Lote: ARR/20-1X
Nose – Strong blast of flavor. What I imagine honeydew candy to taste like. Kiwi. Toasted sugar. Great nose!

Palate – Nice medium viscosity – great feel to it. Unfortunately this doesn’t make good on that uber-sweet promise on the nose. The flavors are simple and flat (versus the lovely complex smell). The sweet aspect is more like coffee creamer. Finish is dry, a tad sour and the smoke is a bit rough (exhaust like).

I tried this at their palenque in Matatlan. Interesting at first, really nice and prominent roasted coffee flavor (on the nose and palate). But as expected it overtakes the quality of the espadin. For a few sips it’s cool but it becomes a bit much. That said, I’m sure there are some great cocktails that can be made with this. Overall it’s decent and people that dig flavored spirits may love this.

Nose – Big hit of Sprite soda. Chicken breast is noticeable but not obvious. Mint ice cream.

Palate – Mouth feel is watery. I come back to the Sprite aspect again, albeit smoky and non-carbonated/flat. Some parmesan cheese popping up. Usually pechagas don’t do it for me and this is no exception.

Nose – A subtle medley of fruits and baking spices similar to a pechuga. Can detect the smallest bit of mushroom.

Palate – Candy cane. Wintergreen mouthwash. Sandalwood. This is a bit too Christmasy for my liking seeing though it’s not a pechuga.

Batch: ISR-SAC-001 Bottle: 21
Nose – Scallions. Navel orange citrus. The absolute tiniest hint of curry powder.

Palate – Amazing viscosity and texture. Raspberry cobbler with hand made whip cream. A small lemon squeeze. Tasty smokiness on the back end with a nice black pepper heat.

I know my eyes rolled back in my head at least four times enjoying/sipping a 2 oz. pour. Excellent!

Nose – Alfalfa sprouts. Slight dustiness of a vacant room. Humid smoke like when you put out a camp fire with a pail of water.

Palate – Fantastic watermelon jelly bean. The sweetness lasts as long as you keep this delicious liquid on your tongue. Swallow and it’s a heavy dose of mesquite and sea salt. Nice warmth the whole ride.

March 2022
Lot: ACR-052 Bottle: 727
Nose – Tropical fruit. Soft clay aroma. Light cream.

Palate – Papaya. Blackberry. Charred oak. Tobacco leaf and substantial campfire ash in the finish. Funky, lactic clay flavor slightly sour. This is alright just a bit too many burnt flavors.
Rating: 3 stars (2 oz. pour)

June 2021 (No batch info)
Nose – Fruit punch jelly bean. Has a slight meatiness to it like a smelling a patted dry top sirloin.

Palate – A hint of sour cream. The clay is nice. Bitter finish, almost a weed stem note, and the smoke is a tinge sour.

This is an interesting expression but it just didn’t quite come together for me.
Rating: 3 stars (Note: 1 oz. pour)

Batch #: RAM-COY-001
Nose – Cigar wrapper. A handful of raisins. Raw brown sugar.

Palate – More raisins. That amazing brown sugar taste when it melts on warm oatmeal. A delicious, sweet front and middle. Incredibly warm the whole way through but by no means hot. Cigar and salted caramel – finish and aftertaste – that goes a long time.

My god, these Ramos fellas are pretty frickin’ good at what they do!

Batch No: RAW-TEQ-001 (Bottle: 580)
Nose – The subtle black pepperiness of a one of my favorite blanco tequilas (Fortaleza). Nice and floral. Beaucoup cooked agave sweetness coming through.

Palate – Texture is incredibly soft. Lime citrus. Rose water. A bit of clay. Beautiful smoke profile and perfect heat.

This stuff is unreal! MORE!!!!

Nose – Black licorice. Floral sweetness.

Palate – Buttered snow peas – pan-fried and sprinkled with sugar. Finish is more complex than expected, notes of parm cheese, dark chocolate, smoke and rubber. I dig it!

Nose – Very sweet. Very little smoke. Very subtle vegetal notes.

Palate – Candy apple intro then a turn to sichaun pepper flavor (and about half as spicy with a similar slight numbing effect). Good heat in the middle. The finish falls a bit flat – bitter and a big jump in the smokiness.

LOT: 01-21
Nose: Lemon citrus. Brings the barnyard funk big time (or even a whole cattle ranch)! A predominant note is like extra sharp cheese melted and cooked/slightly burnt on the side of a frying pan. You know it’s a cenizo with a quick whiff.

Palate: The massive funk in the nose is dialed back a lot, much more than other cenizo mezcals I’ve tried in this price point. And an appreciable sugary sweetness component. Very viscous and the mouth feel has a pillowy softness to it. The finish and aftertaste is short but makes me want another sip. I really love a good cenizo and this ranks right up there. Great stuff, I’d say 4 stars on it’s own. I knocked it down half a star because there is no mezcalero/mezcalera noted on the bottle. Shameful.

Batch #: DH-15
Nose – Fresh citrusy orange. Slight creaminess to it. Very little smoke.

Palate – Mandarin orange. Icing sugar. Great mouth feel – coats really nice. Tasty smoke and salinity in the finish. For 42% ABV this has a bunch of flavor and a nice warmth to it in the belly.

I got this for $50 in California which is getting closer to where it should be. For a “celebrity mezcal” this is pretty good – this absolutely blows Casamigos Mezcal out of the water.

LOTE: A9 BOTELLA: 2592T FECHA: 06-20
Nose – Extinguished camp fire. Citrus fruit.

Palate – Cherry gummy bear at first but blink and you miss it. I like the mouth feel (coats nice). Mucho salt rock licks. I taste every bit of the 46% ABV heat – smoking rubber finish and aftertaste. No sign of the tobala in this. Not the worst mezcal I’ve tried, but it’s still pretty rough.

LOT: A-7-M-20
Nose – Cotton candy. Sprite/7up soda. The smallest hint of smoked salmon.

Palate – Chili mangos. Rock candy. Sprite/7up soda (again). A slow build (heat wise) to a hot / vapory back end. A very long, smoky finish of anise, dark chocolate, sugar water and blackened shrimp shells (which seemed to become more complex the more I sipped on it).

This is quite an interesting mezcal which definitely shows Mateo/Temo’s promise!

March 2022
Lot ACR033 ESP-A (Distilled July 2020)
Nose – Orange gummy bears. A tiny bit of funky clay. Pork jerky.

Palate – Punchy, hot for 46% but still pleasant. Orange citrus. Celery leaf. Long finish of clay, tobacco leaf and creamy vanilla. Straight forward & classic espadin notes with a great addition of the clay minerality. I usually like hotter mezcales but this may be a bit much for the average palate though. Still, I’m a fan!
Rating: 4 stars

June 2021 – No batch info.
Nose – Gala apple slices. Magic marker. Cold, shredded rotisserie chicken.

Palate – Packs a wallop of a punch with beaucoup orange citrus sweetness, smoke and heat dialed in just right. This quickly softens and I really notice the clay in the finish. An interesting espadin – definitely better than most.
Rating: 4 stars

This isn’t me hating on a celebrity spirit, this is simply a disgusting mezcal. I ordered it neat at a nice Mexican restaurant and after two or three sips I deemed it undrinkable on its own. I asked if they could make the rest (it was originally a 2 oz. pour) into a cocktail – a Oaxaca Old Fashioned. The ice diluting the already horrible mezcal made the concoction nearly undrinkable. I did choke it down but I cringed the entire time. So bad. Not to mention it’s sometimes upwards of $70 a bottle. Insane.

Nose – Chopped jalapenos sprinkled lightly with sugar.

Palate – Charred, candied jalapenos. The vegetal spicy pepper aspect fades but then there’s a big, black forest cake middle and finish – with just the right amount of smoke.

This was a 1 oz. Tahona Mercado virtual tasting sample but I wish I had more. This stuff is awesome!

Lot: C0220
Nose – Mesquite. Cottage cheese. Pan fried chicken breast. Vanilla – the nose is more savory than sweet.

Palate – A sweet, nutty almond note to start. Granulated sugar water dominating the middle. Felt pen. Hot finish of dandelion stems and smoky ethanol. Aftertaste is smoky, dry and bitter.

This peaks early and really stumbles at the finish.

One of the best mezcals I’ve ever had. I don’t remember the notes – I was having lunch in Matalan with Alvin Starkman who generously shared a 2 oz. pour of his 2013 stash of this Aquilino magic. A rare masterpiece.

Update:
I acquired a bottle of my very own: LOT A-06-M-19
Nose – Sugary nose, nopal cactus and a tickle of jalapeno pepper heat.

Palate – Vegetal – green pepper. Cake frosting. White pepper heat. Some ash in the finish. Marvelous!