Lot: CM-M-0821
Nose – Overly sweet peanut butter brittle. Walnut shells. Red apple. Some ethanol.

Palate – Baking walnuts. White chocolate. Slightest bit of earthy soil. The sweetness aspect is somewhat artificial tasting. Long finish, hot for the 45% ABV. Not a bad Madrecuishe but there are better out there. Even though this presently under $50 in California, I’d pony up more for a bit better Madrecuishe. It’s decent though.

Lot: CM-T-0821
Nose – Cake frosting. Pink Himalayan salt. Half & half cream. Light lilac note.

Palate – Dr. Pepper soda. Vanilla bean. Finish falls a bit flat though. Grassy, bitter aftertaste. Right now, this is $45 in California. Not a bad tobala for an insanely low price. I’d say this is about a 3.25 star mezcal but definitely the value bump being applied here (to 3.5 stars).

Lot: CM-E-0821
Nose – Salty, sea air. Light toffee. A slight aroma of smoked tri tip.

Palate – Mandarin orange. Birch wood. Icing sugar although not overly sweet. Bitter, grassy finish. A tiny bit of ethanol throughout. For me this is about a 3.25 on merit but since it holds up against most solid starter espadins under $40, I’ll give it the bump to 3.5. A decent entry espadin, priced fairly.

Nose – Honeydew melon. Leather. Cut grass.

Palate – A hint of garden soil. Bagasso fiber. Raw mesquite. Cantaloupe. Papaya. A good balance of the flavors. To me, a quality, very classic Jabali. Solid stuff. 👍

Nose – Red grapes. Brown butter. Orchids.

Palate – Very light scallion note. Jasmine. Blueberries and cream. Fantastic juice.

Nose – A burst of clay. Rose water. Raw artichoke.

Palate – An absolute lamb (heat wise) for nearly 53% – wow, crazy gentle! Celery sticks. M&Ms. Soft clay. Light salt in the finish to go with everything else. This is impressive as hell! Edgar, you beeeeeauty!!!

Nose – Strawberries. Honey. Light cream.

Palate – 2% milk. Honeycomb cereal. A very sweet heat to it – nice! Baked apple pie notes in the finish. Pretty rockin’ tobala. 1 oz. sample at Madre!

Lote: 2 (Summer 2020)
Nose – Sugar cubes. Vanilla. Slight ethanol. A touch grassy.

Palate – Overly sweet vanilla. Salted caramel. Some oak. Grassy and sugary finish. This is an alright reposado, the vanilla is a bit overpowering though to the point of tasting artificial. I got a smaller bottle and will gladly knock it back though. 😎

Lote: 9 (Bottle: 15/21)
Nose – Leathery. Light cream. Dry grass.

Palate – A predominant natural tasting rubber flavor (if that makes sense?), not necessarily unpleasant though. Milk chocolate. Grassy. The tiniest bit soapy. This is alright but for $130 a bottle there’s much better at this price point.

Lot: Cuishe-2022-01
Nose – Creamy key lime pie. Banana. 7up soda.

Palate – Heat is dialed back even for 47% – has a lighter feel. But full of flavor. Plantain chips. Coconut meat. Ash. Turkey jerky. Tingly finish – big time clay and some white chocolate in the finish and aftertaste. A fanstastic destilado by Lalo!

Lote: Ca-13 (Bottle: 168/360)
Nose – Mint marshmallow. Tiny bit of white pepper.

Palate – Charred pine wood. Peppermint candy. Leather. Wet stone. Nice saltiness and dry hay in the finish. A solid, tasty sipper.

Nose – Watermelon rind. Raw dough. Herbal & grassy.

Palate – Grilled artichoke. Charred asparagus. Oak chips. Wet stone. Turkey jerky meatiness. Some black pepper heat in the finish and aftertaste – just the right amount. Very tasty – quite the solid Bacanora!

Nose – Candied ginger. Light cream. A small whiff of burnt grass. An herbal aroma I can’t put my finger on.

Palate – Half a grapefruit at breakfast sprinkled with white sugar. Fresh chopped pine wood chips. Bacon fat. A dry, grassy & woody finish. Fantastic stuff!

Nose: Pecan pie. Pickled jalapeno. Fresh scallions. Cheesecake base.

Palate: Celery sticks. Breaded mozzarella. Chocolate chip cookie. A lasting peppermint heat in the finish. Ashy aftertaste. A lot going on here but it all just works. A great vegetal and sweet combination of flavors here, very nice!

Lot: 030921-1
Nose – Red apple. Slightly salty. Tiny bit of oak.

Palate – A light mouthfeel. A balanced sweet, woody entry. Tangy candy note in the middle, reminds me of Nerds candy to a small degree. Burst of vanilla and salted toffee comes through in the finish, nothing crazy, just the right amount. I got my staunch tequila loving friend to try this who is hard on every 40% ABV mezcal I’ve given him – he loved this. That said, and I agree with his assessment, this is an incredibly approachable mezcal. The blend of aged and joven is dialed right in. The potency of the flavors feels like a 43-44% ABV agave spirit, definitely not 40%. This is a flavor-forward, not smoke or ethanol forward, 40% ABV mezcal – a unicorn, in my opinion. Nice frickin’ work Tomas!

Nose – Chopped summer squash. Zucchini bread. Coconut water.

Palate – Pine wood sap. Coconut meat. Orchid petals. Quite an astringent finish. Solid mezcal but heavy handed by way of being incredibly floral with a potent woodiness.

Lot: BCH-11-19
Nose – Earthy soil. Ginger root. Garden celery. Subtle cake frosting sweetness.

Palate – Lemon zest. Rock candy. Jasmine. Bamboo shoots. A tasty, potent sotol although a little bit of a soapy note in there. Not a deal breaker though.

This was 1.5 oz. sample by mezcal reviewer and King of the Matatlan Strip, Rahkal. 😎

Lot: A-15
Nose – Overwhelming caramel and honey.

Palate – Honeycomb cereal. Toffee. Long vanilla finish, a touch grassy. Not too much woodiness. This is a tasty enough anejo, plenty of natural sweet flavors here. But way too much barrel incorporated into this. I cannot really pick up any agave durangensis characteristics (or much agave at all). It reminds me more of an anejo tequila. I think this could have been better as a reposado. A so-so anejo.

Batch: ESP-CA-EB-2-19
Nose – Baked, sour green apple and brown sugar.

Palate – Extremely fruity – similar to the nose – this is like a tart, sweet Granny Smith apple pie. Cream cheese. Some white chocolate. Slight white pepper heat. Long, long finish. This ABV is 44.24% and the flavors are very potent.

Damn! I love this capon espadin – easily my favorite capon to date. Eleazar knocked this out of the park!

Lote: C-17 (47%)
Nose – Fresh picked strawberry. Grass. Toffee.

Palate – Hay. Green peppercorn. Celery leaf. Slight cheesecake sweetness. Herbal/minty finish with a burst of campfire ember. Feels light for 47% ABV. A pretty decent cenizo.