48% abv, batch 0722ER

Review #164: The nose has fresh orange, pear, lemon zest, rosemary, vanilla, and a bit of fresh paint.
The palate has orange juice, lemon zest, vanilla, violet, pear, and rosemary, with a fresh minerality.

This is a super solid espadin. It’s really bright on the nose and palate with plenty of fruity citrus notes. It’s nothing too extra but it’s classic ramos with the clean profile, and you can’t go wrong especially for the price.

Series 6, 48.3% abv

Review #163: The nose has apple, cinnamon, coffee beans, mint, cooked cherries, orange oils, and wildflowers.
The palate has cinnamon, milk chocolate, mint, caramel, vanilla, clay, and orange oils, with some florals on the finish.

This batch is a pechuga de cacao, and it definitely shows a bit. The nose leads on with more fruitiness that I wish would have carried over to the palate. The palate is more on the savory side and while it is good, it felt a bit on the one note side as the cinnamon, chocolate, and caramel blend together with lacking supporting notes.

42% abv, lot BA00021EBA21

Review #162: the nose is faint and has wet paint, vanilla, honey, acetone, banana, milk, and white florals.
The palate has some smoke, vanilla, paint, honey, banana, underripe pineapple, and on the finish some grass and mint.

This is good to cocktail with, or just fine enough neat if you don’t want to be too focused and hanging out. There’s not much going on with this one and it’s not very expressive, but that’s okay. There’s obviously some noticable off notes on the nose and palate but it’s still sweet, mild, and soft. Not a bad choice if you want something easygoing.

45.1% abv, lot T3-2

Review #161: The nose has lime juice, pickles, funky cheese, fresh grass, jalapeno, soft vanilla, and a bit of acetone.
The palate has lots of lime juice, cream cheese, jalapeno, pickles, a bit of vanilla and wet clay mid palate, and finishes with some grass and black pepper.

It’s pretty heavy on the lime citrus throughout and has some nice soft creaminess to it, i just wish the funkiness carried over a little more to the palate from the nose. It’s on the sweeter side but the vegetal flavors keep it well rounded. This is a solid raicilla and the price makes it worth getting a bottle.

Batch 1221 IRM, 46% abv

Review #160: the nose has orange juice, orange oils, lemon juice, honeydew, watermelon, bitter limes, cucumber, fresh mozzarella, leather, and dry herbs.
The palate has watermelon candy, fresh orange, cucumber, crisp green onion, lemonade, a touch of mozzarella, then shifts towards leather, some dry herbs like oregano, pine, lemongrass, and a clean dry minerality on the finish.

This is a great bottle of inaequidens. It’s super crushable but also has a fun complexity as it shifts throughout the palate. The big juicy fruits up front and the drying base notes work really well here. For the price it is a steal too

Lot ds012pc, 10 months glass rested

Review #159: The nose has vanilla, grass, sweet cream, rubber, and pineapple.
The palate has vanilla, grass, cream, rubber, pineapple, and grapefruit.

I thought this one was a bit on the simple side. I didn’t find very much intensity or complexity. I agree it’s a bit hot and there feels like some bitterness as well that isn’t too balanced. Overall it’s decent but nothing special to me.

47.7% abv

Review #158: The nose has honey, cinnamon, tire rubber, hay, rosemary, leather, almonds, coffee, and motor oil.
The palate has sweet tobacco, caramel, almond butter, motor oil, plastic, lime, rosemary, allspice, and oregano.

I side by sided with melate’s benigno. The difference in this is quite fun, a bit less fruit and more spices. Really complex and has that similar softness but punchy flavor that I’ve found in his mezcal. I like this a lot and will continue to search for more from this mezcalero.

Lote 5g, 47.43% abv

Review #157: On the nose is lemon and lime zest, orange juice, touch of canteloupe, vanilla, soft scotch-y sea spray, ash, mix of fresh sweet herbs, mint, tangy yogurt, and leather.
The palate has lots of lemon citrus up front, orange, mint, vanilla, yogurt, canteloupe, and on the finish more grass, ash, dirty minerality, and herbs.

This is the least funky of the chacolo lineup that I’ve had. There’s a bit of a scotch-y vibe on the nose and the palate gives some grungy elements i enjoy. Overall though it’s still pretty bright and citrusy, and I enjoy this chacolo the most of their lineup so far.

50% abv, lote 002

Review #156: The nose has lots of roasted and smoked bell peppers and jalapeños, dark chocolate, pine, lime, parmesan, bbq sauce, charred corn on the cob, some florals, wet earth, and light smoke.
The palate has a juicy fruitiness on the front of the palate like raspberry, lime, pine, honey, chocolate, coffee, and the finish has lots of roasted pepper flavors, cacao powder, and wet earth.

This is such a unique mezcal with a great complexity. Best word to describe it it juicy. The vegetal notes on this are so rich and full along with a pop of fruits and dark savory base notes. I haven’t had much fron SLP but I’m sure this is one of the better ones out there from that region.

Lote L.C.200.4.23, 50% abv

Review #155: The nose has coffee, milk chocolate, earth, cotton, and banana.
The palate has canteloupe, coffee, cinnamon, milk chocolate, cotton, lemongrass syrup, wet earth, banana pudding, and some serrano pepper on the finish.

It is very great to find that guerrero papalote creamy note translate to banana here. It had a lot of classic notes I expected and I’m all for it. A great mix of fruits with the chocolate, coffee, and earthiness.

Lote R.C.200.5.23, 46.5% abv

Review #154: The nose has cantaloupe, leather, milk chocolate, wood, sharpie, and a little floral.
The palate has lots fruit up front, canteloupe, honeydew, mango skin, pineapple juice, coffee, creamy milk chocolate, leather, green banana, old wood, and a bit of dry herbs on the finish.

Great papalote from guerrero, no surprise there. Really nice mix of soft fruit notes with the savory ones alongside it. The transition from the fruits to the leather and chocolate are awesome and lends a lot of complexity to it.

Review #153: the nose has cotton, orange, lemon, and lime oils, vanilla, clorox wipes, wildflowers, soft earthiness, nuts, and ash.
The palate has plenty of lemon, lime, and orange all up front, then some underripe honeydew, light florals, vanilla, a moment of fresh cream mid palate, and turns to dry minerality with a touch of ash and nuts on the finish.

This is that classic clean Ramos profile with tequilana and it’s just about what I expected. There’s nothing really exciting about it to me but it is undeniably well made. It is just really fresh citrus all over with a solid minerality.

Review #152: The nose is very funky, with overripe pineapple, butyric acid, strawberry, some sort of funky cheese, lots of citrus like lemon, lime, and orange, mint, dry minerality.
The palate has lots of rotten pineapple, butyric acid, strawberry, bubblegum, mint, a bit of that weird cheese, lemon, lime, very tangy overall, and the finish turns into a slate minerality with a touch of ash.

This stuff is pretty cool. It reminds me a lot of Virgen’s stuff which is also from Jalisco. Must be something about that yeast. Really tart fruits with that noticable butyric funk added to it. The nose and finish has this nice minerality surrounding everything that keeps the weirdness from being too overwhelming.

Lote E06, 45% abv

Review #151: The nose has cream, lemon oils, grapefruit, fresh orange, guava, like Jonny said some violet, rose and then other delicate white florals, and a sort of fresh linen candle scent.
The palate has a noticeable oiliness to it, with notes of cream, lemon, orange, guava, soft florals, and on the finish a touch of smoked herbs comes through.

This is pretty solid for a budget mezcal. The creamy note on this really lifts it up as it add a richness to the nose and a thickness to the palate that I really enjoy. This isn’t much to write home about or pick apart, but it is just hits the spot on the price point for chilling with a drink. I bet this works wonders in cocktails too.

Lote A-17-EL-21, 50.4% abv

Review #150: The nose has corn, vanilla, cherry, lychee, earth, bread, hay, and acetone.
The palate has fresh, sweet roasted corn, vanilla, acetone, orange, touch of cherry, pineapple juice, lemon oils, and lasting on the finish is dry grass, smoke, and dusty earth.

This was one of my first bottles of mezcal that is nearing the last pour. It was sort of a roller coaster of a bottle. I kind of liked it at first simply because I hadn’t tried much yet and started to dislike it after trying lots more.
As I go through it more though, I find more delicate complexity in this than before. It’s a bit brash and sweet, the finish is pretty dry, and I do get some noticable acetone. Underneath it though is a mix of pretty fruit notes that makes me a bit more sad than I thought I’d originally be to see this solid budget bottle be empty.

48% abv, batch 2021-LG

Review #149: The nose has vanilla, white musk, rose, lavender, cherry syrup, and playdoh.
The palate has rose, lavender, vanilla, lemon oils, grape candy, medicinal cherry syrup, salted butterscotch, dry grass and earthiness on the finish.

This is pretty enjoyable with a fun array of flavors. The palate has a nice fruity floral thing but the finish keeps it from being too much with a nice earthiness. The nose is a bit lacking but it is still quite nice. Nothing extraordinary happening here but it’s certainly a good sotol.

45% abv, lote 0521
Review # 148: The nose has powdered sugar, rose, lavender, vanilla, nail polish remover, orange zest, and “unscented” baby wipes.
The palate has powdered sugar, a touch of cream, rose, lavender, vanilla, orange zest, and ashy smoke.

This is a perfectly okay mezcal. There’s not necessarily anything wrong that I find with it, but it just doesn’t seem to have a lot going on. It’s very delicate, especially on the nose. This doesn’t help either with some heat being pretty noticeable on the palate despite a not so high abv. What this does have going for it is that it’s very crushable and it would be a decent intro to tobala for someone.

44.7% abv, lote 64
Review # 147: the nose has funky creamy cheese, green bell pepper, jalapeno poppers, honey, and lemon.
The palate has jalapeno, bell peppers, cream cheese, black pepper, lemon, lime, zucchini, all wrapped up in a bit of honey sweetness, and a crispy kale sort of green minerality on the finish.

As agavefairy said in a review before: jalapeno poppers. Review over.
But seriously, this stuff is one of the best bottles you can get for the price. It’s very aromatic, rich on the palate, and salmiana is just cool! I love the savory and creamy green notes going on and I’m definitely getting another bottle once mine is gone.

47% abv, lote JAB-201

Review #146: The nose has garden salsa sunchips, leather, red pepper, grains, cheddar, aged parmesan, clay, musty attic, tobacco, and cucumber melon soap.
The palate has cucumber, overripe canteloupe, and guava all up front, then comes the sweet mint, grass, cotton, tobacco, and a little wood.

This is a fantastic Jabali with a lot going on. The nose was probably my favorite part of this, with the cheese, vegetals, and grains sort of making this sunchip thing pop in my head. The palate doesn’t hold up as much as the nose does but it still has a fun complexity with the fruits showing up. This is really unique and definitely worth trying.

Review #145: The nose has nuts, rubber, earthy, lemon pith, sweet potato, tobacco, pine, cedar, leather, milk chocolate, and vanilla
The palate is very woody, leather, caramel, vanilla bean, pine, milk chocolate, nutty, sweet potato, tobacco, moss, black pepper, and lots of fuzzy jabali tingles.

This was part of a side by side, and it felt like a totally different end of the spectrum of the others. One interesting thing is it had noticeably more of those fuzzy tingles compared to the others while having no heat from the high abv. It is so delicious, like a dessert, with such a richness and viscosity to it. It is overall on the savory side and one of my favorites I have had from that kind of profile.