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Lalocura San Martinero – Tobasiche

Lalocura San Martinero – Tobasiche was initially released as part of the Agave Mixtape Volume 3 in January of 2021.

Rating: (12 reviews)
Category:Destilado de Agave
Brand:Agave Mixtape, Lalocura Mezcal
Mezcalero:Eduardo "Lalo" Angeles
Maguey:San Martinero, Tobaziche
Agave:Karwinskii
Grind:Hand
Distillation:Clay Pot
Style:Ensamble
State:Oaxaca
Town:Santa Catarina Minas
ABV: 48.18%
Release year: 2021
Website: https://www.mezcallalocura.com/, opens in new window

About this destilado de agave

Lalocura San Martinero – Tobasiche is made with 50% Maguey san martinero (Agave karwinskii) and 50% Maguey tobasiche (Agave karwinskii). Over the past couple of years, Lalo has made a point to focus on running a series of mezcla experiments. Working with the many varietals that grow in Minas, Lalo selected two or three at a time, roasting, mashing, fermenting, and distilling them together. As of Jan 2021, he’s tried 20+ combinations of different varietals, repeating the experiments on his favorites with different proportions in order to better understand how the varietals work together.

It’s an interesting new direction for someone whose known for his dedication and focus on expressing the unique essence of individual varietals and the places in which they grow.

“When teaching beginners, master tasters of wine or chocolate talk about single varietals because the first thing people need to know about is basic flavors,” Lalo says. “It’s the same as when you go to school, they first teach the ABCs and 123s. Once you understand that, you’re ready to put the letters together to make a word, then a sentence. That’s the logical, essential way to learn.

“Mezcales, however, were historically always mezclas. This meant that people were not considering the basic component flavors and aromas. Even the local people who knew these plants didn’t know what their mezcal tasted like on its own because they had only tasted them together. People only knew what mezcal from one place tasted like compared to that of another place. I recognized this and wanted to teach people about the essence of each type of agave by distilling them separately.

“Two years ago, I thought ‘not everyone, but I think at least 50% of the people who drink Lalocura in México understand the basics, so let’s show them more of the original flavor of mezcal – mezclas of different magueyes.”

Sipping on the August, 2019 batch, Lalo says, “I don’t really like mixing agaves, but these two make an excellent mezcla. It’s my second favorite after tobalá-tobasiche. I get the tobasiche’s strong aromas right up front, with the aromas of san martinero just behind it, too. I don’t like writing tasting notes, but I think it smells like ripe fruits. It almost tastes like ripe fruit too, but it’s a little too mineral.

“I’ll keep making it whether people like it or not because it exemplifies what I’m trying to do with these mezcla experiments,” Lalo continues in classic Lalo fashion. “It’s one where both magueyes appear clearly. There are many experiments that produce delicious results that people like very much, but I don’t repeat them because I prefer mezcales that are rooted in the plants from which they’re made. Whatever plants go into the mezcal, we should appreciate how they are together, not one and then the other or some new taste that doesn’t represent the plants on the label. It’s all about the magueyes.”

Agave Mixtape

Agave Mixtape brings the best agave spirits together in one place – your place. Agave Mixtape is a subscription based service. Subscribers receive boxes with three 200ml bottles from three different brands – Lalocura, Mal Bien, and Neta (and maybe a few surprises) – filled with batches picked especially for Agave Mixtape, and not available anywhere else in the USA. Each box includes production notes on the batches, along with links to photos, and virtual tastings with the people behind the brands and the mezcaleros. You can subscribe directly from their website.

Lalocura Mezcal

Before starting Lalocura in 2014, Eduardo “Lalo” Ángeles spent years working as the fourth generation master mezcalero of his family’s brand Real Minero, where he combined a lifetime of working under his father, the late, great Don Lorenzo with a collegiate degree in agricultural engineering. Many Real Minero bottles from several years ago actually have Eduardo listed alongside his father as the master distiller. Lalocura’s clay pot distilled mezcals have built a steady cult following over the last few years. People from around the world show up at the palenque in Santa Catarina Minas each day hoping to spend time listening to Lalo tell stories while they taste the 20+ expressions he has resting in glass at any given time. If you like clay pot distilled mezcal and you like Real Minero, it’s highly recommended that you find some Lalocura.

Read about our visit to Lalocura in the blog post A Tour with Oaxacking: Mezcal Lalocura

Member rating

4.08 out of 5

12 reviews

aarild

aarild

152 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars1 year ago

Aromas of dried fruits, grapefruit and earthy smoke. Flint, smoke and muscovado sugar, herbal, sweet with blueberry muffin, key lime pie and macadamia. Fantastic mezcal, but in my opinion there was no value added when compared to Lalo’s respective single maguey expressions of the same two varieties. The unique character of each became a bit muted.

t8ke

t8ke

144 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Rich on the palate, plenty of cream, cotton candy, vanilla bean, light pepper and wood smoke. Sweet, fruity, raspberry notes. Reminds me of Nuestra Soledad Lachigui on steroids in the best way.

Lovely, complex, fruity and fun and different with tons of complexity to boot.

JDB

JDB

159 reviews
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Another great offering from Lalo….the clay is much more present on this batch. A bit of smoke salt on the front, a spicy mid palate, a piney flavor, a nice lingering finish. Again, the balance is pretty incredible on this and his other mezcales.

TheAgaveFairy

TheAgaveFairy

169 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Nose: Brighter, grassier, fruitier, lime. About as fruity as I’ve ever had from Lalo – a little plantain and key lime pie and papaya. Some bread sticks in there too, hints of chocolate chunks, lightly nutty. Runtz candies! Grilled watermelon.

Palate: Another great lime-creamsicle entry, watermelon Jolly Rancher, some butter and nuts and lemon sauce, yeast… then yet again the clay and minerality dry out the finish and take over, lightly ashy here as well.

Thoughts: Similar to the tob-tob, lots of great moments on the entry but a clay dominated finish. A little hotter and thinner than the tob-tob, worse finish.

Nose: Brighter, grassier, fruitier, lime. About as fruity as I’ve ever had from Lalo – a little plantain and key lime pie and papaya. Some bread sticks in there too, hints of chocolate chunks, lightly nutty. Runtz candies! Grilled watermelon.
Palate: Another great lime-creamsicle entry, watermelon Jolly Rancher, some butter and nuts and lemon sauce, yeast… then yet again the clay and minerality dry out the finish and take over, lightly ashy here as well.
Thoughts: Similar to the tob-tob, l

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COak

COak

228 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

It’s always exciting to try a Lalo ensemble I’ve never tried before. The nose is really earthy. It’s very mineraly, with big red gum.

donpedro

donpedro

39 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Spearmint and cinnamon. Wow. Super sweet on the nose, but spicy and hot on the palate. Some cherry liqueur on the back of the palate.

El-Dawg

El-Dawg

208 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Sweet, vanilla nose. Good clay balance. Vanilla wafers, some citrus fruit, candiness… all overlaid with the classic clay taste and mouth-feel. Quite good!

ElAgave

ElAgave

34 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

48.1%abv
San Martinero = Barril (Karwinski)

Nose – wet green veggies, clay
Palate – sweet smoke, wet grass, clay, citrus, melon, mint
Finish – cigar smoke, ash, oily

Jonny

Jonny

700 reviews
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Lot D-01-19. Aromas of lime, grapefruit, cherries, and orange peel. The palate is rich with black licorice and anise. Additional notes of new lumber, dried spearmint, green tea, and wet clay. There are smoky and candied elements to this that weave a complex base for these other notes.

GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas

385 reviews
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Candy. Not sure exactly what candy, but sweet and sticky. Like a dublin dr pepper. Sugar babies and sour powers. This is still dry on the finish tho… scratches my itch for agave distillates. The best from Lalo so far in the Agave Mixtape series.

Rakhal

Rakhal

421 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Agave Mixtape Volume #3.
Red Hots, White Tic Tacs, cherry jam, plywood, and peaches. A little hot but still quite good.

Zack Klamn

Zack Klamn

542 reviews
Rated 5 out of 5 stars3 years ago

Lot: D-01-19 (Bottle: 53/72)
Nose: Dried cherry. Clay. Wet soil – smells humid and earthy.

Palate: Bubble gum. Cherry twizzlers. Middle is the onset of some heat with a freshness of a quality breath mint. Finish is hot, vapory and minty. Aftertaste is cherry sweet with sea salt and as that fades I can really pick up the clay.

This Lalo 200 mL Agave Mix Tape bottle doesn’t stand a chance!

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