilean quarry tahona. The crushed agave fibers are fermented in open air pine vats using natural yeasts. The fermented agave is distilled twice in copper stills to yield a 45% ABV Espadin mezcal that is a highly approachable, versatile mezcal with a nice floral nose and pepper spice, and a clean, lightly smoky finish. You will get some minerality, owing to its surroundings.
El Rey Zapoteco Mezcal
One of Oaxaca’s oldest artisanal mezcal brands that still produces its mezcal in-house, El Rey Zapoteco was founded in 1960 by Don Serafín Hernandez Blas in Santiago Matatlán. Today, the business is run by the family matriarch Doña Juana and Don Serafin’s sons. Caretakers of agave fields that routinely yield some of Oaxaca’s largest agaves, the Hernandez family are faithful stewards of production techniques that remain the same as they were at their founding.
Learn more about El Rey Zapoteco:
- El Rey Zapoteco: The Matron of Mezcal in Oaxaca on Culinary Backstreets
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Tyler
643 reviewsA somewhat standard yet classic tasting Espadin. It transports me to Oaxaca and memories of sipping mezcal in bars in Oaxaca City. There is a bit of dark fruit tartness along with smoked wood. Batch E-0124, 2019.
razorbackmike
155 reviewsvery good espadin!i am not sure if the term capon applies to this mezcal as far as cutting the flowering stalk on the agave plant.it is a notch above the standard espadin, in my opinion.a freshly opened botlle offers very little on the nose at first.after 10 or fifteen minutes there is a nice floral and sweet smell.the palate is silky and mellow.very sweet with black pepper and honey notes,the finish is very pleasant with a hint of smoke and no bite.down the middle espadin profile and a great bargain.all the el reys are excellent.i had purchased a bottle of the joven about 6 years ago and was not impressed with the old label.it looks like the escobar family put some extra care and effort into their latest products. nicely done!
very good espadin!i am not sure if the term capon applies to this mezcal as far as cutting the flowering stalk on the agave plant.it is a notch above the standard espadin, in my opinion.a freshly opened botlle offers very little on the nose at first.after 10 or fifteen minutes there is a nice floral and sweet smell.the palate is silky and mellow.very sweet with black pepper and honey notes,the finish is very pleasant with a hint of smoke and no bite.down the middle espadin profile and a great ba