Recent reviews

VDM-213
Best for when out at night and it’s the only option at the bar. I’ve found a handful of better options at the price point. Rubbery bandaids, smoke, a bit more going on than Vida.

Lot 0919AC

Very soft flavors, pure, subtle. The alcohol is a dominant flavor since everything else is so subtle. Definitely unique, nice addition to a collection to round out different expressions of agave.

Lot SDO – 191
46% ABV
Agave Espadin
Initial nasal impact is warming and drying.
Mineral, tropical fruit and wet slate hit first on the aroma. Honeysuckle and sage follow.
Mouthfeel is oily with sufficient alcohol.
Flavor leads with guava, papaya, pine, limestone, honey, lavender and a nice ash presence is well balanced throughout every sip.
Finish is long and very drying with the guava and ash lingering nicely.

Lot 3 | Bottle 13/44
On the nose you get a whiff of warm campfire (not the smoke smell, but the wood smell if that makes sense?), saline, old library books, a bit of lactic cheesiness.

Taste wise the initial palette has that earthy, campfire taste mixed with parmesian cheese rind and salt that was on the nose moving through to the umami of wet porcinis before opening up into a sweetness and cheesy flavor that was not found on the nose. The finish lasts for a long time and has just a hint of sugary fruit flavors like cantaloupe and savory flavors like Parmesan. Delicious right after opening and only got more complex after opening up. Typically I don’t like flavor of the “dustier” agave profiles such as sierra negra, arroqueno, etc… this has elements what you’d expect from those agaves, but is incredibly delicate.

One of my all time favorite bottles of agave spirit. Enough so that after trying this bottle, for the first time I bothered to track down two other bottles from different batches (lot 4 and lot 8 for those curious as to what is available Stateside) to make sure that I had some more for when this runs out.

For context, I’ve only tried one other agave spirit from sonora (one of the lamata Lechuguilla also with bovicornuta) and tried perhaps 3-4 other Lechuguillla/bovincornuta spirits total. While all on the tasty side, it isn’t an agave I am super familiar with. Definitely will be on the look out for more.

Lot 3 bottle 2/66
A delicious release from Erick. I do like this a bit more than the Espadilla Capon from Asunción Matilde Vargas. On the nose tennis balls, a touch of lactic funk, some sweetness. Tastes quite a bit more minerally/lactic than most puebla tobala pota’s I’ve had in the past. There is just a bit of sugary fruit that shines through. While tasty, it is expensive for the price point/taste.

Lot 01TOBUSA-21 – no bottle number

This is a solid somewhat tasty release. Upon opening it up, smelled like roasted greenery, tennis balls, and a bit of a chemical ash tray. On the palette that ashtray note was the most present flavor until I revisted the bottle 6 months later. Then, the tennis ball/greenery flavor came out more and the chemical smoke faded in to the background (though never entirely went away).

Green chill invades the nostrils, supported by a team of sweetmyrtle bushes — strong and nice nose. Green peppers, cucumber skin, watermelon and guavas on the palate. Well structured and integrated alcohol. I feel that La Medida and Memorable are both underrated brands.

Another fantastic, and most Memorable mezcal… Smells of raspberry jam and dusty loft, some grass, a bit like raw sugarcane. Raspberry liqueur, blackcurrant leafs, toasted hazelnuts, dried epazote. Lingering forever. A karwinskii on the fruitier side, really lovely. Memorable mezcales are in general really, really good.
2017 batch

N° PO2841
This one I really wanted to like, and while the aromas are interesting the flavors didn’t hold up.
On the nose I get strong apple cider, or golden apples with a touch of strawberry fruit by the foot sweetness. And while the palate is nice and warm with that nice pechuga body, I dont get a lot of complexity from it. Also it loses all its character in a really short amount of time. I probably poured this 10-12 minute ago and the smell is already gone.

LOTE # 02PE 20
The back of my bottle says “chicken or turkey” so I thought that was a little funny.
Nose: funky fruit like papaya, guava, brown sugar, mango lassi
Palate: butter and white pepper dominates but it has that really rich and round mouthfeel I expect from a good pechuga. Solid pick but not one I’d keep around for the home bar.

this was another one that i waited to review.i wanted to sample this more than once before giving my opinion.my initial rating was 3 star at best.the nose was cajun spice and the palate was the same.it was too dominant and i didnt get much of any other flavors.i let the bottle settle and popped the top from time to time letting it sit for about 30 minutes.WOW this really morphed!the cajun note was there but mellowed.now there were sweet honey and baked sugar notes that blended with the spice and a hint of fresh split oak wood.the finish was deep,sweet,long and complex.very enjoyable.as time goes on,the sweeter notes are dominating the spice more.

Batch Cali-011, Bottle 20/90, 47.67% abv

The Rufina lineup is all very good. This madrecuixe has some crazy minerality on the nose, some of the strongest I have ever smelled or tasted in a mezcal. It reminds of LA city water, not in the chemical aspect, but in the mouthfeel (chalky). Their verde has some of this same minerality, although more muted, so it could be the water source in addition to the soil. Being a wild agave, it could also be part of its genetics. Underneath that minerality is some of the grassiness and vegetal notes that I like in a karwinskii, A bit of popcorn and corn syrup as well. Just some mild spiciness, but the flavor lingers in your palate for a while. Different from many other madrecuixes that I have tried and worth seeking out.

46% abv Lot: I 1-1
I have tried the entire lineup from Oponguio at a tasting event at Happiest Ours in Corona a few months ago, and they are all really solid. I sprung for this bottle because it hit a lot of my favorite Inaequidens notes. Strong pine notes on the nose, really drying on the palate, crisp and light fruit notes. Trying to figure out the herbal notes, maybe a bit more oregano for me, but there is a dried sage note that Jonny mentions. There are some floral notes too, rose petals, faint bubblegum and background sweetness. The flavors are muted but interesting. The herbal to my recollection is close the seco in their lineup in terms of flavor. I recommend doing a side-by-side tasting of their main offerings: frutal, herbal, and seco.

Batch: AMA-02 Bottle: 144/240 (180 liter batch) 45.5% abv

Power of suggestion carries a lot of weight, and when you get your first whiff, you think you smell leather and cow hide….when you can put that out of your mind, there is some fruit sweetness and basil notes. The flavors on the palate remind me of Kirsch, a cherry liquor. There is also a strong taste in the palate that evokes beef jerky or cured sausage notes (along the lines of Spanish chorizo). There is some background herbal quality as well, not sure if it is the mint or licorice others mention or something closer to oregano and rosemary. Enjoyable and worth the price at around $110 a bottle, which is what I paid at El Cerrito Liquor for this bottle. Check out Zack Klamm’s video on YouTube about his trip to the Santa María Ixcatlán: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX7VFtprDb4

61.4% abv, Date: 3-22 Lot: A26 Bottle 240T

Picked up this 200 ml bottle at Louie’s Liquor in Azusa. I first tasted this puntas in Chicago this past October at Frontera Grill. Really impressed with that pour. This offering has a thick, strong mouthfeel. Hot for me, unlike other reviewers, but not burning. Has lots of flavors: sweet caramel and toffee, grape jelly, and peppermint. On the backend, there is a touch of the funky raicilla flavor, a bit of cream cheese. Definitely a must try if you come across a bottle at a bar. I am usually going to opt for any puntas regardless, but do seek this one out; you won’t be disappointed.

Lot# VDS-T 2-11-2021 Batch size: 110 liters 49% abv

Purchased this bottle on special from K&L wines. I had never had an agave spirit from Nuevo Leon unit this year and had never gotten that “fruit punch” note that others had mentioned. But this batch has it in spades. Nose is all fruit punch, and the palate as well. Comes in waves Reminds me of mixing kool-aid packets with sugar and eating that straight as a kid (with minimal sugar if you were brave). The mix here is a little tart but there is some sweetness as well. Also notes of leather, sour plum or cherry, and a slight ashy aftertaste. I agree with Rakhal that this offering is really unique. Not getting the corn note that Zack and Rakhal mentioned, but I could have a different batch.

five-star hack: infuse this with two ripe habaneros for ~24 hrs for a sublime cocktail base. don’t @ me

Lot E-17-E-20 50.2% Aromas out of the bottle are well I don’t know practically non-existent. Acetone and the usual alcohol Aromas but very little else I get a green sweetness of agave but that’s about it. Flavors are mostly clean alcohol with different types of peppers white peppercorn green peppercorn and hot spices. This was a newly opened bottle I’m looking forward to it airing out some and trying it again. After airing out some I get mint and green Jolly Rancher everything’s pretty well mellow. Sweet bourbon like flavors come out after airing

Flying back from Mazatlan, I knew I had a bottle of this San Andres waiting for me at home. I saw the San Andres XX for $900🇲🇽 and I thought it’d be a neat side-by-side.
Can’t believe how different the two are from the same producer!
Starwberry Greek yogurt on the aroma follwed by a banana/soursop sweetness.
A light lactic funk that I adore in Mezcal! Berries, vanilla, rocks. Canadian forest fires. Annonaceae fruita like Guanabana, soursop, cherimoya or Amazonian cupuaçu. Lightly floral. A pronounced flavor of pouring fresh dirt in the garden.
Roasted, juicy agave juice. Like the charred pineapple of Al Pastor.
More sweet and unbalanced as the San Andres XX, in a good way.
A fun, fruity, funky Mezcal.

Bottle 1518/3076.
I was pleasantly surprised to see this guy in the Duty-Free store one my flight back from Mazatlan! $900🇲🇽 and costs nearly triple in my area. I had a bottle of the regular San Andres waiting for me at home, so I thought it’d be a neat side-by-side.
Can’t believe how different the two are from the same producer!
Hard to pick out specific notes as this Mezcal is so well balanced, the flavors balance out amazingly.
Floral and earthy aromas right away. Like being back in the Bouchart Gardens of Victoria. Rai water. Rose and Lavender. Dubble Bubble Gum (with the jokes inside the wrapper?) Strawberry Go-gurt. Lightly charred Rosemary. Very little booze for 95 proof.
Tastes like the smell of Oaxaca de Juarez at night. The trees and the air. Toasted cinnamon, underripe banana, earthy minerality. Like piclkng wild berries and eating the one that which fell to the ground.
A soothing, sipper to enjoy in the summer sun.
I let it sit for 15/20 minutes in the glass to develop. Straight from the bottle it was a little less balanced and a lttle more boozier.