Creador Ensamble con Cacao is produced by maestro palenquero José Alberto Pablo in San Bernardo Mixtepec, Oaxaca.
About this mezcal
Creador Ensamble con Cacao is produced by maestro palenquero José Alberto Pablo in San Bernardo Mixtepec, Oaxaca. This small-batch 100% agave expression was cooked in an underground river rock-lined stone oven for 5 days, milled by hand with wood mallets (mazos) in a hollowed tree trunk (canoa), fermented 3-5 days in half-buried 90-liter clay pots, and twice distilled in 60-liter clay pots. The all-clay fermentation and distillation process makes this mezcal unique from most commercially available mezcals.
Batch JAENC0524 is the first time that José Alberto has produced something like this. For this special batch, he used maguey Lumbre and Espadín for his ensamble, and then added cacao during the second distillation. Cacao beans were roasted, then milled to a powder, and then added to the pot during distillation.
Creador Agave Spirits
Creador Agave Spirits seeks out independent family producers who have little to no representation outside of their local markets – producers who want to make a transition to full-time production of destilado and need help getting their agave spirits to market.
Creador strives to support palenqueros and their communities by providing autonomy for the producers, as well as fair pricing. The company does not contractually obligate producers, nor negotiate price – what the palenqueros ask, they pay, and the company will advise if they think the spirits are underpriced. Creador profit-shares with the producers, providing transparency into the complex economics of selling spirits into the tiered alcohol-distribution systems prevalent in the US.
Creador translates to “creator” and is an homage to the artisan creators of agave spirits, and a tribute to the creators and makers in us all. De la mano y el corazón – from the hand and the heart.
You can now order Creador directly to your door.
Review this bottle
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El Dawg
237 reviewsLote: JAENCOS524
I actually do get some cacao on the nose. Some sawdust, dustiness as well.
Taste carries through w/ a stronger version of that smell…which is not my favorite. Clay, bitter coffee, mole spices. Overall a super dry mezcal (if that’s a thing). It got better with some airtime but not my favorite of all the offerings from Creador.
Review #237
Jam
184 reviewsBatch JAENCO524, 48.4% abv
Review #181:
The nose has coffee, butterscotch, caramel, brown banana, vanilla, clay, milk chocolate, leather, and brown sugar.
The palate has caramel, vanilla, brown banana, clay, coffee, leather, cinnamon, chipotle pepper, milk chocolate, and some ashy smoke and dry wood on the finish.
I was honestly not digging this too much at first. I felt it was very one note with all the confectionery flavors, but then this over-ripe banana hit me and tied it all together. The pepper on the palate is very welcome to give a nice contrast to the sweetness of this along with the wood and ash. Overall i am glad to have come around to this one, not super complex but great flavors that I’m a sucker for.
Batch JAENCO524, 48.4% abv
Review #181:
The nose has coffee, butterscotch, caramel, brown banana, vanilla, clay, milk chocolate, leather, and brown sugar.
The palate has caramel, vanilla, brown banana, clay, coffee, leather, cinnamon, chipotle pepper, milk chocolate, and some ashy smoke and dry wood on the finish.
I was honestly not digging this too much at first. I felt it was very one note with all the confectionery flavors, but then this over-ripe banana hit me and tied it all together. The p
Bryen
101 reviewsWas thinking 3.5/5 stars but bumped it up to 4 given that I have only a sample and not a full bottle so can’t fully judge. Same batch as the other reviewers. At first pour the nose and palette is a magic marker— really wild lol. It opens up a bit as you drink it though and becomes a bit more complex. Mint, mesquite, obviously cacao, and some spice comes through. Once you get past the initial few tastes, the layers and complexity shine through a bit more and the dry, minerality from the clay comes through as well. Pretty solid but I like the other expressions from this brand a bit more!
Was thinking 3.5/5 stars but bumped it up to 4 given that I have only a sample and not a full bottle so can’t fully judge. Same batch as the other reviewers. At first pour the nose and palette is a magic marker— really wild lol. It opens up a bit as you drink it though and becomes a bit more complex. Mint, mesquite, obviously cacao, and some spice comes through. Once you get past the initial few tastes, the layers and complexity shine through a bit more and the dry, minerality from the clay
Ben P
149 reviewsBatch JAENCO524 ABV 48.4%
Nose: you get the cacao, a bit of mint, mesquite, vanilla, coffee
Palate & Finish: creamy on the front, some vanilla, chocolate, spiced hot chocolate, jalapeños moving into the finish. Finish is pretty mesquite heavy with coffee, more cacao, reminds me of scotch as the smoke and black pepper sits with you.
This is interesting but I find I enjoy José Alberto’s other expressions a bit better. Just so peppery I have trouble getting deeper into other notes.
Batch JAENCO524 ABV 48.4%
Nose: you get the cacao, a bit of mint, mesquite, vanilla, coffee
Palate & Finish: creamy on the front, some vanilla, chocolate, spiced hot chocolate, jalapeños moving into the finish. Finish is pretty mesquite heavy with coffee, more cacao, reminds me of scotch as the smoke and black pepper sits with you.
This is interesting but I find I enjoy José Alberto’s other expressions a bit better. Just so peppery I have trouble getting deeper into other notes.
little agave
72 reviewsEnsamble con cacao Jose Alberto Pablo 48.4% Batch JAENCO524
Aroma: not what I expected up front, alcohol clay mineral mild one line note. I would have guessed it was a single agave espadin. sugar.
Palette: cherry earthy dry tobacco bitter sweet. maple. creme brulee spread on burnt toast. cooked fruit. there is a cacao note obvs present in this, particularly on the finish. I’ve had a few destilados con cacao and this among the better ones. not a fan of these when its novelty however I can appreciate if its about resource use, custom or celebration.
Ensamble con cacao Jose Alberto Pablo 48.4% Batch JAENCO524
Aroma: not what I expected up front, alcohol clay mineral mild one line note. I would have guessed it was a single agave espadin. sugar.
Palette: cherry earthy dry tobacco bitter sweet. maple. creme brulee spread on burnt toast. cooked fruit. there is a cacao note obvs present in this, particularly on the finish. I’ve had a few destilados con cacao and this among the better ones. not a fan of these when its novelty however I can a
muchachomezcal
47 reviewsBatch #JAENCO524
Aroma – Sharpie marker, and cacao
Palette – Interesting ride of flavors. Starts off nicely with sweet agave, caramelized sugar, well-done pancakes with semi-sheet chocolate chips. There’s also a fruity note in the middle, can’t tell if I’m getting passionfruit or melon. The finish is leathery, with strong pepper notes.
Forpowder
122 reviewsBatch JAENCO524 48.4% mezcalero jose alberto pablo. Sampled on 10 / 2024. Aromas out of the bottle, are subtle Brown Agave. Overripe tropical fruit and yes, you can smell some cacao in there. No smoke, little alcohol aroma smells. Reminds me of old fashioned shoe polish in a tin. flavors follow the suit, but with a really nice sweet spicy chocolatey finish. I didn’t know how this would come through. I’ve never had this combination, but the mouth feel on this is phenomenal. Kinda reminds me of mole, type spices and chocolate in that context. One thing i’ve noticed that is consistent with the the mezcalero is a overall subtle cleanness and very wispy like finish, which I really love with every bottle i’ve had from him.
Batch JAENCO524 48.4% mezcalero jose alberto pablo. Sampled on 10 / 2024. Aromas out of the bottle, are subtle Brown Agave. Overripe tropical fruit and yes, you can smell some cacao in there. No smoke, little alcohol aroma smells. Reminds me of old fashioned shoe polish in a tin. flavors follow the suit, but with a really nice sweet spicy chocolatey finish. I didn’t know how this would come through. I’ve never had this combination, but the mouth feel on this is phenomenal. Kinda remi