Espina Negra Tobala is made by Mayolo, Honorato, and Roque Cruz Molina, whose family has been producing mezcal for four generations.
About this mezcal
Espina Negra Tobala is made with wild maguey Tobala in Santa Ana del Rio, Oaxaca. These agave can take 10-12 years to reach maturity and they are very small in size. The community of Santa Ana del Rio is located 80 km from Oaxaca City. There are only about 500 inhabitants of the small town, and most are involved in the production of agave and mezcal. The agaves used in this mezcal are traditionally cooked in a pit oven, milled by tahona, and double distilled in a copper still.
Espina Negra Mezcal
Espina Negra celebrates the mezcal of the Cruz Molina family, who have been working the fields of Santa Ana del Rio, Oaxaca for more than 4 generations. During his childhood, mezcalero Roque Cruz Molina, went out in the fields but forgot to wear his sandals. While out in the fields, he suddenly felt a thunderous electric shock through his body, as he stepped on a thorn of an agave plant. The thorn stuck through the big toe of his foot and his brothers, Celestino and Honorato, ran for their father. The father came and removed the thorn, but warned the boy to be careful as the thorn of the agave was sharp, but was also a source of income for the family. It was this experience that caused Roque to call his brand “Espina Negra” or Black Thorn.
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COak
238 reviews45% bottle by Honorato Cruz Molina. I tried this multiple times and never really enjoyed it. Too much chemical and plastic taste.
Tyler
668 reviewsTried this in Austin, TX recently and wasn’t impressed. There is a chemical/plastic note that is unmistakable. There are some notes of banana, mango, and citrus. It starts off well but the chemical finish is off-putting. I did not catch the lot number (the lot numbers on these bottles are extremely long). The bottles don’t list production dates. Of the three Espina Negras mezcals I tried, this was my least favorite.
Nic Hnastchenko
109 reviewsA very nice tobala. Solid, but it didnt blow me away.
Chris
40 reviewsThis is a delicious fruity tobala. I had it with dinner at Epicuro in Oaxaca about two weeks ago and promptly went on a search for several more bottles. I had some a couple nights back with some El Jolgorio tobala for comparison. The El Jolgorio is excellent too, but comes off with a bit more pine / mint while the Espina Negra has more fruit, so it’s really just a matter of mood than one being better or worse than the other.