Recent reviews

While Tobala is not my usual profile, this bottle is really good and easy to drink.
The aroma is fairly light with some starchy sweetness, maybe some grilled pineapple, and a little starchy funk.
The taste is incredibly silky-smooth and elegant. In the mouth right away, I get piloncilo sugar, chocolate, and vanilla flan.
The finish is fairly short and smooth and sweet.
It’s so easy to drink that this would be a great Mezcal to introduce to newbies.
JMM-tob1. 47%
Special shout out to El Dawg the sample! if anyone has questions about this great brand, he knows tons.

This is a really good, and really interesting Espadin! For me, the aroma and the taste are two separate experiences. Both great!
The aroma is fairly light with some floral notes and fruit. There’s even a light salinity. I would say it’s fairly similar to other good espadin mezcales.
The taste is like a whole different planet! Really unique, complex and wonderful! Plenty of dark and sweet brown sugar, pepper, creamy smoothness. I don’t think I’ve ever tasted an espadin like this before. And I would like some more!
The finish is long balanced… Really nice. My brain keeps thinking about warm cinnamon rolls coming out of the oven.
JMM-esp1. 47%
Special shout out to El Dawg the sample! if anyone has questions about this great brand, he knows tons.

April 2023 100 liters 52.2% Aromas out of the bottle are tangy. And very minty with a lot of herbal overtones. Almost on The Verge of herbal sourness. But just holding back enough not to be. Once again, these are something different with a lot of peppermint cinnamon spearmint. The mintones are outrageous.. I don’t even know how to rate these. I mean. I would give every one of them a five because of something so different.

Batch 2021 SGL-ESPADIN-2 BOTTLE 1524 Liters 1225 48% Aromas out of the bottle are sweet, candy lozengers. Yes, mint and saffron and toasted chili’s. Flavors followed a suit but incredibly soft and smooth. This is an amazing espadin for the cost. As a matter of fact, most espadin’s in this price range are completely boring compared to this one. This is excellent. I’m getting more respect for this brand I was a little skeptical at first but wow. Peppermint lozengers, cinnamon woodsticks, chili peppers of different types. This is amazing for $50 or less. Wow.

This bottle typically retails for $120 but a Binny’s near me in Chicago had it as an “end of bin” sale for $80, so I was intrigued to give it a shot at that price point. I have to say I’m very pleasantly surprised! I dig this bottle. SLR-138 from 2021, so it’s a bit newer given how old some of the other batches reviewed are. I found this to be somewhat creamy in texture and tasted pretty green, which I was not expecting. Definitely some blue agave/tequila undertones which hit in the mid of the taste, but finishes with a really nice mesquite smoke flavor that lingers. Wouldn’t recommend buying at full price but I find that I’m always pleased when paying around $80 for a DM bottle

April 2023, 100 liters, 50.90% abv
sipped in a veladora glass. first impressions are that this has reservations, an agave introvert.
aroma: calm, moldy mushrooms. unripe berries whilst they are green, citrus. enjoying the aroma more as the liquid line drops. drifting into olive oil territory.
palette: floral up front, cedar note, olives, cooked collard greens. I’m imagining dried out agave strands where you get a gentle toasty flavor before a sweet droplet finds the light and hits your tongue.
finish: short burst with light fade of citrus, mineral floral with a musty undertone.
general notes: good. lacks some punch to me. at this moment on the verge of bitter or chemical. however overall pleasant. surprised its 50 abv. I look forward to tasting it again.

March 2023, 100 liter, 48.90% abv. sample.
sipped in a veladora glass. Oh my, first nose this is delightful. teleported to SLP (or rather what I imagine based on the various salmaiana’s destilado de agave from there!!)
aroma: fresh cut greens, candied peppers, hint of cinnamon or maple. cooked fruit, banana, date and cantaloupe. I could hang on this aroma just talking and talking before realizing I haven’t yet taken a sip 😀
palette: that went a different direction than I was expecting! more of the woody spice world. minerals, anise, cant quite pinpoint..cooked artichoke? rosemary?? regardless its delightful!
finish: sweet finish, pithy grapefruit, mint.
general notes: a very pleasant heat on this, in the way I want to have it there. Like its pushing the flavors forward letting you know they’re knocking on the door. dare I say Im getting some jabali vibes on this. or how about I say delicious a. salmiana ssp crassispina ‘Verde’ 🙂 !!

Distilled on 4 2023 100 liters 52.9% Aromas out of the bottle were very mute with some strange brown green flavors that i’ve never encountered before kind of like listerine mouthwash candy. The most unusual mix of flavors. I’m getting gasoline petroleum Listerine Moth balls, all in a great way. And there’s no way you can tell that this is 52%. It’s like there’s no alcohol at all. It’s a mystery. Peppermint, solot, spearmint this is different in a mysterious way. So lingering and complex. after It was in the glass for a bit and aired out some I got something crazy like chicken noodle soup and sotol. It was meaty, brothy, vegetable like and herbal all at the same time. But predominantly spearmint over and over again. This is delicious if you get a chance, try it. I’ve never had a mezcal like it!

Received this as a gift last week and it unfortunately misses the mark. The barril flavor is faintly there but it tastes almost like a tequila with the lack of smoke and the aftertaste. Slight notes of chocolate, bbq, and greenness but it stops abruptly, i assume because it is watered down. I didn’t have high expectations going into this bottle, as I’ve always avoided the Paquera brand, and this fell right around where my expectations were lol I’d recommend spending an extra $20 and getting something worthwhile or spending $10 less and getting a solid espadin if this is the range you’re shopping in.

Solid but not worth a buy for the price. Received this one as a gift a few years ago and just realized I never reviewed it. This one is not good for a sipper on its own but tastes pretty good in a mezcal and tonic. I’m not really too big of a fan of the Leyendas brand selections, as I think they tend to be overpriced for the profile they present.

Not a bad fruity sipper at all. Weighty and hot at 47% ABV. Good, but doesn’t stack up against the top Tobalas. LOT- PHAL 0217

Review is for the bottle with Tepextate. Just had a pour of this over a client meeting— opted for only an oz since it was during “work” but wish I did 2 oz. I really enjoy gusto historico’s mezcals and have never had anything from Eusebio before. I really enjoyed this but don’t think I’d buy a bottle. Starts over very green and grassy from the cuixe. Not a ton of Espadin in the flavor profile which I liked but the tepextate is definitely in the finish. Solid!

Was really interested to try this one due to the addition of sotol and it being an Atenogenes Garcia bottle. I will say the cucharillo is a bit of a novelty, as the bottel says there was only a single plant of cucharillo added to the mix. It does add a slight lemony flavor to the mix but it’s not overpowering, which I really enjoy actually. This one tastes a lot like Atenogenes Madrecuishe. Very green, like green beans, and vegetal. A bit of sweetness and a slight burn towards the middle of the taste from the espadin peeking through. Really, really solid bottle! Drank about 1/4 of it and waiting for it to open up a bit more before diving back in.

Had this a while back before I really got into mezcal and it was eh. Just tried it again on vacation and it’s a really solid bottle for the price. The bicuish is mostly present on the aftertaste but helps to cut the burn of the espadin and contribute to the flavor profile. Somewhat fruity and just the right amount of complexity for the price point. It’s honestly hard to find an espadin that is produced in larger lots like this bottle that compares to this one.

Found this gem in a small Mexican eatery in Uluwatu (Bali, Indonesia). Talking to the bar owner, this Pechuga is only available to family and friends of family. And I didn’t get a photo of the back, so I didn’t get any details other than what’s on the front label.

I, sadly, only had one glass (there wasn’t enough left for another as the owner joined me). The smell was smooth, subtle, with a mild smoky flavour and quite ‘vegetably’ (roasted green capsicum, prickly pear, with a hint of mint) plus a little pepper and wood (cedar?). Tasting told me the same story, minus the pepper and wood, and the 48% didn’t get in the way at all.

This is my first review, so I based the score on a few other Mezcals I’ve seen reviewed on this site. I’d actually say it’s closer to a 3.8, but it’s definitely close to a 4. Unfortunately, in Australia, no-one imports this brand, but Ive left a message for the local importer – hopefully I can persuade him!

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Review #165: The nose has lemon zest, bubblegum, lemongrass, blue cheese, leather, milk chocolate, rosemary, and soil.
The palate has juicy fruits up front with lemon zest, orange juice, raspberry, bubblegum, then that classic jalisco funk with some creamy blue cheese, leather, and a moderate salty minerality.

This is probably my favorite of the many chacolo I have had so far. It’s not as funky or fruity as some but it toes the line between those very well and I enjoyed that. There’s a good development as well between the fruit notes on the front of the palate to the funk and minerality following it.

This review is for Reynaldo’s Sierra Negra only batch (GSPRT 185) of this. ABV is 46.7%. Let me know if I need to move it but wanted to give Reynaldo credit where it’s due for this tasty batch!

Nose: barnyard strawberries, hay, a bit of mint, asphalt, candied citrus

Palate and Finish: mango, oranges, strawberry mint, then it moves into more charred burnt ends, ashy tobacco, finish moves to be adjacent with the nose. Sage, asphalt, strawberries, burnt hay, trailing mint

The hide ferment is evident on the profile here, it adds a rustic and mineral element along with the beautiful fruits I enjoy in Alberto’s batches. Lovely stuff and cool batch to try

48% abv, batch 0722ER

Review #164: The nose has fresh orange, pear, lemon zest, rosemary, vanilla, and a bit of fresh paint.
The palate has orange juice, lemon zest, vanilla, violet, pear, and rosemary, with a fresh minerality.

This is a super solid espadin. It’s really bright on the nose and palate with plenty of fruity citrus notes. It’s nothing too extra but it’s classic ramos with the clean profile, and you can’t go wrong especially for the price.

Series 6, 48.3% abv

Review #163: The nose has apple, cinnamon, coffee beans, mint, cooked cherries, orange oils, and wildflowers.
The palate has cinnamon, milk chocolate, mint, caramel, vanilla, clay, and orange oils, with some florals on the finish.

This batch is a pechuga de cacao, and it definitely shows a bit. The nose leads on with more fruitiness that I wish would have carried over to the palate. The palate is more on the savory side and while it is good, it felt a bit on the one note side as the cinnamon, chocolate, and caramel blend together with lacking supporting notes.

ABV: 47.3% Batch: 2022

Nose: banana crème with green bananas, melon, there’s a bit of basil, green peppers, lemon

Palate: more melon but like a greenish cantaloupe, candied lime, brine, coconut, then it moves to darker notes like roasted nuts, earthy spice. Finish is cinnamon, cocoa, spiced banana

Great stuff, it has some familiar Cupreata notes I love with a bit more earthy and spice notes I didn’t expect. There’s also a vegetal undertone to many of the fruits I enjoy