A-06-M-19.
Earthy, vegetal, spicy, and sweet. Garden soil, olive brine, pineapple soda, allspice, nutmeg, and cream cheese frosting.

This is a great batch from a true master of his craft. Don Beto makes great Mezcal and this is an especially good batch from him. It’s clean and flawless. Orange creamsicle, mango, spearmint Altoids, cherimoya, wet river rocks. It’s really well balanced and integrated so that no one flavor takes over the other. It gives me the overall impression of being tropical and minty. Like a cool breeze on a tropical island. Fantastic.

Lot:AS007 (could be 001 but since the other 2 reviewers saw 007 I’ll defer to them, my bottle isn’t super clear)
Antonio Sonido is One of my all-time favorite Mezcaleros. I’ve had Mezcal from him through the brands Sanzekan, Aguerrido, Mal Bien, and Cuentacuentos. I’ve never had a bottle that wasn’t fantastic. All of his Mezcals have a chocolatey-ness that I absolutely love! This batch is probably the most chocolatey I’ve ever had. It’s decadent! I absolutely love this one! I wish I had 100 L of this batch!! Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and a side of chocolate milk. Fig Newtons, medjool dates, and Allspice (Jonny nailed it). After I bought this and tasted it I tried to get more but it was sold out. If you see this buy it!

Lote: 2, May 2022, 250 Liters.
I love Raicilla. When I traveled through Jalisco I tasted many different expressions, but this one is so clean and so beautiful I just love it. Somehow Raicilla tastes so much different than all the Agave expressions from every other state in Mexico. Blind tasting Raicilla, you know it right off the bat. This is sour like lemon soda, lime soda. So much freshness like Spearmint, and the slightest bit of cheese. This is a beautiful expression. It’s not my favorite Raicilla of all time but it’s definitely top 10. I need to get back to Jalisco.

It’s crazy how the same species of Agave will taste completely different in a different area! This tastes nothing like a Oaxacan Tepextate. If I had blind tasted this I would’ve guessed it was an Alto from Michoacán. New car smell, can of new tennis balls, sandalwood, dryer sheets, cedar chest. I like this a lot.

Update: I’m getting a ton of black licorice off of this now. Good call Jonny!

This is a beautiful expression. Peppermint Altoids, vanilla ice cream, tarragon, thyme, lavender, and sugar snap peas. The mouth feel is thin but the flavors are right on! I dig it.

Batch: PEN001
Like the other expression from this brand, this tastes completely different than any Mezcal I’ve had out of San Luis Potosi. Both of the expressions from this brand make me think of some thing that would come from the brand Lamata. Totally unique stuff! This is dusty and earthy and leathery. With flavors of dust storm, leather saddle, wet decomposing leaves on a forest floor, black licorice. Unfortunately I only had a 1 ounce sample and I was still tasting new stuff when it ran out. Might just have to pick up a bottle of this one. One thing I know for sure, I need to get out to San Luis Potosi.

Batch: LAF001
Tastes totally different than most Salmiana Agaves that I’ve had before. Tons of baking spices. Especially allspice. Also clove, nutmeg, macadamia nut, and sandalwood. This is great. I’m so glad to know that there’s more variation in San Luis Potosi than I thought.

Lot MAS-C 05-2019
I thought I was buying a replacement bottle for the Lamata Masparillo that I had almost finished. It was confusing because this had the same lot number but I didn’t notice that it was a different Mezcalero. This is very good though, my third bottle of Mezcal made with this agave and I like them all a lot! This one starts off sweet in the mouth and then gets really dry and green and salty with a slight bitterness. It’s got a thin mouth feel too but even though all these characteristics aren’t usually my favorite, it all works with this one. Vanilla frosting, celery, lettuce, spearmint, table salt, green tea, and a finish that tastes like applesauce. Damn good.

DEE-JUL-001. 44%ABV. I’m a big fan of this producer, especially the expressions made in his ancestral wood still. This has a lot of really delicious flavors. I got a lot of dark brown sugar, fig newtons, allspice, cloves, cinnamon, and something that reminds me of an attic in an old wooden house. The only thing I don’t like about this one is that it comes off as kind of watery and thin. 44% ABV isn’t necessarily low for a Raicilla, I’ve had many lower proof Raicilla’s that didn’t come off as this watery. I don’t get any of the guava that they added to the third distillation, maybe some gaminess from the deer? If I tasted this blind I wouldn’t have guessed it was a Pechuga.

Lot 0521AS. Antonio Sonido is an incredible Mezcalero. Every single spirit I’ve tried from him I’ve loved and this is no exception. Chocolate milk, almond butter, cinnamon, ground ginger, ginger ale, and maple syrup candy. This is absolutely bursting with flavor!!!

2oz sample no batch number. This is damn good. Don Eduardo Arrieta makes fantastic Sotol. The 43% ABV is a bit low but it doesn’t taste watery at all. It’s dusty, earthy, herbal and aromatic. I taste eucalyptus, anise, fennel seed, and sandalwood with a lingering sweet finish that reminds me of Dr. Pepper. Very tasty.

Update: after a month of this bottle being open it’s gotten more and more leathery which I really like a lot. So I’m upping my score.

I visited Fortunato’s Palenque back in 2019 and out of all the expressions that I tried his Mexicano was my favorite. This is a solid Mexicano. The first thing I thought of when I took my first sip was leather. Like walking into a saddle shop, or a library full of old books. Also 100% dark chocolate, a little bitter. The wood section of a hardware store, hay, paper, cinnamon, and some juicy fruit gum on the finish. I like it, but the Maguey Melate Mexicano from Berta Vasquez (also in Chichicapam) was better in my opinion. 3.5 stars.

This is delicious! A Tahona Mercado sample from over a year ago. Fresh jalapeño, black pepper, bacon, green apples, and old wood furniture. Damn this is really good!

I would have guessed it was clay pot distilled because it tastes so earthy. Like raw clay! It’s also musty and fruity like an old pack of starburst candy that you found in the attic. It’s really soft and nice. Some musty vanilla on the finish too with drying tobacco leaf. Nice.

I had a one ounce bottle of this that I forgot about for over a year and I just tried it and it’s tasty!! Definitely get the banana that the other reviewer mentioned. A little nail polish remover on the finish but all in all pretty good!

Lot: 1
Very tropical. Guava, mango, passion fruit. It’s really floral too like plumeria flowers. There’s a faint sour lactic note that I’m really digging. I’m not noticing the lower ABV at all, it’s got a ton of flavor. It’s got a really nice oily mouthfeel too. I love Raicilla and this is a good example of the Sierra region.

Lote: 67. I like this brand a lot, so I’ve been looking forward to trying this new addition to their core lineup. I think it’s delicious, it’s pretty reasonably priced as well so I’m definitely going to pick up a bottle for myself. It reminded me of the Chino expression because I got some deep sweet caramel flavor like caramelized agave hearts, also vanilla frosting, cinnamon churros, white Tic Tac’s, and fresh pears. It’s a winner for sure.

L-00401 2008 Made by the legendary Don Lorenzo Angeles Mendoza. This is a perfectly balanced, sweet, floral, and just plain beautiful Mezcal. The clay is very light and integrated with the Agave flavors. Fantastic!

Lot: CM-T-0821
Vanilla extract, banana bread, caramel, graham crackers, and the finish is definitely Zack’s Dr. Pepper. This is tasty for the price.