PAP-161.
Clay, smokey leather, baked texas style molasses beans, slow roasted oak bbq, black olive, dry charred pineapple, sweet cherry, dried lavender, bitter orange peel, dried cinnamon, incense, cooked bison, slow cooked pork oils, dark tobacco, black peppercorn, mexican vanilla, madagascar vanilla, hyssop, charred carrot, dried parsley, clove. Sour to sweet, dries out to a bitter and smokey finish.

Dry, blended [some mesquite?] smoke. Baked mineral agave sweetness, green tea, green apple / tart orchard fruits, thyme, orange oils, lemon, grapefruit, cracked peppercorn, mild jalapeno, reminiscent of a highlands tequila but with less complex sugars, watermelon, slight ginger, spearmint, touch of dried fig.

Agave hit then wafts of smoke, pepper adds complexity without heat while citrus notes add liveliness. Good minerality and control of proof whilst coming across as bigger than 40%. Finish bitters out almost like tannins and peppers over the lingering agave sweetness.

Cheap, available, sippable and also mixable. The balance of citrus and pepper over agave reminds me of highlands tequilas. Great value.

CHI-164, copyright extends to 2016.

Very complex, intense smoke. Reminds me of better peated whiskies (good versions of younger Springbanks [10yr]) – oodles of complexity hiding under the complex waves of smoke and the agave sweetness that reminds me of lowlands blue weber agave. Complex citrus, nice floral notes, fruit driven, spice tingling throughout, punchy herbs, touches of savory notes. Shows the power and potential of a well made espadin. I’m glad this one is available.

Copyright extends to 2011 on bottle, wax top, lot SDA-121.
No water added, good seal on the cork though the last drop in the old bottle.

Nutty, citrus, dried spices, light, medium smoke for a DM espadin, herbs throughout. Lighter friuit with soft mouthfeel – strawberry, raspberry direction to the fruits, diffuse medium citrus on the lemony side, toasted nuts. Sweet agave, small drop of thick TX bbq sauce. Sweet and salty entrance to a large body of spicy nut and citrus, drying out to spices and oak character and lingering leather. Some light mouthfeel of rosewater.

Joel Barriga 50.87%, 662L batch, from Dec. 2017 LOT J-09-E-17

Vegetal! Green! Surprisingly silky and sweet, huge vegetal notes and some florality emerge with scant peppery notes riding on top of the dark smoke adding liveliness. Some of that ‘hot rain on cement’, but overall just nice green espadin. Grape leaf, poblano.

Edition 4 (bottled 2016)

Fruity mineral agave over smoke rises with a white grape sweetness aside spice.
Sweet entry grows with smoke to a starchy midpallete, receding on the grape sweetness and steel. Oily yet drying due to high minerality, and though it provides a great backbone structurally, I feel a bit more agave sweetness would help balance the desert-like finish. Want to try more batches, this is a great mezcalero for my palate.

66% Arroqueno 26% Coyote 8% Mexicano, 244L batch, LOT S-03-ACM-17

Earthen / clay meets dark agave, dark fruits, dark smoke. Appropriately integrated heat, could be lower but it’s not particularly offensive. A few drops of water excites the ash and berries, and a light burnt sage note, nice. Hits with a dense dark profile, clay spreads across the mouth with the fruit sweetness, peppers tingling on the edges and the few bright notes too. Finish is even and long with smoke lingering throughout the mouth. Water softens the event in a nice way, a more open and sweet entry whilst maintaining good richness. Will add review for another batch.

Generally a fan of cupreata… amazing slick overripe kiwi body with a touch of papaya, nice peppery notes along soft citrus, low smoke helps show off the agave sweetness. Sweet entry, mid-palate is complex, finish has a sugarcane quality. Quaffable, quite different from other cupreatas I’ve had in an interesting direction.

Strong minerality – rain on hot cement. Purple and white flowers, bitter or capiscum tickling in the background with dry smoke. Definitive product, and I believe the family producing has mentored others as well. Would love to rate it 5* for that alone, strong terrior but typicity might not show as well. Available, affordable, buy a bottle!