Delicate floral notes. Berries. Dry, woodiness. Soft aromas in general.
Taste is a bit sharp with some heat. Bit dull with the complexities, but with an overarching creamy lactic note that is pleasant. Best part is a longer sweet finish that lingers in the mouth. Good but nothing mind blowing.

Super juicy nose! Reminds me of a raicilla for sure. Lots of overripe fruit. Taste has tons of fruit (strawberry fruit rollups, some kiwi, pineapples). Kinda tart and dry also like in a white wine, but still really sweet because of the fruit funk. Super interesting and different but is missing “something” to really love it (or it’s else too much of this juicy fruitiness funkiness for me). 3.25 stars.

Lote: JAEN1122
Comparing this with the pure Lumbre expression, which is fun as you can really tell the espadin influence.
Similar notes to the Lumbre, but everything is just more subdued. There’s an added buttery sweetness that has to be from the espadin. Leathery notes with tropical fruit. In someways not as layered or complex, but I think I like it slightly better (a full mouth, warmth feel to it). 4.25 stars.
Review #195

Lote: JALU112
Nose has a strong leathery, sandalwood prominence to it. Behind that there are some tropical fruit essence (rotten bananas perhaps). Taste carries through with very similar notes. Some sweet tart candy sweetness (which I get regularly with this producer it seems), grilled pineapple. Very layered and complex…like it a lot. 3.75

Review #194

Lote: JAEC1122
Aromas of wet clay (as others mentioned) and some of that new tennis ball / synthetic smell. Hard to recognize this as an Espadin.
Taste at first seemed a bit hot. Some minerality, bonfire woody/smokiness, but along with something a bit synthetic too which I don’t particular like along with some leather/rawhide notes. Not really too sweet or fruity as I normally enjoy with an espadin, although there is some slight red apple notes at the very end. Not bad at all, but not my favorite from this line. 3.25 Stars
Review #193

Lote: JAME1122
Slightly creamy and candied sweetness on the nose.
Interesting taste….I don’t get a lot of the tanginess I normally associate with the clay distillation, although it’s there in the background. More candied sweetness…sweet-tarts, banana runts. Some chocolate, bitter cacao notes for sure along with a slightly yeasty/bread taste. Very intriguing mexicano!
Review #192

Series 6
Classic green tep notes on nose. Sugar water, some earthiness. A subdued tep and a bit light. Missing that sharpness in green and pepper I associate with a good tepeztate. Normally my favorite agave, but this one seems a bit pedestrian.
Review #191

Lote: MAD/11-23, 48%
I love both Hermogenes as well as Miahuatlan mezcal so I’m obviously bias to this one. But still…what a great, sweet, nutty nose I’ve come to associate with madrecuishes.
Sweet tart candy on the taste, lime, peanuts, some minerality, with slight dusty, earthness as well. Full body and strong with integrated smoke.
Review #190

No real Lot number that I could find.
Pleasantly surprised on this one! Sweet and very minty smell. Taste has the clay tanginess I always associate to it. Some harshness/oversmoke at the finish, but all-in-all the taste really had some good mint sweetness that made this enjoyable.
Review #189

There tends to be this ‘dusty’ and old smell and taste I associate with cenizos. ‘Dull and bitter’ but in a good way. This being not different. Taste also includes candy sweetness, pencil lead, metal. Solid sipper, but not my favorite as of recent.

Bright & green smell. Some chalkiness and a very slight rotten fruit smell. Blue cheese. Clean taste. Fruit, sweet, some tanginess with the smoke well integrated. Reminds me a bit of a raicilla which isn’t surprising. Good and nothing really wrong….just doesn’t jump out at me. 3.75 stars.

Light and candy sweet smell. Some overripe bananas. Sweet tarts. Butterscotch. Classic alto funkiness though, which I know some people don’t like. A subdued alto, probably from the aging. But an oily and enjoyable taste. Really an all day / session mezcal!

Rotten fruit smell with candy sweetness. Cheese funk as well but that has calmed down since the bottle has been open for a while now. Light BBQ meat. Follows through to taste with a chalky candy aftertaste with some creaminess. Bright and really fun mezcal! Really good and I’m def partial to these Altos. What a great box! My fav of the two in a side-by-side.

Lote: AC-01
Slightly green smell. Some buttery notes as well. Perhaps floral. Taste carries through with some classic espadin notes with a classic smoked agave…bit too smoky. Nothing complex or unique here. This could be great for cocktails or a sipper in a pinch. Overall not bad at all but nothing memorable.
Review #184

About time I review this one. It’s not horrible necessarily, but definitely belongs in a cocktail. Bitter and light/watery.
It’s pretty one dimensional though – just slightly sweet and overly smoky. Low ABV and not “harsh”, but I feel bad for people who would judge all mezcal on this (it’s so ubiquitous all over that I’m sure this is a first introduction to the spirit for a lot of people). Def great for cocktails though, especially ones where you really want that smoke.

Lote: L1/22
Candied sweetness on the nose – banana runts, sweet tarts – very inviting! Follows through in taste with some definite heat and a punch. More banana runt notes. Overall soft and nuanced enough to keep you coming back for more with a welcomed sweetness throughout. Solid!
Review #182

Missed the Lote details.
This one surprised me (in a good way). A bit smoker on taste, and with some stronger ethanol notes….slightly on the rough side for a sipper, but def. could drink in a pinch. Great for cocktails! Notes of roasted agave with a slightly vicious, creamy mouthfeel. Not overly complex but again surprisingly good given price point. 3.25 stars.
Review #181.

Smell is super inviting – sweet, candied, light banana runts. Reminds me of a raicilla for sure. Taste is not quite as good as smell, but still carries through with the fruit and juiciness. I get some of those river rocks too…as weird as that sounds. Light pepper…fruit sweetness is the dominating flavors though. Solid blend, and really enjoyable (especially after reading the back-story).

AGU-VEL-0001 – tried this in 100ml form as part of a Melate tasting kit.
Great nose! Smell is really inviting: sweet yet a bit dry/ashy (reminds me of a cenizo). Taste is a bit drier….ashy with some rotten fruit. Smokier though in a great way. This seems to be a better batch than what the other had tried 3 years ago. Really interesting with some unique subtleties.
Review #178

Lote: 024/22P.
Not super fragrant: light ethanol, sweet berries. On the taste I get a drier-like butterscotch that I seem to attribute to most jabali…it’s easy drinking. Not overly complex by any means, but has a pleasant sweetness & finish. Most pure jabali’s always have a yellowish tint too due to distillation…this one is absolutely clear though so not sure what that means. 3.75 stars.
Review #178