Recent reviews

old milk chocolate, sour milk, green banana, lime peel, char, leather, mint, pavement, acetone
CAR-CRI-001

maraschino, cantaloupe, watermelon, yogurt, raspberry, cherry, papaya, cream, lime, brine, char, green chile, sweet grass, soil, grapefruit peel, lemon balm, pine
YJ05-21, 48%

Vibrant set of flavors with bright fruits, roast agave, minerality, and flowers. The mouth feel is soft and delicate. Maybe a little thin if anything. Really unique and enjoyable mezcale.

Middle of the road mezcal. The aroma is mildly smoky, clean, and almost minty but less herbal and more like peppermint candy. The taste is more herbal with singed grass over clean agave, then sweet like white sugar syrup. There’s some heat to it in the form of cracked peppercorn but not a whole lot more going on here. The body is light but not disappointingly so, and legs run lighting quick in the glass leaving behind just a few drops here and there. The finish is balanced, short to medium in length, and has just a nice lingering smokiness and woody agave note plus a bit of bright citrus like lime or Meyer lemon. A great starter mezcal perhaps or definitely good enough for cocktails.

Nose: 6
Taste: 7
Body: 6
Finish: 7

Waitress served me the wrong one ; )

LOTE: HaL21 2021, 48.6%, BOTELLA: 153, BATCH B

Nose – Mellow tropical funk. Cottage cheese, yogurt, pineapple, some bright citrus like oranges, and some faint chlorine to round it out.

Palate – Bright fruity citrus; a nice tangy sweetness. Orange juice, Cuties (mandarins), ripe fuji apples, cilantro, honey, and some sweet sushi-grade ginger. A very punchy flavor profile.

Finish – Tangy, sweet, and subdued. Tampico, pineapple juice, and some passion fruit bubble gum. So good.

This is amazing. A unique and enjoyable flavor. Mouthwatering and an instant favorite. A rare 5-star from me. Seriously, track this down if you can. Can’t stop sipping!

Batch from March 2016, exclusive for El Cerrito Liquor. Aromas of brown sugar, baked goods, green apple, pear, allspice, and nutmeg. The palate is thick and robust. Notes of plum, pomegranate, white onion, clove, and a bit of burning sage. The finish is long and dry with hints of freshly baked sugar cookies. This is sweet, dark, and delicious. This is one that I’ll be reaching for again and again. A fantastic spirit.

Huge fan of Onofre and Tepextate mezcals but this is not the best representation of the plant unfortunately. Dark sour pepper notes with a hint of dry tobacco leaf. Surprised the Miahuatlán minerality is not coming through more. Lot OO-TPX-14.

Nice clay pot mezcal. Dried fruit, taffy, strawberries.. a bit of punchy/ABV spice. Definitely need to try more from this mezcalero. Lot RA-ETM-01.

I like GAD quite a bit but this release was a miss. Don’t have the batch number – it was probably purchased in 2018 or so. Not much pineapple flavor. A bit of smoky and sour Espadin with a Sour Patch Kid finish. I think if mezcal fans picked up this bottle they’d want it to be pineapple forward which this is not.

CLM-30 45.5% Tasted on 3 2024. Aroma is out of the bottle are pretty typical Brown Agave cinnamon and Light alcohol almost no smoke. For an inexpensive bottle of Mezcal this is fairly decent. Flavor follows the aroma with cinnamon brown Agave roasted fruits and a prickly finish that leaves a little bit of heat in the mouth but very enjoyable

LOTE 98, 47%, 375ml

Nose – Cheesy and sweet; vegetal with some funk. Produce-section, cilantro, oranges, almond, vanilla, then comes some funk in the form of cream cheese, yogurt, and a bit of permanent marker.

Palate – Tangy and fruity; very agave forward. Ginger ale, agave syrup, sweet and sour sauce, ripe oranges, some bubblegum, and a touch of Mcdonald’s barbecue sauce. Also there was a bit of heat to this one on the initial sips!

Finish – A bit spicy but subdued with a touch of bittersweetness. Chili tamarind candy, sugar cane, ginger, and ripe banana peels to soften the backend.

Good! So much blanco tequila vibes from this. Supposedly the piñas were oven-roasted rather than smoked in a fire pit, and it shows. The typical earthiness and smokiness that is unique to Mezcal is a bit lost on this one. Though it’s still very smooth and enjoyable nonetheless.

Picked this up at Cancun airport when it came out, not realizing it was the same recipe as the San Andres. This one has a predominantly bubblegum profile, that turns into pepper and smoke. It was a bit of a letdown as I wish they had the madrecuishe at the time.

Predominantly Espadin, this is smoky and earthy with lots of black pepper and a bit of greenness probably from the bicuishe. One of my first entry level mezcals and not something I would go to today, but it could be a decent mixer.

45.5% abv Batch: March 2022, 230 liters (Mexicano Capón)

Sampled a one ounce pour at Damian in DTLA, really solid Mexicano, herbal and earthy flavors with subtle complexity and smoke on the backend (paired well with the huarache dish on the menu that had black beans and grilled artichoke), tough to get deep on the tasting notes with a single pour, but I would definitely recommend. Another solid release by Berta.

48% abv, Lot: PAU-TEP-200-1-23, 200 liter batch

Sampled a one ounce pour at Damian in DTLA with an event hosted by Rocio Flores (Mezcalting on the IG) celebrating maestra mezcaleras. So great to get to taste a high quality Tep after a few disappointing ones of late. This had some stewed banana and buttery qualities (think bananas foster). Very surprising and different from the typical Tep flavors. I will have to revisit and track down a bottle.

Strong upon sip with notes of fruits. In time it eventually evolves into a light and easy Mezcal. The smoke flavour is light as well compared to other Mezcals.

Cream and vanilla flavoirs with spicy tones. Pleasantly smooth with the signature Mezcal smoke to end. Enjoyable neat!

Great introduction to the world of Mezcal. Initial hints of floral and fruity flavours with slight sweetness – quite smooth when taken neat. Great smoke finish. A good one to have in stock.

12-22
Lot 46

Candied nopales, a little bit of burnt celery, that sweet funkiness that a good raicilla delivers, green peppers

Palate: sugary jicama, sour funk, a little bit of metallic funk and cambert cheese.

Finish: Thick, viscous mouthfeel and lasting savory taste. A feint numbing quality that makes you want to go back and immediately taste it again… and again until the bottle is gone. Whoops!