Recent reviews

Nose: Parmesan, red clay mud, playdoh, bbq chips, light honey, light smoke

Palate & Finish: Grilled peppers with a bit of honey, bbq sauce, soil and mud, sort of chalky lime which sort of ends up being cocoa powder as you move into the finish. On the finish, veggies with some brine, tobacco, soil, spicy cocoa, lemon lime zest and bitter rind

I’ve enjoyed the salmiana batches I have tried and this one is no exception. There’s something about the earthy, peppery, light citrus, and cheesy elements that make me want to have another sip. Overall this fits the mold of what I come to expect with a SLP Salmiana and is solid to sip in summer.

This is for the batched distilled in 2017, bottled at 49% ABV.

Nose: Super fresh, slightly spearmint, minerals, green peppers, lemongrass, holiday spices, spa scents

Palate & Finish: honey, mayan or honeydew, papaya, dried chili mango, the karwinskii shows up in brown sugar sweet potatoes, Mildy spicy jalapeños with cinnamon. Finish is pepper, a bit of soil, clay comes in at the finish, a bit of coco and coffee, but the melon still sits there a bit, lemongrass, honeysuckle, lighter on the finish than many clays I’ve had so far

Damn, I enjoy this. Lalo seems to bring out the best qualities of both the Espadin and Tobasiche, putting them together beautifully.

Lots of smoke; earthy. Bitey.
LOT00218

Perfect for a clean but smoky cocktail

Good for cocktails

Nose: sweet citrus icing and cream, slightly limey. As it sits a bit longer I get some hints of wet soil and dead leaves.

Palate and Finish: Front of the palate is tangerine, honey covered lemons, tart apple, as it moves to the finish the sweet gives way to tart and brine, like pickled citrus, key lime pie, the mouthfeel becomes leathery and tobacco. The finish is long and while the leathery texture I find so common in Inaequidens is definitely there it fades to more citrus, honey, and a light stoney mineral profile. There’s a slightly grassy vegetal undertone as well.

Awesome stuff and really well integrated. It’s just so sippable with these dominant citrus icing notes.

Batch 0122VFR ABV: 50.2% Nose: Candle wax, pine tar, and vinyl. Flavors of oatmeal, sweet tubers (yam, sweet potato), incense, vegetal and herbal notes, faint sweetness, soapstone, drying mouthfeel, subdued black pepper heat but that heat lingers nicely. I agree with Zack that the flavors linger too but these were not as sharp for me; they needed time to open up. There is a fruit note that I can’t place which may be close to plantain that he mentions (almost savory). Like Rakhal, I have sampled the sierra negra and liked that one as well. These feel pretty close but I agree with him that the sierra negra may be slightly more complex. This arroqueño is worth tasting by itself or in a paired tasting.

Sampled at Russell’s Tavern in Seattle. Batch #PMJB260121EJ, this one was very different from the Cuish Jabalí that I tried. This one was subdued but lots of floral and mineral undertones. It was the end of the night so my palate may have been a little blown out, but still a high quality mezcal. Will have to revisit.

Sampled at Russell’s Tavern in Fremont in Seattle (shout out to Chuey Agave for the bar recommendation). This expression was really great, lots of anise and complex sweetness. I did not take great tasting notes at the time, but this one really stood out. Balance of sweetness, heat, and lingering flavors made this sample a highlight of the evening. Try and track down a bottle if you are lucky enough to find one.

Did not catch the bottle or batch info. Sampled at el mezcalito in Seattle, WA on Queen Anne. Classic cuish flavors, sweet undertones, grassy, and well-balanced. Quality sipper 3.75/5 stars.

Lot J-08-TE-22

Insanely delicious. Delightful interplay of sweetness, savory astringency and deep, complex flavor. Been on a tepeztate foray lately and drank a flight of Por Lo Bueno, Cuentacuentos (“Serafin”) and this one evening. All are good, but this is head and shoulders above the other two for me. (FWIW the ranking would be Vago > Cuentacuentos > Por Lo Bueno). Pretty amazing how this is 51.6% ABV and yet it’s silky smooth. Looks like this might be a Colorado only release, but if you can score a bottle you will not be disappointed.

I straight up laughed when I first smelt this one. ‘What the **** am I drinking?’ Initially wasn’t a fan of raicilla, but the spirits been grew on me a lot when I was in Puerto Vallarta in April.
Aroma of Old Dutch Sour Cream & Cheddar chips, grapefruit Jelly Belly and grass after a rainstorm.
Somehow these flavors blend amazingly together.
Savory notes of onion, parsley and bit of parm. Sweet grapefruit Jarritos and vanilla frosting. A tart berry I can’t put a name on.
The mouthfeel got some getting used to, as it’s got this certain viscosity I associate with a certain rough night of Cointreau shots.
Not what I’d call a crowd pleaser, but a unique spirit definitely worth picking up for a unique agave adventure.
Also, easily worth the price point.
Got a bottle of the Costa on the way, eyeing the Volcanes and Tabernas too

I was saying to a friend that I loved the funky, clay mezcals from Minas, so he recommended I get some of Alberta Martinez’ juice.
Meaty like coal-grilled beef, clay and charred wood right away on the nose follwed by banana pudding and cinnamon.
Roasted nuts, cinnamon and a bit of spicy numbing habanero on the front of the tongue. Funky pulque and earthy clay.
Sweet and peppery, smoky roasted agave on the middle. Some tropical notes of guava, cherimoya, banana and black cherry on the back. Followed by and exhale of campfire smoke and toasted chili chapulines.
The jabali gives it a sweet, funky, tropical kick and the tobala balances it out with a herbal, peppery zip.
My kind of Mezcal

Aromas of dried cranberry, dates, and figs, also sweeter notes of brown sugar, raw sugar cane, and caramel. The palate has notes of peanuts, apricot, raw oysters, dried peat, and Chipotle. Smoky finish. This is one of the few mezcals I’ve had from Nombre de Dios that has almost no lactic elements whatsoever (which I think is a good thing). LUI-CEN-001

Chalky minerals on the nose with notes of flint and slate. Also some sweeter aromas of vanilla and candied orange. The palate is very sweet and a little burnt, with notes of white chocolate, cloves, all spice, cinnamon, stewed apple sauce, carnations, hibiscus, and burning mesquite. The fruitiness of this is a nice balance with the dried spice and charred elements of this. No batch number on sample dram.

Aromas of pumpkin pie crust, sweet honey, rolled oats, cold iron, and a bit of aftershave. The palate also has some good minerality. I get some of the Cream Soda note that Zack mentioned. There’s also some butter cookie and Werther’s Original type caramel sweetness. This is full bodied with a firm and consistent finish. No batch number on sample dram.

SNL-001/22. This doesn’t exactly make me want to “get away” or “fly away” but it’s a solid spirit. At 43%, it is soft on the palate. I prefer this maestro’s sotols at a slightly higher ABV, but this is still nice as is. Aromas of fresh eucalyptus, spearmint, parsley, green olives, sandalwood, and ginger root. The palate has notes of bog, soy, wet fallen leaves, a little clove, and rose water as well.

Nose: Tennis balls like a fresh opened can, soil, sand, slightly cheesy like parmesan, pickled veggies, pine

Palate & Finish: More tennis balls and pine, tangy lemon juice, some pine sap, back end is vinegar bbq sauce, some cherry wood, light mole spice as it moves into the finish but not much. Finish is minty and herbal, leather and tobacco, some light cherry as it fades off

I wouldn’t be able to guess clay is involved here off the mouthfeel but I 100% get the piney elements from the Ayacahuite still. I tend to agree with Jonny’s notes. The nose starts with fresh tennis balls in a way that aligns with the pine, bizarre but can’t mistake it. Then some earth, brine and light cheese. The nose continues nicely on the front of palate with tangy citrus and bbq sauce. Then moves into a more spice forward and herbal finish. The acidity is balance and finish is more bbq and tobacco with herbal cherry, finishing notes I tend to associate with rum. I’m not sure why I expected this to be more fruity but it’s on the bbq, herbal, and leathery side of things. Regardless it’s unique and brings some interesting qualities up front.

Unlike other Karwinskii’s I have had this Bicuixe isn’t dominated by woody notes and is on the briney fruity side. It’s like pickled lemon sour patch kids. Is it sweet? Yes. Is it sour? Yes. Is it salty? Yes! But where all these flavors could all come across pourly integrated these are playing in harmony together. Not to mention the citrusy fruits, minerals, and pickled characters ride all the way though the finish really nicely leaving a nice sweet tart candy mouth feel. I always read Miahuatlan karwinskiis just hit different and this certainly does. Nice stuff from Atenogenes Garcia.

This is the 5th Edition. 53.8% version.

This stuff is terrific and probably my favorite mezcal to date. It’s complex and earthy with nice spicy and fruity elements as well. The more I try it the more I get spicy cocoa and caramel. Then I sip again and get some nice sweet bbq steak. The nose starts slightly woody and herbal like some of my favorite karwinskii profiles before starting to layer in some fruit. The palate starts savory, goes fruity, and then finishes off more earthy and rich. I’ve yet to have a mezcal that taste like it has oak influence like this, but this one truly does and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s like it has another dimension on it. The finish continues the holiday spice and leathery notes. Sometimes when people say spicy I read “hot” but that is not the case here. The 50%+ ABV does beautifully. I always had heard great things about EJ and Pedro Vasquez, I now see why.