Recent reviews

Lote 62, 05-22, 44.3%.
Different! Not my taste at all but it is very good. Green bell pepper, jalapeños, cheese. A very funky mezcal and a fun drink to try but in the end not my taste.

Lot 01 42% Damiana sampled on five 16 2024. Aromas out of the bottle are very green and grassy very herbal and little touch of smoke at the end very well balanced I really like the smell of this. Lots of Citrus and Pine and other sour tropical fruits. Flavors follow but with a little Funk and some grassy herbal flowering us that I am assuming comes with the damiana flower this is quite delicious.

a beautiful monster!nose is a sweet smokey vaporous heat.earthy green house and spun sugar.palate is explosive with citrus and very green.sweet orange and lime.strong karwinski veggie profile.intense from start to a long smokey finish.flavor is bursting.deep heat but not offensive.if i had hair,it would be blown back!couldnt consume this on a very hot summer day.amazing mezcal.careful.this will stomp a mud hole!

cacao, soil, peach, grapefruit, lemon, yogurt, melon, brine, chile, oak, root
CUP 03/19, glass aged 4 years 3 months, capón 2 años, 49.6%

Pretty standard espadin but rating 4 stars for ease of drinkability, cost, and I just really like the variation of label art lol

Really solid espadin, especially for the price. Soft and not very harsh. 49% is a plus and definitely a bit more full bodied for an Espadin. Notes of vanilla, caramel, a bit of mint, and slightly vegetal. Good as a mixer too.

Lote 15 year 2018 bottle 902/1380 45.5%. Aromas out of the bottle are sweet rotten fruit in the best of ways very candy like no smoke almost no alcohol Aromas present. Flavors follow with more roasted tropical fruit and some brown coffee like flavors and also flavors of toasted fruits I can’t believe the low scores on this this stuff is absolutely delicious. After a few more Taste of this I’ll need to edit my review I get all kinds of vegetable candy so fresh and clean this is one of the most unique Mezcal I’ve had in a long time and I certainly do appreciate it. What do people think this is also been sitting in glass for almost 6 years how does that affect the flavors I really do like this vintage. After the bottle airs out a bit strong cinnamon and tobacco leaf come on pretty heavily quite delightful

Catching up some old reviews. Bought this before I really got into mezcal and just opened the bottle back up and was appalled lol there’s not really a reason to buy this mezcal. There’s plenty of others that are better if you’re looking for a mixer. No need to get a 40% bottle. Pass on it.

Solid tepeztate! First and only time trying Cuentacuentos so far and I was pretty impressed with the flavor for the price point! Got lots of bell pepper flavors in this one and really enjoyed sipping it! Would def recommend if you can find it

Nose reminiscent of a British Christmas cake with dried fruit, spices and whiffs of rum, plus some green top notes of blackcurrant leaves.
Fascinating leather notes akin to the ones you get from some Tuscany red wines, I think they are the ones that some find to tape the tennis ball direction. Then a kind of spiced key lime pie, a bit caramelised. Well integrated alcohol, full mouthfeel, quite rounded. January 2018 batch.

Great nose, fruity! Strawberry jam, honey. Taste comes through a bit different – juniper berries, pepper. This is really delightful, and I get what other people have said about it being a bit like gin (def. similar tastes to a gin). Smoke seems very subtle and balanced as well. Dry finish. Overall solid, but by no means my favorite. All around interesting and good showing! (and I should add I believe this is a salmiana and not an arroqueno, based on the Taste N Chat call, which would also explain the taste).

Nose: So much going on. Tang drink, orange, grapefruit, tart mangos, sour cream, aloe vera juice

Palate: more citrus, tart pineapple, cinnamon, cumin, spiced melon, some said juniper on the taste and chat and I totally agree, it’s definitely floral and minty, mamey, like a sweet potato skin. Finish is powdery bubble gum. Some stone, more mango, and a nice subtle floral long finish

This is clean, well done, interesting and still unique. I wouldn’t reach for this every night but it’s a damn good pour that makes you want to pour just a little more. Chava said on the MM taste and chat he thinks this is Salmiana but called Arroqueno in this region. That would make a lot of sense for this profile.

i am a karwinskii fan.cuish are more rare than the other types.it fits the profile perfectly.bright vegetal sweetness with some mint.good smoke and silky finish.perfect heat and light body.lovely flavor and seems perfect for summer weather.price was very resonable at about 85.00.

good mezcal.i dont get much on the nose.the palate has slight floral quality and frozen strawberry that jonny noted.does not reveal its high abv.gentle heat and nice finish but short.i was expecting mabey more wow factor being puntas.its good but not sublime.willing to give 4 stars.to be fair,its a freshly opened bottle.it may open up in time.will have to revisit this one.

While at the Caballito Cerrero distillery in June 2022 my brother and I had a tour and tasting. Getting there is an adventure by itself. You should go. Mezcal Reviews did a great blog about it a couple years ago.

I did not expect a puntas (70%) when I arrived. I hadn’t planned to buy any bottles on this trip due to luggage cost on the airplane. After tasting it I changed my mind and got a bottle. They were out of the Chato (one that I tried) and I took home Azul 70%. By the way did anyone else encounter a switcharoo like this?

The aroma was like no other agave spirit ever. Definite alcohol but more like a pine scented nuclear fusion. I had a few goes at trying to get aromatics, but every time I could not describe it, except to say it’s like UFO fuel.
The taste was unique and great as well–overwhelming and beautiful at the same time. Definite heat but some river-rock minerality that was sensational. The taste happened very quickly almost no time to gauge what was happening.
The finish is what sold it for me, it was really good. There was something ultra-clean about it.
This was more an experience than a tasting. Like a roller-coaster ride that was so good you get off and say “what happened?”

Bottle 17/49 57.12% abv 37 Liter batch Jan 2023 Lot: 7

A limited special batch of Puntas of Cimarrón produced for Lucas Assis sold by Louie’s Liquor in Azusa, CA.

Nose: Mushroom, funky cheese, bright citrus

Palate: Hot intense heat, soft cheese (brie), tart green fruits like grape, apple, and pear, rock candy, salt brine, and on the back end a bit of the juicy fruit vibe that some expressions from this region can bring. Really enjoyable and so much going in that copita.

Lucas Assis reviewed his special release on social media highlighting the funkiness and fruity qualities. He noted more red fruits in his review, but I get more of the briny quality that Jonny mentions. Well worth seeking out these special Puntas releases from Chacolo.

Lucas Assis’s review: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C0frKcXLzSm/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D

Lot# IJ 10.22.PMBEL 60.4% abv 40 liters

Maybe we should start calling May 7, Puntas day….57% and above…..

Picked up this bottle at Louie’s Liquor in Azusa, CA.

Nose: Lemon-lime soda, salted fruit (like a saladito) and sodium bicarbonate

Palate: Explosion of lemon and lime, high abv is definitely present but not overpowering, powdered sugar, golden beets, citric acid, and country time lemonade. The heat and lemon-lime definitely drown out the agave, karwinskiis are just barely present in the background, just the drying quality of the bicuixe. I did enjoy this though as the flavor packs a wallop. Fun ride. In-between a 4.25 and 4.5 for me.

Maestro Javier Jiménez Vizcarra, Javier Jiménez Teran
Jan 2024, bottle No. 64

It comes in at a staggering 71.5% – OMG this is an experience.
— light agave on the nose, with no hint of what is about to happen on the palette.

— goes in really round and viscous and almost skips over the front part of the tongue, but then WHAM that 71% hits like a volcano.

It always keeps the agave flavors, but it’s a wild ride. In the middle of the taste, there is a really nice woodiness around the agave. This is not for the faint of heart though.

BATCH: MIA-B2002US 2020, 47.13%, 200ml
Antonio Cortés Aragón

Nose – A sharp, fresh and natural sweetness. Fresh cut grass, peanuts, soap water, vegetable greens, gas fumes, and fresh produce.

Palate – Bright, tangy and mellow. Ripe mandarins, sweet ginger candy, coconut, and those sugar-coated orange gummies from the grocery store.

Finish – A little darker and deeper after the sweetness. Grapes, raisins, white pepper, and some mesquite with a little bit of a burnt taste, like a sweet and tangy bbq sauce.

Very good! This is tasty and mellow; a perfect non-abrasive sipper. If anything to criticize, it might be a little thin, but enjoyable nonetheless.

A true Espadin; very light and soft
Lote OBESPSALA-24