Soft, delicate, and clean. Chocolate milk, vanilla bean, menthol, and crushed granite. Very nice.

Nutmeg! Lots of nutmeg and canned peaches, pineapple, cinnamon, sandalwood, leather bound books and juicy fruit gum.

ROD-PEC-002. Big mango flavor, also black licorice, cake frosting, and freshly cut hay. A big minty finish like I just brushed my teeth. A solid Pechuga, I liked the Espadin better before it was Pechugafied though.

Nice Cupreata from Don Fede. Fresh jalapeño, spearmint, cinnamon, allspice, and cedar. His Ensamble is still my favorite though.

Well made but not memorable. Spearmint, clove, gun metal, and something faintly animally.

At first I hated it but every time I tried it I liked it more, unfortunately 50ml only goes so far. It’s aggressive. Nail polish remover and paint thinner, but under that I also got leather jacket, rolling tobacco, raw cremini mushroom, and fabric softener. I actually wish I had more of this to rest in glass for a year and see if that improved it.

Orange creamsicle, Barhi dates, rolled oats, and raw almonds. This went WAY too quick! One of my favorite Espadins this year.

I LOVE this!! I knew the moment I smelled it that I was going to love it. This may be the earthiest spirit of any kind that I’ve experienced. Musty, moldy, and mushroomy, like digging into the wet dark soil deep in an ancient forest. This is what I imagine the blood of Mother Earth would taste like. I also taste a warm spicy heat like vanilla bean, anise, and decaying wood. The best Sotol I’ve ever had and maybe my favorite spirit of 2020.

Batch: 1119VFR. It’s interesting trying this next to their Sierra Negra because they are both subspecies of Agave Americana. They are similar but the Arroqueño is definitely more mineral and in my opinion not as good. Banana, pineapple, No. 2 pencil, iodine, lavender, anise, and turmeric. An interesting and well made Mezcal.

Jasmine, dried thyme, lime zest, green olives in brine, spicy cayenne pepper. Initially I got notes of steamed artichoke but the next time I tried it that was gone and it had been replaced by lots of spearmint and something like butterscotch. The finish is pleasantly bitter like the hops in an IPA. Very nice.

Batch 2. Well made Pechuga. Orange, apple, banana. Very clean. Didn’t blow me away though.

Batch 1. Barbecue sauce, pineapple, peppermint, and sea salt. Delicious.

Batch 2. This is one of the best Tepextate’s that I’ve ever had. I only had a half ounce pour and I was so stunned by how amazing it was that I forgot to figure out any tasting notes. I just closed my eyes and enjoyed it until the last glorious drop. When I opened my eyes and looked at my notes all I had written was “Magic Unicorn Tears”. This is a desert island bottle for me.

Batch 2. Stunningly beautiful Mezcal! Delicate and soft and light and fresh. This reminded me of being on an empty beach with a cool breeze walking across crushed oyster shells. I absolutely love this one.

Batch 2. So funky! I would have never guessed that this was a Madrecuishe. This tastes like a cow hide fermented Mezcal. Animally. Wet cow, also some vanilla and pineapple. It wasn’t unpleasant and if I had more I may have grown to love it, but it was my least favorite of the 6 expressions that I tried.

Batch 2. Excellent Espadin! Fresh herbs like spearmint and tarragon with a delicious umami quality that was salty and savory like fish sauce without the fish.

Update #2: Batch: Agave Mixtape Vol. #3.
4 stars. November 2019 and there is quite a difference! It’s got the new car smell, tennis balls and cedar, sandalwood and some white grape juice but comes across as thinner and less complex than the October batch. It’s still damn good though.

Mal Bien full bottle October 2019 Batch:1019IRM.
Update: As I’ve made my way through this bottle I just love it more and more, so I’ve upped my rating to five stars.

Wow. It’s hard for me to describe this one. Every time I taste it it’s different. There’s something that reminds me of “new car smell”, new vinyl upholstery, new tennis balls, over ripe pineapple, guava agua fresca, cinnamon, clove, wet garden soil, hay, cedar wood, sandalwood, white grape juice. I haven’t gotten any of the lactic or savory notes that donpedro got but they’ll probably be there next time I drink it. A chameleon Mezcal.

Batch: 1219 VFR.
I really wish I had bought two bottles of this one, the 24 bottles sold out fast. For me this Mezcal is tropical fruit and flowers. Coconut milk, pineapple, vanilla ice cream, Oreo cookies, and lots of roses. I like this a lot! I tasted it side by side with the Alberto Martinez 5 Sentidos Sierra Negra which is one of my all time favorites and it held up well. I can’t wait to try the other Ramos batches!

Vintage Lalo. I’ve yet to have anything under four stars from him. Banana bread, cinnamon, clove, allspice, and brown sugar. Absolutely delicious!

Batch: Agave Mixtape #1. I’m a big fan of both Mezcaleros but I don’t like this batch. To me it tastes like artificial fruit flavors, like apple jolly rancher and banana jelly beans. Too sweet for my taste and pretty one dimensional. I didn’t get any of the fresh jalapeño and bell pepper notes that I love in a Tepextate.
After further tastings with friends, they all liked this one and didn’t get the same flavors I do so I’m not sure why I’m tasting what I’m tasting, really interesting.