I like this better than the straight Tobalá. Aroma has light fruit and burnt brown sugar. Taste is medium-thick and good with pepper some light sweetness and faint taste of drying paint. The finish is good but slightly bitter.
Lot: CM-ET-0821

Pretty good Tobalá. Aroma has some earth and minerality with a hint of salt water. Taste is hot at entry, fairly viscous with pepper, light vegetal and even stale cotton candy. Finish is medium short and simple but ok.
Lot: CM-T-0821. 45%

Not bad, but not good either. Not a whole lot going on for me. The aroma has medium smoke and some green apples—pretty good.
Taste is not my favorite, its very smoky and fairly hot with alcohol.
The finish is medium long and ok.
For me this is an average to good espadin that is not exciting nor complex.

Quite different that the Espadin/Madrecuixe blend. But I think I like it. I get Zack’s peanut brittle in the aroma along with some fruit and a slight funk.
Taste is really earthy-almost dusty desert with hardly any smoke profile.
Aroma is long and bring s out some good flavors. There’s some good heat here as well with pepper and more earthiness.

I like this better than the base Espadin. There’s more going on.
Aroma is bright with fruit—apples and overripe pineapple.
Taste is good with light smoke and some sweetness.
Finish is ok but with a slight petrol note in the back of the mouth and throat. Overall good.

Really solid and balanced espadín. A burst of mint on entry with some welcome heat. Nothing exceptional going on but steady and good for the whole night.

Found this one at Cantina Mayahuel in San Diego. WOW!!! Rating more like 4.75.
Right off the bat clay and minerals on the aroma. Some spiciness and pepper too. My daughter says it smells like her apron from ceramics class. That makes sense. As it opened up I began to get citrus, definitely orange and grapefruit and some light strawberry.
Ok I thought the aroma was great… The taste is incredible! A great blend of minerality, earthiness and fruit. Just the right amount of smoke—very light. Super thick and oily mouth feel.
The finish fades slowly and lingers nicely. Very balanced and wonderful overall. This is an advanced Mezcal that everyone can enjoy. If you find this one somewhere, try it!
ABV 47.1%
2017, bottle 679

Dammit Dalton! Just when we—all civilized mezcal drinkers—declare that real mezcal must be blanco or it’s bad, you spring this on us. And then you slip in the fact that wood barrels must have been used in the olden days to store mezcal so it is actually traditional…you are diabolical. But please keep sending me more mezcal because this is delicious! If this was a bottle marked Fortaleza “Southern Blend” limited relajase, people would be hoarding and going nuts for it. So GOOD.
Aroma is sweet without overdoing it—vanilla, roasted agave, pepper and spice. Taste is incredible—so many great agave flavors and some fairly light barrel notes. The barrel brings some smoothness and sweetness but the agave still lets you know it is there. Finish is ok with mostly good flavors, but fading into a little bitterness. Gracias Don Pedro!

Additional Añejo bottle is good. I agree with Rakhal that the repo is better with more espadín powering the show. A little too smooth for mezcal. Still good though.

Sampled alongside all of the Codigo tequilas at agave club Baja Betty’s San Diego. It was better than all the tequilas, which is not saying much.
This mezcal is not bad. Aroma is medium smoke with some sweetness and light fruit. Taste is solid with medium viscosity and good flavors: some earthy sweetness. Finish is long and brings out most of the the good flavors but with a hint of bitterness.

UPDATE AUGUST 2024 (2.5 years after my first go around).
Less good. I did not get much of the flavors I detected before. Just alcohol, heat and smoke. Kind of a textbook/generic “mezcal” flavor. Nothing interesting.
Speaking with some people who know stuff they suspect it’s the influence of big corp “dumbing down” the profile. Maybe.
Original rating 3 stars (which I think is a good mezcal)
Updated rating 2 stars (one I wouldn’t waste time with)

Pretty good entry level espadín. Aroma is good with plenty of roasted agave and light smoke. Taste is also good but a tad week and thin in the mouth. Finish is ok with some good heat and flavor but short. This is okay to sip, but probably better to mix in a drink. Pleasant, nothing offensive… But nothing outstanding. Good as an introduction to Mezcal.

I’m sad that we won’t see videos with Silvestre. I’m glad that this madre cuishe is in this box—I really like it! There’s something about Karwinskis that I love. This is really good all around. Aroma is quite neutral but very pleasant, nothing jumps out except some light minerality, subdued sweetness and almost no smoke. While a little thin or watery in the mouth taste is great. Again, just all around good taste without many standout flavors, although there is a hint of minerals. Finish is the best part for me with minerals, good heat, very mild sweetness and a hint of sea salt.
SIL-MAD-001 October 2020 Bottle 502 47.4%
RIP Silvestre, ¡muchísimas gracias!

This is good and very unique. Aroma is full and strong with juicy fruit gum, charred pineapple and a hint of overripe peach. There is no smoke at all and is quite sweet. Taste is a little hot (with alcohol) and pepper and light, mild chile. There is some light smoke that has a hint of bitterness. Finish is the best part for me, it is long, good and warm with intensifying sweetness that helps you remember the aroma.
Score is more like 3.75. Lote MIG-INA 001 bottle 507
*EDIT*. After the Maguey Melate taste and chat (April 28, 2022) last night we uncovered a detail that has been vexing me on this one. So many reviews were talking about the “funky and cheesy” notes…whereas I got fruity and sweet. If you have a bottle is there a random “2” in to uppermost corner of the label? The picture here on MR has the 2, so does mine. There were many others on the zoom chat that said they have the 2 and got fruit/sweet notes. The MM team reported that there was a 2nd batch made to fill the order. Now I just have to find someone without the mysterious 2 so we can do a side-by-side. Salud amigos!

Edición 2, 2018. So good all-around! Tasted with Asis at his hotel. I like the creamy smoothness of madrecuixe and this is no exception. It’s floral, Perfumy, with light minerality. It has a good, earthy strong taste with full flavor and good finish.

Whoa! Overripe fruit on the aroma—peaches, pineapple and light banana. The taste has more very ripe fruit with a little funk in the back of the tongue. Finish is the best part, it’s good and lingers a while with mild sweetness. Interesting profile but not enough bite for me. ACR046 Dec 2020

Call me old fashioned, but sometimes just put your “boring” espadín in a clay still, say a prayer, then send me a bottle of what comes out. This is good stuff! Aroma is light perfume with strawberry cream, green mangoes and stone fruit–plumb or peach, I can’t decide. The taste is different than the aroma: mild, sweet and a little funky. The finish is good and lingers a while intensifying the mild sweetness. ARC033 jul 2020

Decent Tepeztate, although a little “light”. Aroma is light and fruity with some sea salt. Taste also is light with some earthy undertones. The finish a quick but pleasant. This one is ok. MGG12T sept 2020

Another really good one. Aroma had some green veggies, soil and cantaloupe. Taste has some “dark” flavors, a bit puckery with earth and leather. The finish is ok with some heat and some mild bitterness. It lingers a while. ACRO052 abril 2021

Good stuff! Aroma is a bit perfumey with some unripe pear, red grapes and light mint. Taste is a little hot with some good pepper, light ash and slight river rock. Finish a good with a fairly oily mouthfeel and some lingering sweetness. MGG13C September 2020

45% lote MOO13EB at Baja Betty’s agave club in San Diego. Overall good. Aroma is citrusy and sweet with a hint of white pepper. Taste is sweet with some pepper and light spice. Sips like a spicy tequila more than a mezcal. Finish is short but pleasant.

Don Fede’s daughter and granddaughter are remarkable for carrying on his tradition. ¡Que chingonas! I love his Espadilla/Tobalá. This is good mezcal but I don’t taste any apples! There is some good sweetness added with some heat. Aroma has a slight sour funk to it but overall good. Taste of solid and good with some definite sweetness and medium smoke.
EDIT agosto 2022: I’m calling this the Zack and Rakal BBQ chip challenge—1. Get a bag of quality BBQ chips. I am using Miss Vickie’s Smokehouse BBQ Chips. 2. Think about the unopened bag of chips and drink some of this. 3. Open chips and catch some aroma, then drink some more. 4. Munch a chip and then well….you know.
At which stage did you get the BBQ chips reflected in the mezcal? Or are you like me and you aren’t up to the Zack and Rakhal level of zen master? But I did have fun.