My favorite Tobala so far.
Bought at the palenque so no specifics other than May 2017 distillation. 47% abv.
Oh yeah, good stuff. Resisted the temptation of rubbing it on my chest.
Purchased at his palenque in Santa Catarina Minas. My bottle from Lalo is labeled “Mezcla” and he was adamant in calling an ensamble Mezcla, so not sure what gives.
Espadin/TObasiche that was distilled in August 2019, 48.8% abv.
Since Tobasiche is just about my favorite, I would rather sip it just by itself. The blend of this didn’t seem to compliment each other as well as just keeping them separate. Lalo’s Tobasiche is fantastic.
Bought this at Lalo’s palenque. Lalo offers the bagasso fruit solids after distillation from the pot to taste as well. I was blown away by this more than the pechuga. Amazing how someone can get it so right to have the distilled waste taste so good. Due to the language barrier I missed a conversation about this.
I have shyed away from pechuga mostly because my first tastes just had these off flavors that didn’t seem to fit in, but this one is so luscious, rich, and balanced.
Great Espadin. Nice mouthfeel, very surprised for the quality vs cost. Very subdued in a very good way, yeah I can sip this for a while.
I don’t like the razor blades of cuts going way into the heads you find in this price point, but this one is a great value.
Good Espadin. The maguey wasn’t listed on the label but I knew it was Espadin just by sniffing from the bottle after opening. There are bottles of Espadin that come before this one regarding price, value, taste. The labeling is a little generic and has clever Spanish that seems to give a little wiggle room as to production.
Bottle 4692/5040
Lot 87
Too strong on the hot burnt roasting that overpowers too much the Tobala.
Batch NJT05-18
Bottle 016
44.2% abv
My Mexicano’s have been buttery, kinda sweet, until this one. It has quite a bite with minimal mouthfeel. Gonna let it sit for a while. Overpriced, so not again.
Lot A-08-M-17
51.9% abv
Price was right, and one liter! The Mezcalero’s picture is on the bottle, good deal.
The bottle says 44%abv but it feels more like 40%. Tempted to test it. It’s a little subdued and thin, but still nice and a good casual sipper. Nothing off or out of balance, just a finer balance. Good intro bottle.
Batch RJG3-18
Bottle 2891/5046
Moving on to better value mezcals after lot 02E 21 which was harsh for 45%.
For the value, 5 stars. The flavor is toned down, but kept in balance. The deciding factor on buying the bottle was the picture of the Mezcalero on the bottle and the ubiquitous Mexican saying as the brand name.
Lot 04E 18 – 987
Lot 01E 18 – 2681 is a much better lot because its smooth, good mouthfeel, balanced with more agave notes.
Lot 07E 18-1230 is very similar to 01E 18 with more smoke.
Lot 03E 19-2768 has a more watery/thinner, alcoholic bite flavor.
Lot 01E 18 – 2824 Today 01/18/2020, just opened and still my favorite best value. After opening the first 01E, I went back and bought the rest of them a while back. It has a balance I really like.
Lot 06E 19, bottle 1480 Opened 2/1/2020. Steely and good depth/complexity. Blind tasting against my last 🙁 bottle of 01E is easy.
A good intro mezcal. It’s not a brute and also lighter on the wallet, especially for a ensamble.
My best espadin so far. Interesting because I have 3 open bottles and I can blind taste all three-
DS019-D 200ml
DS022-E
DS024-E
The lot is hand written so not 100% on the spelling.
The DS019 is by far the best, then the DS022, and the DS024 is more like firewater.
This was a good lesson on lot numbers and a new awareness of buying the same thing you sample.
My now go to on lot DS039-E, produced May 2021.
DS037-E nice as the last lot 02252022
Very nice. I held off getting this one because I only wanted to learn agave only. No ensemble, pechuga, etc, for now. It is a good step up from getting a cheaper 40% espadin. Very nice balance, with that corn core keeping it all together. You don’t feel the 51.1% abv.
LOT A-24/02-EL-18
Very hot at 50.4% but get over it after a few sips. The maguey comes through with the vegetal/mineral notes. There are some introduced notes from the maker that really add to it, very nice mouthfeel, very nice signature.
Emigdio Jarquin
June 2018, 413 L
LOT E-07-MC-18
50.7% ABV
Great for the price. Maybe a beginners mezcal since it is 40%abv. Smooth and not harsh.
Lote: OAX-026
Good for the price. 46%abv
Lote: BIYF
Botella: AACI
Maestro: ISMAEL ROSALES
Tastes like Jabali, I love this maguey. Just a rougher bite. There are some flavors that are not on the delicious side like other Jabali I’ve had at a better price.
Lot D5008BJ -can’t make out the handwriting, very cool
Bottle 907/1099
Production date Nov 2017
Lot DS005-M from August 2017. Bottle 1030/1518.
Really liking Mexicano. Not as smooth/sweet as my favorite.
Bought a bottle directly from the distillery in April 2019.
Grassy and a little thin, like maybe a low fat tepextate mezcal. To me this is a Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc if compared to wine. There is plenty of mezcal/sotol from Mexico for less money I’d buy every time before this.
