Lot: SDA-191
Nose – A big hit of powdered sugar, white pen eraser (that never seemed to work anyways) and ethanol. This seems a tad more vapory than most.

Palate – Mouth feel is slick. More sugar and rubber. There is an ethanol bite to this at first. I had to let this open up for fifteen minutes and it smartened up a bit. Vanilla and over roasted hazelnut come through after, a nice sweetness and less rough. This is a decent espadin but not near as good as Chichicapa for the same price. 3.25 stars but rounding down for value.

Batch: ANT-LAR-001 Bottle: 63
Nose – Vietnamese beef pho. 7up soda. Alfalfa sprouts. Dry aged beef fat and pellice.

Palate – Smoked pork jerky. Honey. Black pepper heat. I love the clay in the finish.
T8ke nails this component, this is incredibly savory. Although where I differ is I find the mouth feel more on the thin side and I get an honest amount of heat for a 48% ABV. This is a bad ass mezcal!

LOT: JAB-182 (47% ABV)
Nose – Tiger lily. Ginger Ale soda. Roast beef deli meat and cheddar.

Palate – A distinct strawberry bubble gum quickly and only at first but then it disappears. Wood notes the whole way (although I can’t decipher or specify from there). Roasted chicken – white meat and skin. Spicy finish (allspice and a bump in heat) and leather joined by baking chocolate (semi-sweet) in the aftertaste. Rock solid Jabali!

LEC-A 2/1/2021
Nose – Sweet potato. Strawberry Quik. Fresh celery leaves.

Palate – Basketball shoe rubber. Roasted root vegetables. I love the heat note on the backend – it’s the same intensity as a Hot 100 Cinnamon Schnapps but not as syrupy sweet (this Lamata is more organic/natural tasting) – which lasts for 3 or 4 incredible seconds. This is probably about a 4.25 star sipper but this is so damn unique it gets the round up.

Lot: L-Mezcla02 Bottle: 678/1168 (2017)
Nose – Raisinets. Clay.

Palate – Beauty! Easy going heat, sips dangerously for 49% ABV. The sweetness reminds me of when my mom would bake a dessert and there would be whipped chocolate cake batter and melted butter left and I’d get to lick the spoon. Notes of clay, Hot Tamales (spicy cinnamon) and dry oak in the finish. Incredible sipper, love this!

Nose – Mesquite BBQ potato chips. Dates.

Palate – Fig Newton. Crispy bacon. Fresh chopped mint. A dry champagne, squeezed lemon and milk chocolate finish (sounds crazy but it is awesome). One of the smoothest capon mezcals I’ve had (3 years… wow!). Pretty special stuff here. 🤩

Sampling kit (50 mL) w/ ABV of 44.7%.
Nose – A heavy walnut note. Musty.

Palate – Violets. Black licorice twizzlers. Spearmint breathmint sweetness and heat. Aftertaste of peppermint mouthwash and charred oak. Only downside is it’s a bit thin. This is decent but I think a bit more ABV would help.

Nose – Nice balance of green pepper, icing sugar, grated parmesan and olive oil.

Palate – A massive blast of vanilla icing. Canned pear juice. There are some good green/vegetal and floral notes but the sugar/sweetness component overpower them. Peppermint heat and tobacco finish. Cigarette smoke flavor in the aftertaste (not rough, but not smooth either). This is pretty good – but overly sweet for me (for a tepeztate).

LOT: MLUR-0520-L08
Visual note, this reposado is almost clear, just a tinge of yellow (looks clearer than most repos, in my opinion).
Nose – Sour/spoiled white wine. Smoke scent is a bit rough.

Palate – Artificial sweetener, sour/spoiled white wine (that was prominent in the nose) and condensed muffler exhaust. Compared to the joven, this reposado is noticeably worse. It is undrinkable even at the price point.

Nose – Spearmint. Baked brie.

Palate – Sweetness spearhead of dried apricot, dates and brown sugar. A very funky, minty turn in the middle. I get a combo of wet hay, smoked gruyere and cojita cheese as the funky elements. Very dry in the finish (white wine as SoloAgave stated). This is a high quality mezcal but it doesn’t pop as much for me as it does for the others.

LOT: MLUJ-0520-L08
Nose – Vanilla extract. Smells like a lower-end blanco tequila ($20-30 quality range) – not too bad.

Palate – Slight gummy bear sweetness and yellow dandelion hidden in smoky harshness. It’s maybe OK until the finish but then it’s a very rough, rubbing alcohol bite. You get what you pay for here.

LOT: PUE-171
Nose – Dried pineapple. Dried papaya. Rich tropical fruit.

Palate – This is like a crazy good charcuterie plate of soft, creamy cheese and dried tropical fruits. A nice floral (lilac) note complements this. The smoke and heat are just right. The sum of the aforementioned flavors bond together into a very long finish. Man, this a great mezcal!

Lot: 20-SJR
Nose – Vanilla soft serve. Wild grass. Tangerine.

Palate – Honeycomb. Fortifying black pepper heat and charred firewood smoke in the middle onwards. Menthol and sea salt in the finish. Spotted a magic marker note in the finish too but only for the first couple sips then it seemed to blend in. I like this bottle: it’s a strong, quality, in-your-face espadin. I envision this to be an ideal, winter-time campfire sipper.

Lot: TOBA-151
Nose – Saddle leather. Mint leaf. Chocolate covered blueberry. Rolling tobacco.

Palate – Dried plums. Grapefruit citrus. Spearmint heat and a bit of Turkish Delight in the finish. A big, long aftertaste of a very fine cigar. This is an incredible tobasiche, one of my favorites. But I agree with the others, it’s pretty heavy though. I’ll enjoy this a sipper or two over time (i.e. not crushable) – I’m really glad I found this bottle though.

Nose – Subtle pine branches. Mint cheesecake. Rose stems. A tiny bit of dark chocolate and drizzled raspberry sauce.

Palate – A floral/fruity sweetness I can’t quite ID. Clay. Pink Salt. A bit hot for 47% – feels like it’s a solid 50 (but it’s nice, not harsh). Spicy too – a black pepper and peppermint heat – all the way to the end. In the finish I get dry apple cider and smoky pine wood. Still very warm in the aftertaste (but pleasant) all the way down to the tummy. A solid 5 Sentidos jam – par for the course.

Nose – Chopped green pepper. Granulated white sugar. Parmesan cheese wafer. A block of white cheddar. Geraniums. Licorice pastel assorted candies.

Palate – A comforting, medium viscosity mouth feel. Roasted Anaheim pepper. Chopped scallions. A hint of baking cocoa. A nice, gentle poblano-level heat in the finish. I am really picking up on Red Hots candy that Greenspoint flawlessly mentioned – but I’m a fan of these. The finish has a definite (and great) dry Sav Blanc note. The smoke level is perfect, the cheesy notes are just right (not too funky) and the sugary sweetness is well balanced.

I did a back to back San Luis Potosi tasting with this and the Luneta Verde-Chino – these are both incredibly close in quality (same rating, although I’d say Luneta by a nose).

Nose – Incredibly fresh, halved jalapenos. Sugar in the Raw. A wet salamander (I caught them a lot as a kid). Light parmesan cheese. Some clay. Man, this nose is exceptional!

Palate – The promise from the nose delivers, big time! I’m getting a fresh jalapeno flesh note as well as a roasted, candied jalapeno. This is magic with the clay. A perfect amount of heat and smoke really rounds this out. This is one of the best San Luis Potosi mezcals I’ve had, so awesome!

Nose – Salted celery. Poblano pepper.

Palate – Icing sugar. Poblano pepper flavor and heat. Jarred caper salinity. Cacao. Flame grilled corn husks. A dry champagne note and beaucoup menthol tobacco in the finish. Compared to other Tepeztate mezcales this is on the sweet side (and lighter in the fresh pepper department as Tyler noted).

Nose – Boysenberry. Banana peel. A new kitchen sponge fresh out of the wrapper.

Palate – Mouthfeel is more on the thin side. This has a subtle creaminess to it (somewhere between whole milk and half & half). Big cigar note in the finish. The aftertaste is nice though, still that tobacco there but a peaches n’ cream oatmeal note pops up. As a whole, the fruit aspect has a bitter, under-ripeness to it (less sweet) but the whole effect is balanced to me though, not overwhelming. The capon component is done well – extra aged to a good point (i.e. Aureliano Hernandez didn’t over do it). Solid!

Nose – Sambuca ice cream. Hay. Grilled chicken breast.

Palate – Black licorice. Fresh papaya. Fruit punch jellybean. Mouth feel is a bit thin but there is a nice, hot punch in the middle. Finish and aftertaste take a smokier and meatier turn – quite dry as well. All in all, this is pretty good stuff.