Recent reviews

green banana, vanilla, lemon peel, pine, brine
lote 29, 2019, 40.7%

banana, orange, chocolate mint, malt, sour egg cream, peppercorn
Ct-23

pomegranate, apple, watermelon, lemon, orange, yogurt, lemon balm, char, brine, bell pepper, cedar
YJ13-022, 48%

oregano, peach, grape, yogurt, char, cement, orange, cherry, green chile, lemon balm, lime, brine, acetone

grape, honeydew, cherry, watermelon, brine, mango, cranberry, cantaloupe, pineapple, cream cheese, char, lemon peel, bell pepper, leather, cinnamon, lemon balm, soil, cedar, yogurt, peppercorn

Lot 001 from 2019. A little sour on the nose, but also highly sweet and sugary. Notes of sweet green apples, plum, apricot, grape flavored candy, and strawberry shortcake. The palate mostly matches the nose in terms of notes. It’s highly candied and sweet, thick and robust, and high in minerality. For me, this is the perfect cross between the funky sweetness that can come with a raicilla from this region, and the intense minerality that is typically there in Chacolo batches. This is my favorite bottle that I’ve tasted in quite some time.

Lot 001 from 2016. This smells incredible. Notes of Sweet Tarts, Goetze candies, and strawberry Cream Savers. This smells like pure candy. The palate has notes of dark fruits like plums, pomegranate, and black cherries. There are also some hints of sweet cream. The tasting notes are still very sweet, but less so than the aromas. This is balanced and nuanced with deep fruity undertones. I’m enjoying this a lot.

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.