Incredible smell. Carrots braised with tarragon, butter and orange, charred chicken skin, wet slate.
Lots of liquorice on the palate, star anise, cloves, allspice, leather, tarragon, a bit lactic, umami funk of old Parmesan cheese. Nice viscosity and structure. It is just the alcohol burn that takes away the fifth star. This was a recently opened bottle of lot 6/2021, tasted at the Salmuera in Amsterdam. Could be improving with oxygen and time.

Never, ever did I have an Americana this rounded, fruity and viscous. It smells a bit of wet granite rock, and Italian maraschino liqueur
Palate follows suit, apricot pits, just a grassy hint of tarragon, mint, leather, forest floor, blueberry, vanilla. Well rounded, long aftertaste, nice minerality and dryness that really sets it apart from the otherwise copper distilled ones I have had from the region, it really balances the sweetness. Otherwise, I think many of the Albarradas mezcales have a bit similar, rounded character with hints of stone fruits. A favourite region indeed.
If you are based in the Americas, check out 5 sentidos Sierra Negra from the same mezcalero.

I had this seconds after the bottle was opened. Very woody tipping over to bitter, a bit harsh alcohol.
After 15 minutes, I realise this is a good mezcal with an excellent structure and a long aftertaste. I’ll hopefully come back to this bottle later. There is an undertow of agave sweetness that does not really come through, and hints of karwinskii coconut and peanut notes hiding somewhere in there.

One of the rougher madrecuixe, but very nice. The nose does not really reveal the karwinskii, but it is pleasant, most smoky and dusty with a light almond paste hint.
Bright flavours, hints of marzipan but not sweetly so. Lightly smoked, some papaya and passion fruit — not sweet or perfumey at all, just the same connotations.

Batch of May 2019. Very excited to try this bottle, as it is my first maguey pichomel ever. Marmorata is certainly amongst my top preferred agave, although Oaxacan tepextate and Pueblan pizorra offer two very distinct styles as well as flavours.
Nose: A whiff of new oilcloth, plum skin, summer savoury and rosemary. There is also a lactic hint, and with the herbal notes it is like cutting through a Corsican Brin d’amour cheese. It is amazing how it compares to La Venenosa Costa raicilla (of which I had a bottle at home and could compare side by side).
Palate: More lactic and mineral notes, like a gentle raicilla. I have a vague theory that mezcales haling from areas were Spain had strong economic interests in colonial times, were intentionally made with sour smells and flavours, in order to put off the interest of the Spanish king’s tax collectors, although I know next to nothing about the history of Reyes Mezontla. Anyway, here the lactic aspect is so mild that it won’t scare anyone familiar with, say, blue cheese or white mould cheese. Quickly, I get slightly unripe Conference pear, green peppercorns in brine, green jelly beans and a hint of bitter almond – like the core of peach pits perhaps. It is not until the finish that the familiar bell pepper and jalapeño flavours makes you think of a tepextate.
Thoughts: Very special, very very good. I believe it is quite the same juice you get if you try a 5 Sentidos Pichomel from the same palenquero couple. The alcohol is well integrated, and the flavours are so nice and balanced that there is only a slight lack in structure keeping this from being a full score.

Floral and woody aromas, tonka beans, lavender, citrus peel.
Fantastic balance on the palate, it’s like each maguey comes onstage in turns and takes a bow. Vanilla-sweet espadin, toast and charred wood from mexicano, pecan nuts from karwinskii and a lovely bell pepper finish with tepextate.
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I agree with Rakhal that it does not quite taste of gin, but the juniper is certainly there. Star anise and epazote are my main botanical impressions, especially on the nose. That said, epazote is hardly a gin ingredient and is probably not included in the mix…

It is a bit like drinking an absinthe, but there is also a lot of viscosity and umami notes – shiitake mushroom or something, like a vegan pechuga… I also get mint and lemon verbena. The only thing between this bottle and perfection, is perhaps that the anise dominates the show just a touch. Anyway, I’d echo Jonny: It is difficult to know what to measure this up against, but it is really complex and great in its own right.

Lovely nose of unglazed pottery, cocoa, some vague herb and sweet coumarin a bit like tarragon.
It is very hard to unfold all the flavours you eventually get in the mouth – a perfect balance of floral, vegetal, herbal, fruity and smoky aspects. I agree that the “tepextateness” is not very prominent, but here it is incredibly elegant. Baked green bellpeppers perhaps, British banana toffee, sorrel, chamomile. This is a top shelf bottle you want to drink with your eyes closed, just to concentrate on all the impressions you get. Very well integrated alcohol, good viscosity and the flavours stay in the mouth for several minutes. No batch unfortunately, but I will definitely come back to the bar where I had it for more, and might give an update.

Nose: Fresh cement, pine cone
Palate follows suit, for my liking it seems to be a bit too burnt flavours with some grassiness that is unbalanced. Very little fruit, unripe plum was quite spot on. But since others have found more sweetness, I will try again — just let it breathe first.

Impossible to avoid a comparison with salmiana mezcales I have tried, that hail from San Luis Potosí. Smells very nice and mellow with a bit watermelon and light smoke. On flavours, I totally agree with Tyler that you cannot avoid comparing with Derrumbes (or others, for that matter).
But this mezcal is more approachable, with less lactic acid and less bitter chiles. It is indeed a great dram with notes of grilled cheddar, jalapeño, mint, cucumber and sweet candy that I cannot specify as readily as you Americans can. Great balance, great product.

Flint, toffee and melted butter with muscovado sugar. Banana fried in butter, hint of guava, Ceylon cinnamon, pecan nuts and charred wood. Fantastic espadin, very similar to Lalocura’s in fact — I would love to taste them side by side.
2018 Edgar Angeles, did not catch the batch.

Mango and fried chicken, dried hay and burnt clay aromas.
Very well integrated alcohol, nicely viscous, and good structure. Fruity rather than spicy on the palate, well balanced between meaty chicken; plum, agave and mango fruitiness; dried epazote and a hint of allspice. I still think I might prefer the Del Maguey over this, but it’s a very close race.

A somewhat surprising nose with sour yoghurt I’ve never got with other RMs. Also clay, some grass and vanillin. Palate has some vague, nutty karwinskii notes, pineapple, cooked agave, clay and allspice. But it also has some of that lactic sourness too, reminiscent of an Indian lassi drink, a bit like a raicilla. I like funky raicilla, but this was slightly unbalanced and misplaced I was so surprised that I revisited the RM Largo just after and did not get that at all. Otherwise smooth and nice, but something is probably a bit off with the batch.

Nose of peanut skins, loft and sawdust, perhaps Granny Smith apple peels. Very woody and earthy, very karwinskii with good minerality and viscosity, flavours of macadamia, oaky notes, hot slate, dried dates except that there is not the yeasty sweetness, good baked agave baseline. I hardly get any of the fruit and berry notes others do though, so that must be the batch (the indication of which I missed, ordering this from a busy bar).
Solid, and recommended.

Discreet nose of moist garden (slate,grass, fruit trees).
I absolutely agree on the bergamot note, also pear, guava, a hint of Brazil nuts, aloe. The thing that stands out is a very fresh, high note of fruit. Where a pechuga normally is more meaty and full of spice/herbal notes, this is more like you sprinkled something fruity and vegetal on the glass after pouring the mezcal. Delicate, very nice.

B0292 Candido Reyes.
Smells fantastic, a bit clay and dust, dried chamomile, charred pine wood. Tastes of lime peels, pink peppercorns, quince, some vegetal notes, balanced woody smoke. And as Razorbackmike says: Potato. It actually also has a texture reminiscent of Norwegian potato distillates used in aquavit and gin, giving it a nice, rich mouthfeel.

Acetone and strong caramel nose. Mineral flavours up front. Boiled pear dessert with some cassia cinnamon and clove, sumptuous carrot cake minus the frosting. A bit too hot still, but I am glad I did not review it the first time, when the barman opened the bottle — because it is certainly improving. If it mellows out more, this will be an absolute top shelf espadin.

Smells very “arroqueño” indeed, with leather and bright Virginia tobacco. Charentais melon, papaya and tanned leather, earthy, roasted agave — spicy, herbal and fruity in the way that only arroqueños can be. Good one.

An explosion of herbal, fruity and vegetal freshness at once, this mezcal. Light aroma of charred wood, some grassy herb and pineapple on the nose. Cucumber, water melon rinds, purple gooseberry; raw, green peppercorns, cedar or some aromatic hint of wood. A bit short aftertaste, but nevertheless a striking experience. Unlike all other Maximiliana I have tried. No batch, unfortunately

Great workhorse espadín. I have had this occasionally for years. There is little variation between batches, and it is always fruity, discreetly smoky, sweet and spicy. An extra half star for availability and price. A far better cocktail choice than, say, La Vida, but it it is also nice on its own, although a bit short in structure and aftertaste.