Review #184:
The nose has lime, jalapeño, spinach, dark chocolate, and peanuts.
The palate has green wood, sweet lemon oils, lime juice, pine, rosemary, mint, peanut shells, and a dry minerality.

This is an excellent Bicuixe. It has a nice acidity that isn’t too brash and works well with some of those herbal notes. Other’s notes on the desert vibe are spot on with that dry minerality that lasts on the finish.

Batch JAJA524-1 and 2, both 48.3% abv

Review #183+1

Sola de vega (1)-
The nose has sweet motor oil, clay, dry wood, leather, and dried herbs.
The palate has clay, wood, motor oil, medicinal herbals, cinnamon, coffee, and on the finish black pepper, and dry ash.

This is the weaker of the two for me by a lot. I find a bit too many brash notes on this for me to want to reach for something like this often. It is a rather dark profile with it’s industrial/medicinal notes. I just feel like I’m missing something from it for those notes to be balanced for me.

6.5/10

Chichicapam (2)-
The nose has peanuts, mulch, dark chocolate, brown sugar, earthy, lime, touch of funky cheese
Palate- milk chocolate caramel, brown sugar, vanilla bean, lime, hard to pick out but a soft melon fruity sweetness, and the finish is earthy, mulch, dark chocolate, and coffee.

This one is more my speed. The darker notes are fantastic with the savory nuts and dark chocolate. There’s these touches of lactic funk and sugary and fruity sweetness that peek through that make this super interesting and delicious. Extremely well balanced with plenty of intensity and that touch of weirdness. I love it. I’ll give this review the rating i would give this one.

9/10

Batch 0520ER

Review #182:
The nose has green melon, lime, fresh cut grass, pine, green jolly rancher
The palate has lime, lemon oils, asparagus, fresh grass, and black pepper.

A very clean expression from sierra negra. The classic fresh ramos profile is always very enjoyable.

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 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 JAT00524, 48.5% abv

Review #180: The nose has orange blossoms, lemon pledge, mango skin, and clay.
The palate has orange blossom, lemon oils, lavender, mint syrup, sage, oregano, and clay.

The nose on this one is a bit lackluster, the aromas are just too faint. The notes on this are nice and pretty, though. I get a fun mix of floral and herbal notes without it getting sweet or medicinal. And while the clay isn’t too dominant, it still feels like the clay on here is holding the tobala back a bit and muting it. Nice stuff but doesn’t have any strength behind it.

48.8%, Batch JATM0524

Review #179: The nose has earth, dark chocolate, clay, roasted nuts, fresh coffee, anise, pine, eucalyptus, jalapeno, strawberry, and raisin.
The palate is very rich, with dark chocolate, nuts, coffee, earth, clay, caramel, plum, raisin, cinnamon, pine, anise, smoked wood, carmelized jalapeno, and cloves.

This is sooo good. It is like easy mode pulling notes out of this because it’s so complex but everything presents itself very well, I’m sure if i sat here another hour id pick plenty more notes from it. There’s something about the way that tepextate just rips through the clay that I adore. It’s this super solid base of those earthy mexicano clay notes along with terpy, green, herbal tepextate notes. The mouthfeel is superb and the flavors stay very rich and full all the way throught the palate and very long finish with the way it coats your mouth. Stellar stuff that I need a bottle of soon.

48.5% abv, Batch JAMC0524

Review #178: The nose has earth, clay, chocolate, caramel, plum, with some perfumey strawberry and pear whisping around on top.
The palate has a bit tangy up front with some sweet citrus, pear, and leather, then gets darker with plum, earth, caramel, clay, and chocolate.

I find myself liking mexicano maguey more and more lately. This one is really fun with a mix of these bright top notes jumping the big dark base notes. I find the clay thankfully pretty well balanced on this too for my palate. Excellent mouthfeel on these creadors as usual. There’s just something i can’t put my finger on that would make this jump the next rating up, it just doesn’t have quite big a enough wow factor, but it really is delicious.

48.8%, Batch JAC00524

Review #177: The nose has clay, leather, coffee beans, hay, wet wood, banana, and soft florals.
The palate has clay, leather, coffee, banana, soft sweet florals, and a gentle ashy wet wood on the finish.

This is some pretty classic clay arroqueno stuff going on. It’s very soft has some delicate notes surrounding everything but it does have a good amount of flavor too. The clay is just a bit too much for my preference here and not my favorite of profiles but it is good nonetheless with the savory flavors.

Edition 1, 51.1% abv

Review #176: The nose has leather, clay, hay, earth, luxardo cherry, plum, chocolate, plastic ball pit, and unripe banana.
The palate has clay, leather, apple skins, unripe banana, smoked meats, bbq sauce, earth, plum, vanilla bean, dark chocolate, chipotle peppers, and rosemary.

A great clay distilled arroqueno. The clay is not too forward with this which i appreciate when I’m trying something distilled on that. There’s a lot of nice earthy and savory flavors alongside some more delicate fruit notes. It’s pretty soft overall while still maintaining decent complexity. My gripe is just wanting a little more potency in the particular flavors I’m enjoying from this. It’s still delicious, and i dont really base my ratings on price, but I have had many i enjoy more for half the cost so that’s a hard sell for me.

52.9% abv, lote 04/23

Review #175: The nose has smoked meat, bbq sauce, cinnamon, earthy, malt balls, and apple slaw.
The palate has caramel, tangy bbq sauce, canteloupe, apple slaw, honey glaze, soy sauce, chicken, clay, and roasted jalapeno.

There’s definitely a lot going on with this one. After taking lots of time with it there’s plenty of complexity that I’m sure I’m missing. It’s sort of a chameleon in that way. The verde also really shines in this and i love that. The flavors and aromas are just blissful in the glass. Hands down my favorite out of the handful I’ve had.
This sample was provided to me free of charge with no strings attached.

52.2% abv, lote 04/23

Review #174: The nose has chocolate, vanilla icing, old tree bark, cinnamon, cream cheese, caramel, fried plantain, with some sweet savory funk to it.
The palate has caramel, chocolate, leather, maple syrup, vanilla icing, coffee cake, cherry, bone marrow butter, fried plantains, and cinnamon.

Quite a dessert-y mezcal. I don’t think I’ve had much that is this confectionery. I like what it has going for it but i can also see it being a bit too much in that direction of sweets. The alcohol is super well integrated and it has a very nice softness to round out its profile.
This sample was provided to me free of charge with no strings attached.

48.9% abv, lote 03/23

Review #173: The nose has jalapeno, fresh grass, mint, pine, clove, anise, lime, lemon, and black pepper.
The palate has japaleno, fresh grass, pineapple, pine, mint, anise, green wood, kale, lime, lemon, black pepper, dried herbs, and a light smoke.

This is quite bold, and even a bit brash considering it’s clay pot, and i love that about it. I’m not usually a big fan of clay pots, as they tend to soften things up too much for my liking, but this is awesome. The Verde strikes through the clay giving it that solid mouthfeel, but the flavors and aromas just pop out. Very green profile but there’s these sweet fruits that balance it all so well.
This sample was provided to me free of charge with no strings attached.

50.9% abv, lote 4/23

Review #172: The nose has sweet peppers, candied rose, lavender, white florals, and perfumey strawberry.
The palate has lots of sweet candied florals up front, then some lemon oils, honeydew, lychee, carmelized carrots, and sweet peppers.

This is nice and pretty, especially on the nose. This is probably the least intensely aromatic of the Campanilla I got to try. There’s a lot of sweetness on the nose and palate but in a more delicate way. Really well balanced and hits a lot of right notes for me, i just wish it has more oomph to it.
This sample was provided to me free of charge with no strings attached.

47.3% abv, batch ESPCAN1627

Review #171: The nose has candied rose, orange, fruit punch, lemon, lavender, petrichor, and watermelon.
The palate has rose, dandelion, lavender, orange, fruit punch, light watermelon, and that candy hearts note is spot on with the sweet perfume and minerality.

Lots of pretty notes on this mezcal. It’s easy to just sit and smell the aromas for a while. I found it to be sweet and floral with a nice minerality all through the palate.

50.5% abv, Lot J-02-E-22

Review #170: The nose has mango, pineapple, lemon candy, and a bit of funky cream.
The palate has lemon, lime, pineapple juice, a touch of mango, oregano, and on the finish white pepper, grass, and celery.

I won’t lie, some of the notes on reviews here held me back from wanting to try this. Some sounded more bitter or vegetal, but this batch in particular is very good. Very fruity, a touch of creaminess that adds to a nice mouthfeel, and crisp finish. This is worth picking up for the price.

50% abv, batch SCM-212

Review #169: The nose has chocolate, coffee grounds, earth, clay, caramel, vanilla, almond butter, mushroom, and mulch.
The palate has chocolate, clay, coffee, earth, caramel, almond butter, mushroom, and rubber.

This was a rather savory espadin. I like the flavors but they all blend together a bit. The clay gives it a nice mouthfeel but also doesn’t help with the lack of complexity. All around good but just missing things that I would enjoy more in it.

47%, lote 8

Review #168: The nose has massaman curry, beef jerky, cinnamon, sweet potato, shrimp paste, chili peppers, vegetal jalapeno, specifically kashkaval albanian cheese, pecans, lime, and coffee.
Palate- seriously like a rich curry, shrimp, sweet potato, cinnamon, mix of vegetal peppers, rye, funky cheese, pecans, lime, sweet tobacco, dark chocolate.

There’s something about a savory bomb of a mezcal that I really appreciate, and Tamaulipas mezcal seems to really understand me there. This stuff is so unique that it really holds it’s own special place in my mental map of flavors from spirits in general. It’s weird stuff. It is the epitome of a “mood pour”, but when you have that “I want to drink food in mezcal form” mood there’s pretty much nothing else that will itch it.

46.7% abv, batch TB06-19

Review #167: The nose has white florals, vanilla, banana, grape skins, clay, something a bit animalistic like musk, and a touch of cream cheese.
The palate has clay, mango, banana, soft white florals, vanilla frosting, leather, grape skins, and earth on the finish.

This is a really well balanced clay pot tobala. It has lots of soft notes from that clay influence that needs a bit of coaxing out, but it has a lot going on. There’s great fruity and floral notes mixed in with those earthy ones that keeps it easygoing yet complex.

43% abv, lote Ba1183

Review #166: The nose has mint, yogurt, leather, cotton, coconut, canteloupe, pineapple juice, subtle bubblegum, gravel, some herbs, and some earthiness underneath.
The palate is creamy up front with mint, yogurt, overripe canteloupe, bubblegum, then it turns to dry grass, leather, crispy kale, and a dry finish with some earth and minerality.

I haven’t had mezcal too similar to this one before. It mixes this yogurty funk with a dry earthy base that is really strange but intriguing. I agree with those saying it has a “sotol” like quality to it. This bottle was a good deal and fills a unique space among other mezcals with its fun profile.

Lote 1

Review #165: The nose has lemon zest, bubblegum, lemongrass, blue cheese, leather, milk chocolate, rosemary, and soil.
The palate has juicy fruits up front with lemon zest, orange juice, raspberry, bubblegum, then that classic jalisco funk with some creamy blue cheese, leather, and a moderate salty minerality.

This is probably my favorite of the many chacolo I have had so far. It’s not as funky or fruity as some but it toes the line between those very well and I enjoyed that. There’s a good development as well between the fruit notes on the front of the palate to the funk and minerality following it.