No real Lot number that I could find.
Pleasantly surprised on this one! Sweet and very minty smell. Taste has the clay tanginess I always associate to it. Some harshness/oversmoke at the finish, but all-in-all the taste really had some good mint sweetness that made this enjoyable.
Review #189

There tends to be this ‘dusty’ and old smell and taste I associate with cenizos. ‘Dull and bitter’ but in a good way. This being not different. Taste also includes candy sweetness, pencil lead, metal. Solid sipper, but not my favorite as of recent.

Bright & green smell. Some chalkiness and a very slight rotten fruit smell. Blue cheese. Clean taste. Fruit, sweet, some tanginess with the smoke well integrated. Reminds me a bit of a raicilla which isn’t surprising. Good and nothing really wrong….just doesn’t jump out at me. 3.75 stars.

Light and candy sweet smell. Some overripe bananas. Sweet tarts. Butterscotch. Classic alto funkiness though, which I know some people don’t like. A subdued alto, probably from the aging. But an oily and enjoyable taste. Really an all day / session mezcal!

Rotten fruit smell with candy sweetness. Cheese funk as well but that has calmed down since the bottle has been open for a while now. Light BBQ meat. Follows through to taste with a chalky candy aftertaste with some creaminess. Bright and really fun mezcal! Really good and I’m def partial to these Altos. What a great box! My fav of the two in a side-by-side.

Lote: AC-01
Slightly green smell. Some buttery notes as well. Perhaps floral. Taste carries through with some classic espadin notes with a classic smoked agave…bit too smoky. Nothing complex or unique here. This could be great for cocktails or a sipper in a pinch. Overall not bad at all but nothing memorable.
Review #184

About time I review this one. It’s not horrible necessarily, but definitely belongs in a cocktail. Bitter and light/watery.
It’s pretty one dimensional though – just slightly sweet and overly smoky. Low ABV and not “harsh”, but I feel bad for people who would judge all mezcal on this (it’s so ubiquitous all over that I’m sure this is a first introduction to the spirit for a lot of people). Def great for cocktails though, especially ones where you really want that smoke.

Lote: L1/22
Candied sweetness on the nose – banana runts, sweet tarts – very inviting! Follows through in taste with some definite heat and a punch. More banana runt notes. Overall soft and nuanced enough to keep you coming back for more with a welcomed sweetness throughout. Solid!
Review #182

Missed the Lote details.
This one surprised me (in a good way). A bit smoker on taste, and with some stronger ethanol notes….slightly on the rough side for a sipper, but def. could drink in a pinch. Great for cocktails! Notes of roasted agave with a slightly vicious, creamy mouthfeel. Not overly complex but again surprisingly good given price point. 3.25 stars.
Review #181.

Smell is super inviting – sweet, candied, light banana runts. Reminds me of a raicilla for sure. Taste is not quite as good as smell, but still carries through with the fruit and juiciness. I get some of those river rocks too…as weird as that sounds. Light pepper…fruit sweetness is the dominating flavors though. Solid blend, and really enjoyable (especially after reading the back-story).

AGU-VEL-0001 – tried this in 100ml form as part of a Melate tasting kit.
Great nose! Smell is really inviting: sweet yet a bit dry/ashy (reminds me of a cenizo). Taste is a bit drier….ashy with some rotten fruit. Smokier though in a great way. This seems to be a better batch than what the other had tried 3 years ago. Really interesting with some unique subtleties.
Review #178

Lote: 024/22P.
Not super fragrant: light ethanol, sweet berries. On the taste I get a drier-like butterscotch that I seem to attribute to most jabali…it’s easy drinking. Not overly complex by any means, but has a pleasant sweetness & finish. Most pure jabali’s always have a yellowish tint too due to distillation…this one is absolutely clear though so not sure what that means. 3.75 stars.
Review #178

Nose has some banana runts candy sweetness notes followed by some sweet lactic on the taste. The ‘dustiness’ that I associated with a cenizo is present with light floral notes. Overall a sweet and approachable cenizo.

Wow! Creamy lactic smell with some green notes beneath it. Aromatic and you can tell this one is going to be big. The green on the taste turns to sweet jalapeño peppers and earthiness. Finish comes with some olives and saltiness. As others have said this is a wild ride but in all the best ways. I love the 60% ABV and I could sip this all night.

Didn’t get the LOT unfortunately.
Lighter overall, which is awesome for almost 49%. More light on the green notes yet with nuances that made it a fun one to sip. This was only a 1oz or so sampler, so while I can’t get into details, it’s still a solid 4 (if not higher) rating.

Love this smell – banana runt candy, and soft cream. I actually get some reminiscent notes of a tep (not your green fresh vegetables or jalapeños, but something reminds me about it’s “cousin” agave). There’s an ‘artificial taste’ like others have mentioned ‘new tennis balls, or new car, or new something…’. This one is really delicious though, and can be sipped on all day. 4.25 Stars.

Very round with more general sweeter notes. An all day sipper for sure! I also get the black licorice notes others have mentioned, along with some altoids mintiness. I don’t normally like the lower ABVs, but even at 46.5% this one feels more like a low 42% or so. Really good!

SJR104/21
This one was a cool 47.5% ABV, which seems to be different then other reviews. The taste was a bit hot no doubt, but pleasantly complex with sharper notes. Tropical fruit, and banana. Surprised of the negative reviews here, but seems like they changed something for the better on this one (or maybe this bottle is super old).

Review #172

Batch: GLE-004
Wow – this one is amazing. Strong smells of spicy green peppers, like jalapeños, olives. Not a tep. but equally fragrant. Reminds me of a salmiana. Tase is complex – brown sugar, pepper, root beer soda. Wow – this bottle is going too quick.
Review #171

Trying this one from the 100ml Melate bottle, which seems to be a different batch than the earlier reviews here (RAI-JUL-001).
The raicilla funkiness shines through here, and while not as good as the companion deer pechuga, this one isn’t bad at all. Lots of ‘mintyness’, sweetness, and right amount of funk. Also, some great heat at 50%.