Lote 1, bottle 112/800, — 05/21
EDIT AFTER JONNY’S REVIEW
Yes to mango and cantaloupe. Not picking up any watermelon but that’s what makes this a magical journey.

This might be my favorite Derrumbes yet. A close tie for sure with their Michóacan.
Nose – savory cheese and fruit with honey, if that makes sense. Perhaps combined with slightly caramelized bacon fat. Flavors – sweet medium chocolate, honey, honeysuckle from the vine… but this is not a super fruity high ringing bottle… Just when you think it’s going to get very bright and minerally it goes to this delicious round cocoa-honey finish. It’s a beautiful pour.

4 stars for being the mezcal that to me has the most “Cooked agave” profile out there for the price. Lot 11 – 06/21
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Stewed agave and green pepper, very very vegetal with a lingering funk on the finish. For the price, I always have it on my shelf. Believe it or not, it also pairs VERY well with a splash of whiskey aged in Sherry barrels. try it!

Solid 3 stars, would have been more due to the price which keeps on rising.
Lot AA-39..?
Really bright and green with notes of white pepper and the faintest hint of yellow starburst. Medium finish. A little smoke. Purchased for $70. If this was $45 it would have gotten another star for the value. However, there are much better Espadins for far less.

Barril 2017, 22 of (946??)
Probably my favorite Mezcal right now. Zack got it perfect – clay, chocolate, flowers, smoke. This drinks like a really sophisticated mountain grown chocolate. It’s wet and earthy and balanced and has so much to say. The finish is all in the nose where the clay and lavender really come out from the cocoa notes. Then at the very end all the vegetal flavors come out and it turns a different direction. Absolutely love this.

Yes, fabric softener. Was unmistakeable.. but I will say that fades as the bottle is consumed. But it never goes away. Floral Fabric Softener – per Jonny and Rakhal.
I like it, but will not grab this particular expression from Palenqueros again.
Batch VGMX01

Like a chocolate egg cream at Gems Spa deli in NYC (No longer there)

Batch = L1/21 Bittle 445 / 500
Maguey Tobalá, Agave Patatorum
Proof = 48.7%
Mezclero = Aarón Robles

Nose = Definitely get the apple on the nose as Jonny points out. Maybe red hots as well.

Palate = Super smooth and balanced. No heat, nothing out of place. Infinitely drinkable. Way too drinkable perhaps.

Flavors = On the palate I don’t get so much of that smoky round Tobala I usually look for. More fruity and medicinal. Lemongrass yes! It slightly reminds me of the Siembre lemongrass distilled mezcal. Would not guess this was a Tobala if tasted blind.

Lost half a star due to the price point. This was VERY expensive in MD!

Batch AMA-02 – Compared to Jonny’s review of AMA-01…..
Nose: Chocolate coffee and funk. Not getting too much spearmint for me.
Palate: Palome funk (which for me is a combo of BBQ and Jalapeño and Cheese ) – so agree there!

Sintedos comparison: Yeah… kinda for this one? #02 is pretty beefy and viscous and does remind me of his Sintedos… but it kind of has “more to say” now. If that makes sense. Its delicious stuff.

If I had reviewed this when I opened it, I would have given it a 4.5. Not so much now.

Bottle 221 – lot GRE-ENS-001
Just tasted this again a year later. 375ml bottle half way through.

WOW, much of that magical raw clay, BBQ and bright lime has disappeared, only to be replaced by a darkish lactic stewed funk. I truly think this was a special mezcal, but perhaps it needs to be consumed immediately. – Which is odd because I usually love Rosaria’s bottles.

Batch JBTB 10-21
I agree with Zack… there is SO MUCH happening here. Banana, “smoked cream soda,” an almost perfect mouthfeel…. lingering smoke (cherry-vanilla smoked coke for me) – and a finish that I seriously timed at over a minute. yeah.. one of those perfect mezcals for me.

4.5 easy. The taste for the price is amazing. Lot E5-E20
Not so much to tell on the nose. Subdued even with a tasting glass with maybe candy, banana and minerals.

For the price the taste explodes with minerals, cracked pepper (somewhere between green and black) and bell peppers for sure as others have noted.

Any time I see this I will just get it without hesitation.

Batch MGR00119
Fruit bomb up front on the nose.

Palate is super smooth and harmonious. No burn, nothing out of place, just the right viscosity.

Taste is delicious and mouth watering – but still bright and filled with soft round fruit. – Maybe mango, starfruit.

The intensity and balance of the flavors is what’s compelling. The frustrating thing about this is the price. I’ve seen it online for $35 from stores who do not have it. By the time it gets to me in Maryland it’s $65. If this was under $50 it would be my everyday sipper. It’s just damn delicious juice.

Giving this a 3.5 because I got it for $60 on sale. If it were the usual $80 I would go for the Alipus San Andreas which has some of the same characteristics and is way better.

Nose: Smoked cherrywood and fruit?
Palate: Smooth and coating with a bit of a tingle on the tip of the tongue
Taste: Mineral, with a bit of that inner tube / burning rubber, mint and clay.

Not going to buy another though

While I didn’t like this nearly as well as the Mexicano or Arroqueño or Barril, it’s still pretty good. However at $165 at my local store I don’t think I’ll get it.

Nose – Light and fruity with a tiny bit of ethanol notes

Mouth: Goes in and flairs up with heat a bit, but then settles down and coats in a nice way

Taste: Light nuts, maybe almonds. Shifts to light leather and Nilla Wafers – then out of nowhere comes this big earthy rosemary bang.

Review Edit with new batch! (Leaving the previous one there as I did NOT like it back then)

Batch 0120IRM
Agave Inaquidens
Proof 46%
Mezcalero: Isidro Rodriiguez

Nose: Very similar to the Quiote version. Lime, cucumber, jolly rancher for sure.
Flavors – a tame version of the Quiote. Citrus but less watermelon. Agree with JDB… Juniper! This is a very botanical forward mezcal… gin lovers will be fans for sure.
—————–
2020 review. Batch unknown. 3 stars
Nose: Lots of perfume, but like an old grammas perfume mixed with freshly applied SprayNet and mothballs.
Mouth and taste: it went way up to the top of my palate with this intense heat. That’s where the hairspray stayed.- Then it settles down a bit – but I did not like this one. Maybe I was scarred as a kid with too many old ladies in church grabbing my cheeks and offering me cheap shitty gum from their SprayNet covered purses.

Did not catch the batch.
Nose was super smooth and very fruity. Not much alcohol in the nose at all.
Mouth: Hot and intense at first, but then it settles down and just smooths out with a tiny bit of tingle on the lips.
Taste: Bingo… love it. Very light smoke and wet earth, complicated and mixed with florals going into a really long finish. It’s great.

Batch unknown.
Not sure why I didn’t respond to to this one.
I thought it had a really light menthol nose. Medicinal thin mouth feel, very little finish – flavor all in the upper nose rather than the tongue. Not a fan for the price, which surprised me.

My favorite Siete, alongside their Arroqueno.
Nose is lemon zest, dried flowers, maybe lavender.

Mouth is super smooth and cohesive. Nothing out of place. No burn, no tingle. It is a bit light in viscosity but not thin, if that makes sense.

Tastes initially of lemon zest, then definitely goes to chocolate covered blueberries and clay. — In fact tasting this with chocolate covered berries is absolutely amazing. A great pairing.

Currently there are two lots of this floating around. I tried both the other day and its worth noting: Lot 1 is nothing like Lot 2.

Lot 1 is super fruity and bright and happy and light. Very little of that piney wheeleri coming through. It reminded me of the Derrumbes Durango a bit.

Lot 2 is more like the typical Sotol. Piney and smokey and that Sotol dirt thing going on.

Lot 2 is more smokey and subdued and a but unbalanced. In the tasting Lot 1 was the clear winner.

Didn’t get the lot number but it was from a recent bottle.
I’m not sure what to make of this one, but it’s delicious in a very weird way. Looking at the other reviews I agree to some extent. i get more piney/elder than anything coming through with some candied sweetness. This is definitely in the “novel agave” category in my head as it’s soooo different. I will probably get a bottle and then it will be a slow “every once in a while” sipper

00419
This is almost painfully drinkable it’s so good. The painful is the price because it goes really quick.

In a blind tasting with this and an El Jolgorio Pechuga, all 6 people called out this one as the Pechuga and missed the EJ. So there’s that.

On the nose: light smoked chicken stock and sweetness.

In the mouth: It’s smooth and viscous and mouthwatering. Then there is a tiny bite in the upper palate after a few seconds.

Taste: I get chicken stock, white pepper, mint and light roasted agave. This is the most savory mezcal I have without it being a pechuga. l love the stuff.