Lot 37. Bottle 41/66. 48.49%
Cloying butterscotch overwhelms the fruity, vegetal aromas I’ve come to expect from tobala. If I search hard, though, I do find some green apple and grape soda hiding in there. Maybe some red licorice, too.
The nose translates directly onto the palate with the addition of vanilla and distant celery leaf and raw artichoke notes. It could just be this particular lot, but there’s a distracting soapiness that drags the rating down for me.

Batch CAR-CHO-001. Bottle 750. One of my favorites from MM.
The nose is dark and sweet like black plums and overripe cherries. I also get notes of oily roast chicken thighs, clay, sage, and some kind of leathery funk (think old baseball mitt).
The palate is thick and rich in the mouth. I agree with the forest honey flavors others have found. I also get mole, unsweetened chocolate, black pepper, sea foam, and a nostalgic plastic note (like a sunbaked pool toy).
I can’t stop coming back to this one and, anxious about drinking it too quickly, recently bought an extra bottle from MM’s website.

Lot 02. Bottle 66/102. 80% Wheeleri, 20% Shrevei. 49.8% ABV.

Nose: Garden hose, honeydew, oyster mushroom, fresh hay, beeswax, honeycomb, cilantro, artichoke, fireworks.
Palate: Chamomile, lavender, fresh cut grass, strawberry Runts, fireplace, pine needles, rosin for string instruments, cane sugar, barley water.
Finish: River rocks, wet gravel. Many minutes down the line, kiwi fruit and clover.

This is a desert island spirit for me. Juicy, breath-taking, complex. Wish I had five more bottles of it.

UPDATE (August 5, 2021): Just cracked open a bottle from Lot 03 (32/120) and agree with Rakhal. It’s not as good as Lot 02. It’s smoother, lighter, and less complex. Not bad at all, and I have no regrets about purchasing, but it’s also not worthy of my desert island cache.

Maestro Cándido Garcia Cruz. Lot MDXCAN1505. Bottle 012/240. 50.5% ABV.

This bottle was wound so tight upon first opening that I had to toss it in the back of my cabinet for several months. A little oxidation worked wonders, though. It’s a completely different spirit now.

Nose: Yellow Starbursts, sour pie cherries, cheese danish, a florist’s shop during Easter (tulips, carnations), confectioner’s sugar, and a wisp of peanut shell.

Palate: The first sip is like striking match against my tastebuds. It’s searingly hot at first but quickly mellows as a gentle and unique flavor profile unfolds. New car smell, macadamia nuts, juicy red bell pepper, mace, oak, lanolin, and celery salt. The finish lingers on forever and tastes like a cold spring house: musky air and damp limestone.

Overall, it’s lovely, soft, and delicate. But, damn, it needs some oxidation!

Lot 008. Bottle 75/76. Wow wow wowwww this is something special! On the nose, I get Calvados, caramel apple, chocolate-covered raisins, brown sugar, Nilla Wafers, and brandied cherries. The palate explodes with chocolate milk before more nuanced flavors reveal themselves: Ovaltine, sticky toffee pudding, spent coffee grinds, Bartlett pear, sweet potato casserole, freshly baked shortbread…

Every sip demands my attention, and I absolutely love it.