Bottle 91/672

Soft plastic, green wax on the nose with moderate smoke upon closer inspection. Delicious in the mouth. Stone fruit with herbs, clover honey, spearmint, and farmers cheese. Light bodied but oily palate. No heat on the finish, a delight to drink.

Total score finding this at the Pink Agave restaurant/ bar on the Virgin Voyages cruise ship. Aroma or acetone and sea water. Taste is sublime. Flavors of Chestnuts, dried apricot, apple, cranberry, walnut, toasted pumpkin seeds, lavendar, and mint. The meat gives this a medium-full body that’s slightly oily in the mouth. Very pleasant. Lingering flavors or nuts and and dried apricot and dried apple linger a long time. Excellent.

Reviewing this as second half of a two ounce pour that’s been sitting open overnight. Aroma of freshly cut jalapeño, green peppers, and orange zest. Taste is sweet up front like a mild simple syrup followed by spice and lemon rind. Minerally and no burn. (Last night this was drinking hotter).

Reviewing this as half of a two ounce pour from last night that’s been sitting open overnight. Mildly smoky aroma. Taste is sweet and reminds me of the house sake at my neighborhood sushi place. Faint mint and parsley that are well blended. Medium palate and low burn.

Mal Bien
Chucho + Poncho
Sánchez
Espadín + Jabalí
43.9% ABV

Smoky nose, bacon and mesquite with glossy paint. Taste is heat, green pepper, and sugarcane juice. Light bodied but that makes it more enjoyable. Good, clean expression that’s not outrageously flavorful but is wildly tasty.

4 stars

5 Sentidos Pechuga de Azul with Chicken
48.2%
Delfino Tobon Mejia
San Pablo Ameyaltepee, Puebla
Crazy delicious nose. Fragrances of almond, wild fennel (licorice), and a little black olive if you look for it. Taste is extremely complex. First reaction is anise, warm Sambuca liqueur, plantains, white paper, and ham as it opens. Medium-light palate. Such a wild and fun pechuga. 4.0 stars

Nose is very fruity: fruit candy like jelly beans or strawberry Starburst chews. I also get fruit preserves and when I look for it, a touch so smoke. Taste starts off boozy but that mellows immediately. I get grapefruit, tarragon, and sage. Medium-full in the mouth. I am loving this and enjoying it way more than I thought I would. A banger.

5 Sentidos De Horno
49.05%
Anatolio Ramirez
San Jose Rio Mias, Oaxaca
(Cousin to Arroqueno)
Rested in glass since 2014. Nose of saline and cottage cheese. Very meaty and leathery flavors that turn into menthol. A tasting partner used the description of “Number 2 pencil” which I think I spot on. Numbs my lips and tongue with some lingering heat. 3.5 stars

5 Sentidos Espadillon
Emmanuel Ramirez Lopez
Oaxaca Mixteca Alta
49.54%
Nose is very minerally and like a dirty vodka martini with green olive. Aromas of sweet cream show up as it opens up in the copita. Taste is earthy with not as much minerality with hints of firewood, rawhide, and dry grass. Medium bodied. I was tempted to say one-note but it’s not. The flavors are just subtle. 1.5 note. 3.5 stars

5 Sentidos Pichomel
Tahona Mercado San Francisco Exclusive
Atelo Ramirez
Reyes Metzontla, Puebla
47.1%
(Tepeztate)
Nose is aged cheese and green pepper skin. Taste is the same with pimento olive brine and mint leaf with a clay finish. Medium-full bodied. Very full flavored for 94 proof. 4 stars

Erstwhile Tepeztate
2021 Ancestral Limited Edition
Silverio Garcia Luis & Epifanía Gómez Meija
NOM-0162
Batch# 2021-SGL-TEP-ANCESTRAL
Bottle #495

I was attracted to this bottle because it is distilled in a clay post with. hollowed out quiote (the flowering stalk of agave plants) instead of a copper turbante. There’s a cool story behind the process and I was anxious to try it and it exceeded my own expectations.

Nose is wet clay, minerality, and green leaves. The taste is spearmint, clay,and marshmallow crème with a touch more than a hint of smokiness. Medium mouthfeel that numbs the palette. I was skeptical at 96 proof but I think they nailed it here. It’s all flavor and no burn. A real treat.

4.5 stars

Aroma of salt water taffy and roasted jalapeño skin. Spearmint and parsley present themselves in the nose along with red hot firewood. Sweet in the mouth in a pleasing way. Big and boozy is what stands out. Numbs the lips. Taste is clay, fresh parsley, and agricole. Medium-full bodied in the mouth skewing toward full. Hot but good.

Tio Leonardo
Bottle 308/516
Lot SMS002L/13
48.2% ABV

I get a ton of citrus in the nose on this, orange rind and lime leaf mixed with ocean air. It could be the presentation that accompanied the copita with beautiful fresh orange slices that is influencing my perception. So smooth in the mouth. Vanilla wafer cookies, honeycomb, verbena, and terra cota with fresh Italian parsley. Medium-full bodied. A wonderful sipper and I’m my Top 3 Alipus for sure.

Edition: 12
Harvest: 2018
Bottle: 83/800
ABV: 48%

Black bottle beauty. Much more subtle than expected in every way. Nose is faint with aromas of house paint, rued red fruit, and pine wood. Taste is clean and light. Aloe, white whiskey, and juniper. Medium-light on the palate. Bonus points for exceptional smoothness.

Lot# MV2021ESP02
90 proof

Vegetal aroma when it first hits the copita but on closer inspection it’s heavily smoky like smoldering mesquite wood. Taste is very clean, minerally at first and less smoke than the nose would suggest. Light on the palate with a dry finish. A fair amount of alcohol burn given the ABV. Enjoyable to drink.

Strong aroma of buttercream frosting on first pour with green herbs in the background. Taste is prominent Tobala. Bold agave flavor but with light smoke and lemon peel. Medium-full bodied. Not complex but an enjoyable pour.

Unusual nose of vinegar, freshly grated horseradish, and chipotle aioli. Taste is herbaceous and woody. Medium-full in the mouth; a nice palate. Flavors of smoke and a touch of plastic but not in a bad way if that’s possible. Parsley, mint leaf, and forest floor. It opens up nicely.

Aroma of Neopolitan ice cream. It’s hard to describe it any differently. Strawberry, cocoa, and dry roasted almond. The fragrance is like an ice cream sundae! Taste isn’t quite as bold. It’s got strawberry, raspberry, and roasted nut qualities but not nearly as much as the nose would indicate. Boozy and the finish is kind of flat at first but then flavors of spumoni ice cream creep in.

Aroma of orange pith, fresh cut pine, and mint. Taste is minty and mineral forward with a bit more than a whisper of smoke. Medium bodied with a predominantly smoke finish. A little hot for the ABV level.

Faint nose but what you do detect is smoky with fragrances of mesquite smoke and oak barrel. Light bodied and pretty simple. Very easy to sip. The crispness reminds me of a grape-based vodka like Ciroc. Slightly woody with faint caramel and smoke notes. A little boozy on the finish. A good mezcal for the reluctant newcomer or someone who wants to have a light sipper.