Recent reviews

Lot 34MC. Soft aromas of stewed green beans, allspice, cloves, dry pine needles, and sour cream. The palate has a fair amount of smoke. More tasting notes of stewed vegetables: green beans, asparagus, and black olives. This is a good Tep but not quite as lively and vivacious as I typically look for. That said, the story behind this batch is really sad. I feel fortunate to have tasted it.

Jai-Bar-001

First tasting:
Sweet and sour, malt vinegar and eucalyptus bark on the nose and sugar/caramel on the tongue.. Then the next wave of flavors came on; the syrupy sauce of a good apple pie, with a bit of salinity. Impressively smooth considering the abv%.

Looking forwards to the second tasting to see what else comes to mind.

Another winner from MM. Cilantro and passion fruit

Lot “VEDEU”, bottle 27/54
Mineral, vegetal nose, ethyl acetate (a bit like pear and/or apple flavoured candy), eucalyptus, the smell of a sizzling clay bowl padrón chilies, straight from the oven.
On the palate: Parsley and lemon rinds – gremolata! – peeled cucumber, guava, discreet and not too sweet candy floss. Towards the end cactus fig/prickly pear, really long aftertaste. Nice minerality and very light smoke.

Thoughts: I have never had a tepextate/marmorata that was clay pot distilled, but I would imagine it would be a bit like this one. The flavours remind me quite a bit about Rey Campero Tepextate apart from the latter being smokey. Generally, this is rounder and more structured. Great bottle, very special.

The nose starts innocently enough. It’s subdued with a wild wisp from the Jabalín every so often. Raw vegetables – potato, yam, baby corn, sweet peas, and eggplant. Savory nose of glazed honey ham with herb and chili butter-basted mushrooms. Fragrant, fresh floral aromas that present themselves like a herb and flower garden. Honeysuckle sweet, green vegetation.

The first comment I want to make about the palate is the decadent texture of this mezcal. It’s rich and clings to your tongue with the flavors enveloping your palate. Stir-fry vegetables, steamed in bamboo. Herb garden – cilantro, chive, parsley, oregano, and a slight touch of dill. There’s a wonderful light wood flavor that I’m discounting a bit. It harmonizes so well with the farmers’ market produce stand flavors. There is a mild sweetness that builds up on the sides of the tongue of honey and agave syrup. It was subtle but you can really notice it with your subsequent sips.

Sublime finish. Simply perfect. Lingers for a long while with a flawless balance of herbs, wood, and vegetables. Vegetable curry. Eggplant, onion jam, stewed ratatouille. Soy, ginger, sesame oil, mirin, and a mild Toban Djan sauce. Some tart and fragrant apple cider vinegar note brings brightness and acidity. Bitter green salad flavors build at the back of the palate of raw radishes and dandelion greens. Finally, a fruity, sweet corn flavor sticks to the sides of your cheeks.

i have had this mezcal by 2 different mezcaleros (one by leon and the other by santana).both are excellent.this review is for the santana version (92% abv).the nose is fruit forward and sweet with no harsh vapors.the palate is very controlled and compact.pear and apple(sweet not tart).agave sugars and a dry hay finish.very soft.some black pepper.i get something very similar out of the el jolgorio mexicano.lovely mezcal and a bargain price

A subtle fruity aroma of green apples and champagne grapes evolves into a bold and satisfying flavor of lemon drop candies and caramel apples. It is not overly sweet, however, as it lingers on the pallet for long after first taste. One of Vago’s finer offerings.

Bottle # 226,586 , Admitted newbie to Mezcals but also fresh eyes or in this case tastes and opinions. Burnt wood is no way , can I taste slight wood smoke or cask …. yes but to me not dominate at all. I could see where some would say this is a Mezcal Light but to me just a Mezcal different. Totally agree with mixer uses , but we also enjoyed sipping. After the smoke definite citrus , can’t pinpoint exact flavor maybe kind of flowery so that’s my light reference.

Hints of Pledge, Endust, and Fabreze Sweet Citrus & Zest Air Refresher.. This is not a pechuga, it comes off more like an agave based orange liqueur. The orange notes are very loud and mask whatever else this mezcal is trying to do. Might be interesting in a cocktail, but unless you’re a huge fan of citrus, not for sipping.

Rustic AF

Lot 3 – Tavi Torres 45.6%

Full nose! Nut butters, vanilla, soft clays. Corn coming through more now, with tinges of tarragon, light mint, black pepper.

Palate is soft, more mineral, more than I would expect. Mulch and wood dust – pine. Good sweetness, but not much in the way of fruit or citrus or anything bright. Black lemon at most (which are dried limes). That kinda nut butter I find somewhat commonly in the category is fresh on the entry. The texture is pretty wonderful. This over delivers for its proof. Finish is long, complex, showing more green.

Thanks @cagliostro for the sample!

Lote: N-C0001. Mezcalero: Celso Martinez Lopez.
Nose: Green Pepper, Herbs.
Sip: Melon, Sweet Corn, Tree Sap.
Finish: Light, splashy, bright on the tongue.
Notes: Really fun karwinskii variant. Tried this at Mexico in a Bottle – Denver for the first time just before the pandemic started and it was my favorite of their lineup. Had to grab a bottle after that. Great addition to any karwinskii tasting!

Lot 003 – 21
Bottle 7386
The nose is good, and the first sip was alright – sweet and floral with some smoke. But as you take more sips, the finish starts to get pretty harsh. Sort of tarry and bitter. I would not recommend it as a sipping mezcal.

Raw potatoes, haruki turnips, freshly cut timber, lardo, butter crackers.
There’s something special yet easy going with this one.

More high proof mezcal. WOW. and the mouth feel is off the charts good!

Lote: CM-T-0821
This is a tobala alright…definitely has the typical notes for me. Creamy, some tropical fruit at the end. I wish this one was a higher ABV (only complaint). My favorite so far from the Manglar line.
Review #163

Lote: CM-ET-0821
Light smell. Get some green, caramel on the taste. Some ethanol too, which I don’t like. It’s just OK…most of this brand seems to be right around 3-stars for me. Some better, some worse than others. The pure Tobala could be my favorite from what I’ve tried so far.
Review #162

I like this better than the straight Tobalá. Aroma has light fruit and burnt brown sugar. Taste is medium-thick and good with pepper some light sweetness and faint taste of drying paint. The finish is good but slightly bitter.
Lot: CM-ET-0821

Pretty good Tobalá. Aroma has some earth and minerality with a hint of salt water. Taste is hot at entry, fairly viscous with pepper, light vegetal and even stale cotton candy. Finish is medium short and simple but ok.
Lot: CM-T-0821. 45%

The guys behind MalBien connected me with Oscar, whose family makes this, and I was able to visit him and his palenque in San Dionisio on my last trip to Oaxaca. They weren’t distilling that week, but he walked me through their process. I know this is a “cocktail” mezcal so I was expecting the set up to be bigger or more of a factory, but I was really surprised by how similar it was to all the other smaller producers we’ve seen. As Oscar explained it, these guys just work more days out of the year.
We tasted the latest batch of espadín that they were bottling (don’t remember the number) – Lots of tropical fruit sweetness and acidity, some earthy/vegetal flavors, and smoke in the background.
Oscar also tasted us on a batch of tobalá that was pretty good, and a batch that was rested with some local herbs that was really cool – kind of like a oaxacan apertivo/digestivo that he says his mom’s family has been making forever.
Great espadín. Great people.

It’s late afternoon, the sun lingers over the garden as you sit on a veranda smelling the jasmine and wet leaves on the breeze. That’s the nose. In the same garden, on the same veranda, there is a bowl of fresh fruit, mostly apples and star fruit that are succulent and ripe. You eat one, then another, then another. That is the pallet. It is a soft and bright Mezcal and worth your time.