OAX Original Arroqueño has a semi silver tonality, with subtle wooden and cooked agave aromas. It is buttery with hints of sweet coffee.
About this mezcal
OAX Original Arroqueño is made with Maguey Arroqueño (Agave Americana) from the Sierra de Oaxaca, Mexico. Picked up at the agave’s premium and brought to distillation at the maturity point, the plants were between 14 and 18 years old.
OAX Original
OAX Original is a mezcal meant to be experienced. Unboxing an OAX bottle is unveiling a piece of art, exclusive and unique, carefully packed in a custom cardboard box for protection. Their bottle is inspired by vernacular Mexican architecture, a blend between the mysterious monolithic pre-Hispanic architecture and Euro-American Modernist design, spearheaded by Luis Barragán and presently embodied in the work of architects Frida Escobedo, Mauricio Rocha and Gabriela Carrillo, among others. Made out of ceramic, their bottle and full packaging have been produced in Mexico.
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meserole
70 reviewsAlright, I admit that I’m not immune to a good gimmick. But one of the things I regretted from my bounteous trip to Oaxaca was that I failed to take home a quality Arroqueño with me, and leaned way into the vegetal/herbal flavors of karwinskiis and potatorums and marmoratas instead.
Now, the cost rating on this listing I would say is incorrect, and that matters here, because yes, you are paying a premium for the bottle and art school marketing by Americans, but ultimately this thing only costs $100 before tax and shipping, which is pretty standard for an artisanal, single-maguey mezcal.
On to the tasting: smell is rich like roasted coffee beans and baked buttery bread. Taste is immediately pretty sharp and bright, which primes my mouth for something hot, but the heat never came – it was a fake-out for a pretty smooth mezcal with additional notes of sassafras, cream, and some copper or brass, like licking pennies. On second thought, I shouldn’t have been surprised at the lack of heat, at just 44% ABV.
I’ve never tasted an Arroqueño that I would consider as embodying the peak of mezcal’s complexities in flavor — and this is no exception — but it’s pretty much what I expected and I wasn’t disappointed.
Lot #1 “ARQ”
Alright, I admit that I’m not immune to a good gimmick. But one of the things I regretted from my bounteous trip to Oaxaca was that I failed to take home a quality Arroqueño with me, and leaned way into the vegetal/herbal flavors of karwinskiis and potatorums and marmoratas instead.
Now, the cost rating on this listing I would say is incorrect, and that matters here, because yes, you are paying a premium for the bottle and art school marketing by Americans, but ultimately this thing only