Tosba Warash is a limited release that is fruit forward with rounded notes of grilled pineapple and other sweet tropical fruit.
About this mezcal
Tosba Warash is made with wild maguey Warash, which is endemic to Sierra Norte, Oaxaca. Though the agave is known to grow in this region, this release from Tosba is the first mezcal made from Warash to become commercially available. As of September 2018, this agave had not been classified by the Consejo Regulador del Mezcal (CRM) and biologists from the CRM have reportedly noted that this agave is not within the CRM catalog, which is why A. sp (Warash) is printed on the label of this mezcal.
Tosba Mezcal
Mezcal Tosba is a microbusiness founded by two cousins from San Cristóbal Lachirioag, Oaxaca, Mexico. While living in Silicon Valley, California in 1999, they were inspired and influenced by the entrepreneurialism that surrounded them. Concerned by the increasing migration from their home region of Cajonos-Villa Alta in the Sierra Juárez mountains, they decided to form a business that would rescue the disappearing mezcal production and bring economic opportunity to the area. Mezcal Tosba is created by using traditional, and what is now called sustainable, agricultural methods of harvesting and distillation passed down by generations of farmers and mezcaleros from the region of Cajonos-Villa Alta of the Sierra Juárez in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Learn more:
- Mezcal Tosba: A Visit to San Cristóbal Lachirioag on Mezcal Reviews
Review this bottle
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little agave
57 reviewsLoving this! fruit notes. roasted pineapple. sweet leather. perfect sweet heat. sort of fermented apple going on. Im a fan of Tosba in general and this one keeps the bar high!
48.5% abv.
mt_rainyer
43 reviewsLot 23 (notes from 2022)
This has big, powerful, brash flavors. Surprised to see many folks on here mentioning fruitiness with this batch. While I do indeed taste pineapple, and perhaps a touch of banana leaf, the primary notes to me are on the darker/earthier side of Mezcal – more in the realm of an arroqueño with dirt, leather, and smoke. A bottle worth trying, but I wouldn’t go out to buy a bottle personally. Overall the balance is there with a thick liquid that coats the glass.
Lot 23 (notes from 2022)
This has big, powerful, brash flavors. Surprised to see many folks on here mentioning fruitiness with this batch. While I do indeed taste pineapple, and perhaps a touch of banana leaf, the primary notes to me are on the darker/earthier side of Mezcal – more in the realm of an arroqueño with dirt, leather, and smoke. A bottle worth trying, but I wouldn’t go out to buy a bottle personally. Overall the balance is there with a thick liquid that coats the glass.
Zack Klamn
542 reviewsNose – Dried pineapple. Dried apricot. Asiago cheese. Apple cider.
Palate – Slick, medium viscosity. Mango. BBQ grilled pineapple. Smoked gruyere. I love this stuff!
GreenspointTexas
385 reviewsInteresting. Grilled fruit… maybe pineapple? Some bell pepper in addition to baking spices and turbinado. Very nice
meserole
73 reviewsI read that Warash is an unclassified agave thought to be close to Karwinskii and Rodacantha — that surprised me, because I think of those two as the softer/vegetal maguey families. While this does have a rich fruited/pineapple scent on the nose, the flavor itself definitely hinted at the Agave Americana side of things — the more ‘masculine’ flavor profile in my estimation, which, rather than fruits and leaves, tastes of leather, clay, tobacco and licking copper pennies. Still, there’s something ‘brighter’ and a bit citric in this one, that makes this more appealing than any Sierra Negra I’ve tried.
Tried this at Leyenda in Brooklyn, NY. My first taste from the Tosba brand, and hoping I come across more soon.
I read that Warash is an unclassified agave thought to be close to Karwinskii and Rodacantha — that surprised me, because I think of those two as the softer/vegetal maguey families. While this does have a rich fruited/pineapple scent on the nose, the flavor itself definitely hinted at the Agave Americana side of things — the more ‘masculine’ flavor profile in my estimation, which, rather than fruits and leaves, tastes of leather, clay, tobacco and licking copper pennies.
Mansson
71 reviewsLot 23, distilled 2018. Agave sweetness, marzipan, tropical fruit, rubber, a bit of smoke. This is a complex mezcal with a lot of different tastes coming and going but, at the same time, it’s balanced and round.
stigibeu
33 reviewsLot 23 Bottle 100-something. Very, very good sipper. Like other reviewers, I’m catching the mango on the nose and some nerds/apple funk that reminds me a lot of Lalocura’s Tobala. No heat here either. Palate is pleasant, but not super thick like some other mezcals (which is actually a bit of a negative for my personal taste). Great finish–just a little bit of roasted agave and smoke with minimal burn.
COak
238 reviewsLot 23 Bottle 170. Tropical bomb! Mangos are all over this. Reminds me of some tobalas.
Jonny
727 reviewsSmells like fermenting pineapple, mango, and papaya. This smells more like a brandy its so fruity. The palate has grilled fruits like charred pineapple, stewed apples, cider, apple sauce with cinnamon, and baked summer squash. This is fabulous.
Rakhal
430 reviewsLot 23. A new agave to add to my list! Exciting! It’s up to 85 now! I hope some ethnobotanist figures out which agaves are true separate species, sub-species, or just different regional names for the same thing. Anyways, when I tasted this I thought it was very similar to Derrumbes San Luis Potosí. Very complex, funky, vegetal. I kept thinking of a Parmesan cheese omelet with some fresh green bell pepper. I wonder if Warash is similar to Salmiana? I prefer the Derrumbes however.
thamthong
47 reviewsprobably 4.5. tropical fruit on the nose is a little funkier and drier on the palate. pretty crazy this isnt a pechuga based on how intense the fruit presence is. reminded me a bit of a softer, more mineral forward herencia de sanchez ponche de frutas. very nice and clean. almost no smoke to be found here.
Tyler
663 reviewsTried this at Madre Mezcaleria in Brooklyn. Dried fruit. As the description says, there is definitely some grilled pineapple here. Reminds me a bit of fruity agave Tobala mezcals. Really enjoying everything from Tosba. Lot 23? Bottle 80.