March 2023. Don’t hate it. Glad to have tried it. Simple. Not complex. Can’t place the dominate flavor. Nothing wrong with it at all, but let’s not throw too many roses. We got sweet. Is that nut? A meatiness? The plant’s armpit is coming thru, and that’s what I want. I like this a lot and am gonna bump up from a 2.5 star to a 3.5.
July 2022
I would be very happy if it were me who made this expression, and I could say that about most expressions, but this is solid. Other reviewers nailed the nose and palette, I suppose. Agave. Sweet. Little smoke. Viscous. Lemon. Love it.
First off: Good spirit! Nothing wrong with it. Perhaps not complex, but solid. What I like most is that, with this bottle, I have an example of what a mezcal is like without smoke. Since the agave was cooked in an oven without smoke and the heat was provided by cycling hot water or steam through pipes, like a radiant home heater would do (I can’t see any holes or perforations in the picture of the pipes at the maker’s facility), then what we should end up having here is a very, very sterile cooking process that could release the agave notes at their “purest” (or at least, least-adulterated) potential? In other words, we have a mezcal prepared like a tequila. So if we put this side by side with tequilas, perhaps we get a good chance to compare the agaves to each other. The espadin seems to release more sharp bite and complexity than the blue agave. Friends who hate the smokiness of mezcal – slip them one of these and tell them it’s a mezcal but don’t mention the cooking process…. after they whine about the smoke, then let them know: no smoke ever touched it. You have a lesson in agave distillation here. I like it for that.
Batch ema teq 001
I’m new to rating these. I’m going to estimate that a 3.0 star rating is a good, solid, high rating. I had this one next to a mezcal which was superior, yet this one is able to stand on its own even after sipping a knock out. I can tell this is not complex, but has good heat without having a high alcohol feel. The finish is dryer, there is NOTHING wrong with it that I can find. I have to describe it as being very well made with good results, a high tier mezcal that isn’t the best ever. Super solid. There’s gobs of mint, agave/plant/earth, alcohol, spice heat, light funk on the nose, maybe funk is absent in the mouth. Dry. Shorter finish. Medium/light viscosity. I really like. I would enjoy this any time.
Batch no. Ref teq 001
Been drinking tequila for many years now, been drinking mezcal for over a year now. Being light on smoke, and made from Tequilana, it gets in your head that you are having something akin to a tequila. But it’s more complex than any tequila other than the best high proofs. There’s an engaging funk with a bright citrus, yet the funk offers nothing negative – it’s like a tart sweet cheese perhaps. Then mint, and that tartness, like a freaking sour patch kid almost. It’s a dry finish, I believe. I have to say, it’s very bold. The underlying agave and plant/earth is there the whole time. Delightful. It’s like discovering a new delightful high proof tequila that offers a completely new profile. It’s remarkable to me. I have to rate it very high. 🙂
