Recent reviews

Great buttery tart start with a kind of taffy cream finish and a balanced tire rubber

Lot 00322
I really liked this at times, and just thought it was ok at others. The Barril adds sharpness, grassy. Smoke is evident. Good for the price.

maple syrup and vanilla, sugar-dusted pancakes with sage and orange zest

jalapeño maple sage

Had at Los Coñejos in ABQ.
Bottle 39/228. Lot 01, 170 liters.
Don’t remember much, other than it was delicious. I would definitely spend the money on this one. I’ll be hunting this down so I can experience again.

Lot VV.05.21.PTTE
Corn sweetness, hot, syrupy. More complex than I imagined.

Batch 00922BEO46
Watery, smokey with hints of roasted agave. Makes a great cocktail at a good price point.

(tasted in 2019)
I don’t have many notes from this bottle other than writing 3.25 stars and “Spicy, too booze forward, some stone and mineral flavors but not very balanced because of the heat of the alcohol and overwhelming nutty flavor.”

FYI: There is a bar in Seattle that still carries this (only about 1/4 bottle left or so) if you are ever in the area.

(notes from 2018)
My initial impression of this was that it was too hot/boozy on the palate when I first opened the bottle (back in 2017) and so while the fruit forward flavors were delicious, I didn’t love the bottle. I then let it sit for about 1.5 years and absolutely loved it. The nose is extremely fruit forward, but layers of different things. Overly ripe passionfruit, blueberries, grapefruit mixed with minerality, wood, and just a hint of white smoke. On the palate luscious blueberry, grapefruit, and tamarind balanced with an mistakable dry note of a madre in the best way possible. When originally trying, this note was buried in the fruit but after letting the bottle sit this became much more in balance with the fruit.
Delicious.
Retasted in 2022 in a bar in Seattle and notes pretty much match my assessment above.

Lot 14USA (notes from 2021)
A tasty madre from Mezcaloteca. The nose has notes of stone fruit, sweet tarts, blueberry, with hints of minerality, a little bit of smoke too. The palate emphasizes that berry note, but tasting much drier than the nose would indicate – followed by a hint of salinity and smoke. Nice flavors but the finish doesn’t last too long and it is a bit hot/boozy for my taste, thus 3.5 stars (if less boozy to the taste would be 4).

Lot 04USA
This is a solid bottle, but not what I typically like out of Madres. On the nose you can smell the herbal/minerality almost right away, but a lot of smokey woody tobacco notes also. Taste wise a smoke bomb upfront eventually ceding to the limestone, water on rocks mineral taste. Definitely on the dry side, overall the balance is off.

This is in my top 5 bottles of all time and my favorite madrecuishe. Luckily I have a spare laying around unopened for the future – I did last year also find a half bottle that I got to try at a bar in Seattle if anyone is ever in the area.
(notes from 2018)
On the nose is fresh lavender, sage, overripe strawberries, limestone, Georgia peaches sweetness. The palate coats the mouth in a supple, velvety way leading to sweet strawberry, orchids, intense lavender, just a hint of wet limestone. Somehow after that initial sweet/floral burst it dries into a finish of simple mineral that lingers on the tongue for a long time. Sublime.

TPXANC2011 (notes from 2022)
A very tasty tep with an amazing nose – wet grass after a summer rain in a deserty area, lawn mower clippings, thai basil, spearmint, minerals, and guanábana. The texture is softer than you’d think given the minerality. On the palate it is a bit hot with mint with a bit of spice from the pepper, a lush sweetness, but overall less aromatic and green than the nose. While I do like this batch, I prefer the Tep release the NETA Gilberto Aquino Garciá Tep batch by a hair which has less of a good finish at the end as this, but also tastes a little less hot on the palate overall.

ENSPMV2104 (Astor)
This is well outside the usual flavor sets and really not everyone. I’d recommend for anyone interested in woody/piney/resiney/floral/medicinal flavors, but if that’s not your jam you will not like this bottle as this bottle goes boldly in that direction without much balance elsewhere. The closest bottle I’ve had to it is the La Venenosa Mai.

On the nose is daikon, cooked sunchoke, coconut, and pine resin. The palette reminds me of a more nuanced and delicious version of the pine eau-de-vie’s you see in Austria (and PNW). The initial flavor is douglas fir sap, with goldenrod tea, lilacs, cherimoya sweeetness, maybe coconut water following. The woody finish (from the saponins of the penca larga?) and lilac notes linger on the palette for a long time. Unique, delicious, but definitely could understand someone hating this.

ENNCEL1904 (Astor)
Tried a at a friend’s. A bit of a misfire. The nose has a faint smell chemical smoke, a bit of alcohol, and a touch of salinity/fruitiness in the backdrop once you are used to the chemical smell. The palate I found the chemical/burned plastic taste to be the primary note. Once used to that I could taste some interesting jabali notes of sweet butterscotch and a bit of the dry/minerally madre notes like lavendar and green tea – but the chemical notes overpower.
Glad I tried and didn’t buy, at this price point too expensive.

TPXGLA2106 – Astor
This is interesting and hard to describe, reminds me somewhat of the Aniceto García Tep release though that is more complex. Spectacular nose of sweet lawn mower grass clippings, jasmine, winter green mint, lavender, and stone fruit (peach?). When taking a sip, it is an easy water-like drink until a slight hint of smoke on the finish. The flavors themselves have the grassiness recedes somewhat ceding to the jasminey, minty flavor, minerally flavor. There are also hints of overripe bell pepper, and perhaps a touch of fermentation. The flavor dies out relatively quickly into that slight hint of smoke, not a long finish at all. Kind of like an abrupt sentence.
4.25 stars, rounded up here because the nose is nothing like I’ve smelled before

beautiful and well made.arturo knows his craft.the nose is dominant cenizo (grape and assorted fruits) with baking spices.the palate is exactly what the nose predcted.i have fallen in love with cenizo mezcals.they have this grape candy quality.thats wonderful on its own but when you add the salmiana to it (think of spicy cheese dip), it is so delicious!the two are blended and balanced perfectly.very little heat and mellow.the finish was long,sweet and just a hint of the salmiana spice.i was tempted to give this a 5 star.price point is around $55.00 which makes it a steal.i must get another bottle of this lovely mezcal!

Lot SLR011/22 BOT 648/1950 47.5% Aromas out of the bottle or pretty mellow with some salinity and some warm green aromas and of course the typical very simple alcohol. Flavors are also nice and mellow on this one with some saltiness very tangy mouth puckering flavors light smoke that integrates very well and finishes with a nice mouth coating smokey tartness

Lot 2
Very earthy, leathery with touches of marmalade and smoke. Has almost a bbq flavor to it. The low abv (just like the mai) keeps the flavors in check somewhat. Relatively balanced by comparison. If you like woody, smoky, leathery flavors while still having a bit of other things – this one is for you. Personally was glad to try this one, but buy the Mai (for those deciding between the two this is on the dusty/earthy side and that is on the piney/aloe side).

Lot 1
Like a refreshing wave of aloe mixed with cheese, pine, olives, and fishead soup. Perfumed like a tagine mixed with tree sap. The low abv helps keep the flavors in check where they don’t overwhelm, but instead gently passes over the tongue creating a wild tasting experience. Try to go through it on the quicker side (or use nitrogen to keep oxygen from entering) – it is one of the very few bottles of agave spirit that I found the bottle degrading in flavor rather than opening up over time.

If you are deciding between this and the masparillo – the masparillo is more on the earthier side this is on the vegetal side. To me both very good, but I can see certain flavor palettes favoring one depending.