Arm-01. Quite good. Citrus and funk. Orange peel, asiago cheese, wet earth. My favorite of the three Real Mineros I tried, but not a five for me.
E-16-MC-17 Emigdio Jarquin. Sweet, grassy, and spicy. Fresh cut grass, artichoke, fresh ground pepper, orange peel, caramel popcorn, dried ancho chile, cayenne pepper.
Lot Tob-171. Sweet, woody, and herbal. Sawdust, banana, big league chew bubblegum, spearmint candy.
Lot Jab-181. Beautiful and complex! Fresh jalapeño, fresh green bell pepper, jasmine flower, pineapple, papaya, banana, plumeria flower, clove, allspice, sandlewood, teak wood. WOW!!!
Lot Rio-141. A lot of smoke. Black pepper, thyme, artichoke, raspberry. Short finish, no complexity.
Lot Tep-151. Really disappointing. None of that green jalapeño smell and flavor that I associate with Tepextate. Really sour, vegetal, and bitter. Anise, crushed brick, and boiled arugula.
Lot 37. Rubbing alcohol on the nose. Very thin body, strange for being clay distilled. Wet cardboard, almond butter, dried apricot and chalk. Really hot for only 46%.
ARRO-171. Mint chocolate, guava, lemon peel, and cantaloupe. Fruity and delicious! Probably would have rated it a five if I hadn’t been trying it next to the San Pablo Ameyaltepec.
Lot PAP-171. Very smoky. I haven’t had one this smoky in a while. Leather, menthol, and cherry cough syrup. Interesting finish. Good, but I wouldn’t buy it.
Lot S-10-CEM-19 64% Coyote, 24% Espadin, 12% Mexicano. Pretty harsh. Wood varnish, pine resin, cedar, peppermint altoids, bitter cacao, black pepper, and pineapple. I don’t recommend this batch.
Lot S-06-EM-18. 55% Espadin+45% Mexicano. Ocean salt, kombu, and caraway seed. Smells like mediocre tequila. Short finish. 2 stars
Didn’t get the Lot number. 55% Espadin, 45% Mexicano. Ok this is weird, unless he made 2 identical batches something is going on. Anyways I love this batch! Frothy hot dark chocolate amargo!! Vanilla, sawdust after a rain. Delicious! 4.5 stars
Lot S-01/08-ECBB-17. 84% Espadin, 9% Coyote, 5% Blanco, 2% Barril. Another underwhelming batch. Interesting only because it’s very earthy and mineral forward. It’s creamy and a bit too hot with notes of graphite, crushed granite, and freshly turned soil. Some big anise notes on the finish. 3 stars
Lot S-17-MEAC-19. 47% Mexicano, 39% Espadin, 7% Arroqueño, 6% Coyote Verde.
Cinnamon, crushed bricks, vanilla, clove, allspice, brown sugar. My favorite Tio rey so far! 4.5 stars.
SMA-131. If I didn’t know better I would guess this had some Tepextate in it. Fresh jalapeño and wet forest earth. Some black pepper with mineral saltiness. Yum!
Lot PUE-171. Flowers and caramel. Like walking through a flower market chewing on a caramel candy. Some ripe pineapple too. A long complex finish. I love this.
Batch 01, 2018. I was looking forward to trying this one but I was a little disappointed. Made with Agave Alineno and Agave Cimarrón which I believe are either subspecies or local names for Agave Angustifolia and Agave Salmiana Crassispina. It’s got some funk, like an aged blue cheese. Cinnamon, kaffir lime leaf, and brick dust. The finish was short and uninteresting. It’s fine, but nothing special.
Wow!! Very floral. Like a fruit orchard in bloom. Something savory as well, like brown butter popcorn. This is the first offering I’ve tried from this brand and if they are all like this I’m going to be searching out the others! I need to find myself a bottle of this!
Lot 14. Wow!! I love this Sotol!! It’s like climbing out of your tent in the desert after a rain storm. Earth, flowers, spice, and a ton of different mineral flavors. A long complex finish. Better than anything at this price point. I can’t believe how good this is.
Lot 159-SCFI-2004. Very nice Sotol with big Anise flavor. Black licorice, pine, strawberry, thyme, and fresh basil. Nice Long finish. A little hot.
Lot 06E. First tried this Mezcal at Las Almas Rotas Mezcaleria in Dallas Texas, it’s their house Mezcal. To me it tastes like an apple toddy with flavors of rich nonalcoholic apple cider, clove, allspice, and cinnamon. It’s quite smoky. Probably a good cocktail Mezcal. For the price point it’s quite good.
Lot 21. It’s got some interesting flavors, peaches, bell pepper, mint…but it tastes so thin and watered down. It’s like you had a decent Mezcal and accidentally spilled water in it. It’s a bit on the sour side as well.
Lot 003/02/18 47.8%. Very minty with the sweetness of almost over ripe pineapple. A very long pleasant finish with chili flakes and oak. It’s a little hot but that would be my only criticism with this one. Very viscous.
Lot 2. Delicate and dry. Citrus up front, with minerals and a little nuttiness. Lemon peel with pith. Graphite, walnut, and raspberry. Not as complex as the wheeleri but still nice and interesting.
