I tried this as part of a tasting so didn’t get the lot number. Emmanuel Ramos always makes great Mezcal but this is especially great! Vanilla wafers, pineapple, jasmine, brown sugar. Perfection.

Did this as part of a tasting and I didn’t get the lot number. Tastes like gin. No agave flavor. It’s nice though for an agave gin. Juniper and cardamom are strong, I also got some black licorice. Probably good in a Negroni.

Didn’t get the lot number. Vanilla, rosewater, bamboo, crushed granite, pound cake. Nice and soft and easy.

For me this is a perfect Tepextate. I tried it next to my El Jolgorio Tepextate which I love and Hermogenes was better. All the usual flavors I get from a Tepextate, fresh jalapeño, bell pepper, spearmint, but also something deep and savory and wonderful. An easy 5/5 for me. Hermogenes Palenque is my first stop next time I’m in Oaxaca.

MTXC03-01. This tastes completely different than the Pizorra I had in Oaxaca from the same Mezcalero. If I had blind tasted this I would have thought it was a Raicilla or even a funkier Rhum Agricole. It’s lactic and grassy and fruity. Juicy fruit gum, lime, candy corns, green tea, white tic tacs, fresh sugar cane, spoiled milk, pineapple, and cinnamon. Really unique and interesting.

MTXC06-01. WHOA!!! This is wild!! Right off the bat I got something funky and animal-y, like a sweaty horse, then it’s just deep and earthy like digging in the forest through wet leaves down to the black soil. Like decaying ancient trees covered in mushrooms. Dried porcini mushrooms, other mushrooms, dark black soil, wet leaves, tobacco leaf, and cinnamon. I love this SO MUCH!!!

Apparently there is more than one lot 1. This is Lot 1 March 2019, Lupe Lopez. Agave Angustifolia Haw 33.4%, Agave Shrevei 33.3%, Dasylirion Wheeleri 33.3%. This is probably the best Sotol I’ve ever had. Well, I guess maybe it’s not a Sotol because it also has two Agaves in it? Elegant and balanced and complex. A soft creamy mouthfeel and notes of fresh pine needles, spearmint, allspice, cedar, anise, and a strongly floral element which reminded me of potpourri. Not at all funky or lactic. Really good.

Update:
Lot 1 Bienvenido Fernandez June 2018 49% Churique 51% Dasylirion Wheeleri
Mindblowing!!!! Lemon Verbena, lemon zest, rosemary, wet grass. This is absolutely incredible!!

Batch: VGMX01. Don Valente is one of my all time favorite Mezcaleros. Almost all of his Mezcals have this flavor profile that reminds me of pound cake, maybe it’s his well water. Anyways, Jonny nailed it with the “fabric softener” note. This is very floral but in a fabric softener sort of way. I hate fabric softener, one of the first phrases I learned in Spanish was “sin suavitel”. However, I love this Mezcal. Pound cake, fabric softener, cracked black pepper, vanilla ice cream, rock salt, Nag Champa incense, and cinnamon.

Lot 1. There is a LOT going on here! This Raicilla is somehow smoky, sweet, herbal, earthy, mineral, vegetal, funky, and savory all at once. I love it!! I’m becoming a big fan of Raicillas and this is one of my favorites. My tasting notes were BBQ Sauce, olive brine, cinnamon, guacamole, celery, cilantro, old leather, drying tobacco leaf, breadfruit, and wet dog. The fact that it’s distilled in a hollowed out trunk of the sacred tree that migrating monarch butterflies choose to congregate on is very cool and adds some magic to the story as well.

Edition 12, 2018. Gregorio Mtz Jarquin.
I have tried many batches of El Jolgorio Pechuga over the years, all different, some I like more than others. This doesn’t taste like a Pechuga at all. It just tastes like a decent Espadin. I’m very disappointed with this batch. Candied orange, vanilla ice cream, metallic copper pot, caramel, rose, milk chocolate, wet dog funk. This reminds me of Legendario Domingo Espadin, except this is not as good and five times the price. I took off a star because of the price and lack of Pechuga flavors.

Batch 14ACDIG0118. 50ml sample from Maguey Melate. I bought a bottle of this from the first batch to come to the USA and this batch is quite a bit different, in a good way! Initial rye whiskey sweetness and full mouthfeel, then strong anise flavor, then into rye whiskey spice, leather, sandlewood, oak barrel, burnt vanilla, and brandied cherry. I am definitely buying a bottle of this!

Baking spices. Cinnamon, allspice, clove. Wet clay, wet leaves, forest floor, dark chocolate, espresso. Classic Minas Largo. I love it.

Oh yeah, 95 year old Mezcalero Don Fede knows his stuff. My first impression was how clean this is, no flaws. This one is very tropical, it reminds me of a beach in Thailand. Pineapple, Mango, Plumeria flower, Jackfruit, Fresh Spearmint, Sea salt, Vanilla bean. Complex and delicious!

Lot: 062019. I’m a fan of the Agave Salmiana Mezcals that I’ve had from San Luis Potosí and this is no exception. Spicy jalapeño and fresh green bell pepper reminiscent of Tepextate. Something very earthy like fresh potting soil. Menthol and the slightest bit of lactic flavor. At $45 a bottle this is a great deal! For those who like cocktails, this makes an excellent Mezcal Negroni.

Lot: JT05-19. Alberto Martinez is one of my favorite Mezcaleros. I always wait awhile to review his Mezcals because they are so complex and they change over time so it takes me time to wrap my head around them. This batch of 120 Liters at 46.9% is very floral and fruity. Jasmine, clover honey, pineapple, vanilla ice cream, very light caramel, old cedar chest, with a finish of orange peel and lavender. Damn this is good!

Excellent! Fresh, clean, and delicate. Juicy fruit gum, pineapple, mango, clove, allspice, and river rocks.

I liked this immediately. Jasmine, brown sugar, wet clay, roasted banana, and lemon zest. Love this!

I got to go to her Palenque to pick this batch up and it wasn’t my favorite among the many expressions she had to taste, but every time I taste it now it gets better. Banana, slate rock, rock salt, spearmint, ginger, cinnamon. Really good Mexicano.

Big fan of this one. Thyme, wood ash, banana cream pie, arugula, freshly mown grass, cacao, caramel, salted cucumber. Really vegetal and funky but it just works for me.

Jalapeño, fresh green bell pepper, anise, tarragon, tomatillo, jasmine flower. Nice.