Nose – Raisins. Brown sugar. Dandelion.

Palate – Leather. Green tea. Maple sap. Chalky bitterness and mouthwash heat in the finish. Adequate heat for 49.05% ABV. Decent mezcal.

Lot: LAM-S 12-1-2020 (80 L)
Nose – Cocktail onion. Fresh cut pine. Sugar water. Black pepper.

Palate – Grassy. Fried green peppers. BBQ grilled onions. A combination of spicy pepper and black pepper heat hits after a second – a pleasant intensity throughout. Anise and pine in the finish.

Tasty mezcal – slight knock is it is a tad heavy with the anise on the back end. But still great stuff, I enjoyed this!

Batch: FOR-MEX-001
Nose – Grassy. Slightly lactic. Orange citrus. White sugar crystals. Campfire coals.

Palate – Wild grass. Dry champagne. Rock candy. Orange peel. Oak embers. Long, long finish. Amazing flavors! Fortunato nails this one.

Series #5.
Nose – Light aromas – icing sugar, lawn clippings, nutmeg.

Palate – Milky, spicy cinnamon – delicious! Mandarin orange. Fire-kissed grass. Animal cracker cookies and dry, smoked brisket in the finish. The heat is manageable but still packs a bit of a punch – call it a solid jab. All in all, fantastic stuff! Incredible espadin!

Nose – Vanilla. Orange citrus. Scallions. Baked, crispy parmesan cheese.

Palate – Creamy, slight funk but delicious. Canned pear fruity sweetness. Cocktail onion. Peppermint heat, oak ember and vanilla finish which lasts in a very long, very pleasant aftertaste.

1 oz. sample from Tahona Mercado. I could definitely down more of this! ABV: 49.54%

Nose – Sugar snap peas. Sugar in the Raw crystals. A tad bit lactic. Sharp, inviting aromas.

Palate – Soft mouth feel. First hit: woody, sugary, slightly chalky flavor. Next sip and onward: A natural hot cinnamon heat, pine wood, lavender. Quality campfire ember and dry champagne finish. Damn this juice is gang busters! Huge thanks to MLR for sharing this 2 oz. sample with me – incredible stuff.

Nose – Pine sap. Anise. Cherry pits. Chicken jerky. Slightly soapy but pleasant.

Palate – Huge burst of pine wood. Cinnamon heat. Cherry bubble gum. Black licorice. This is something that I feel would be incredible in an ensamble but pretty full-on, on it’s own. Quality is definitely here but heavy handed and very sharp flavors.

Shout out to MLR for the 2 oz sample!
😎🤙

Nose – Sour cherry. 7up. Smoked gruyere.

Palate – Viscous entry. Funky vanilla cream. Charred dry grass. Strawberries. Grapefruit peel. Elevated rubber in the finish which knocks it down a peg. A bit hot for 46%. Overall, a tasty mezcal. Complex but the flavors didn’t totally land with me. Big thanks to MLR for the 2 oz. sample. 😎🤙

Nose – Sour green apple. Funky Minas clay. Sweet potato.

Palate – This batch is listed at 54% ABV so big, booming flavors. Brown sugar. Beaucoup clay. Sprite soda. A vegetal note that reminds me of artichoke meat from the leaves. Detect some celery leaf long into the finish. Honest heat for 54% but that doesn’t bother me in the least. Damn good mezcal!

Hat tip to my buddy MLR, who shared 2 oz. of this beauty with me.

Nose – Rock candy. Rosewater. Hot embers.

Palate – Vibrant oak campfire flavor. Wet stone. Pink salt. A slight petrol note but not unappealing. Long floral finish with a touch of milk and chalk in the aftertaste. A great espadin! Thanks to MLR for the 2 oz. sample, this one is awesome!

Nose – Red apple. Cotton candy. Slight chalkiness. Soft baked brie.

Palate – Half and half cream. Icing sugar. Grassy. White chocolate and some latex in the finish. Quite gentle for 54% ABV. A tasty mezcal for sure although quite a few better that are less than this $200+ bottle. Hat tip to MLR for the 2 oz. sample. 😎

Nose – Dusty. Lean lamb. Lemon zest.

Palate – Tiny bit of pine. Allspice. Gala apple. A nice bit of lamb. Sea salt. Great balance for a pechuga. One thing I’m not a fan of are when they are too fruit or especially spice forward. Way better than the Bozal Iberico I had last year.

Batch: XA015-18 (Bottle: 163/300 – 47.8% ABV)
Nose – Jellybeans. Red apple skins. Cinnamon roll frosting. Vibrant aromas, very nice.

Palate – Incredibly sweet to start – a sugary, candy apple flavor. Fresh blackberry. More vegetal, green bell pepper and a tad red chili pepper spicy, in the second half. Rose water in the finish. Wow, a frickin’ great agave rhodacantha mezcal. I’ve been looking for this bottle for about two years and it did not disappoint! Well worth the wait and the price of admission.

Lot: 1121FRM
Nose – A burst of roasted agave. Cherry fun dip. A tiny bit of dried Parmesan.

Palate – Sharp flavors – very agave forward. Candied pear. Rubber. Slight cheesy funk. A great, more unique espadin, $55 a bottle at that (in Cali). Fantastic value buy.

Lot: CHI-165
Nose – Extremely fruity – sweet, fresh Gala apple mostly. A light Big League Chew bubble gum aroma too. Very little smoke. Wow!

Palate – More red apple like in the nose. Fruit forward and delicious. Fresh cut birch wood. Slightly latex note but very pleasant.

Compared to regular Chichicapa, this is way less smoky, smoothed out and as I stated earlier, fruity as heck. I was so stoked to try this and ponied up for a bottle. No regrets on the price point (3× regular Chichicapa) as I think it differentiates itself and stands alone. I really like Chichicapa, it’s my most consumed mezcal for a reason, but this is a level up luxury (IMO). Again, this is maybe slanted because I’m a Chichicapa fanboy to begin with. Salud!

Nose – Slightly lactic. Backyard BBQ notes… cut grass, smoky meaty grill.

Palate – Sweet gala apple. Candy cane. Some Asiago cheese. Not terribly complex but pretty tasty. I’d give this 4 stars on its own – great flavor for 42% ABV. But holy hell… so overpriced! Clase Azul bottling wins again. 😔

Batch: ILD-JAB-001
Nose – Rolling tobacco. Raw root vegetables. Celery leaf. Animal crackers. Coconut water. Orchids. Crazy mix of aromas.

Palate – Starts with a very potent burst of flavors. Quite wood (fresh cut, mossy oak) forward throughout. Toasted parm cheese. All spice. Eucalyptus. Cedar ember and Japanese tea in the finish & aftertaste. There’s plenty to this ride, this is going to be a great bottle to enjoy and see how/if the flavors develop.

Batch: JAI-BAR-001
Nose – Baked sour apples. Melted brown sugar. Somewhat dusty. Nice aromas.

Palate – HUGE bran muffin and warm butter notes – wow! A cinnamon stick lick. Fresh dates. Pinker watermelon closer to the rind. This does not nearly have the heat of a 59% mezcal – I’d ballpark heat-wise in the high 40’s. Full flavor and seemingly very complex – fantastic stuff.

Nose – Granny Smith apples. Uncut jalapeno peppers. Powdered sugar.

Palate – Turnip with a bit of garden soil. Quite grassy. A big leather note. Salty finish with a hint of dry asiago cheese. Pretty solid mezcal, this batch was by Silverio Garcia Luis.

Nose – Cheesecake. Sweaty parm cheese. Cake frosting. White wine.

Palate – Very floral. Green grapes. A tiny dandelion note. Dark baking chocolate. Rock solid mezcal from the legend, Don Goyo.