Details
- Location: Santiago Matatlan, Oaxaca
- Agave: Mexicano / A. rhodacantha var. mexicano
- Maestro Mezcalero: Carlos Mendez Blas
- Quantity:
- ABV: 47%
- Tasting keywords: Orange zest, bittersweet chocolate, nutmeg.
- NOM: NOM-O20X
Nose
Conjures up a dusty drive down to the river full of all those scents wafting up from the water: There’s a bit of gasoline, expressed orange peel, juniper, and salt.
Taste
Very smooth and round with flavors of bittersweet chocolate, nutmeg, and orange zest straight off the microplane.
Method / Background Notes
This is the orange label in the new Quiquiriqui limited release series along with their Mole Pechuga and Madiecuishe. This is the fruit of a hand harvested wild Mexicano batch. It was roasted underground, hand chopped and then crushed with a horse drawn tahona. It was fermented in open air tinas and then distilled in a 350 liter copper pot still. It was rested for two weeks before bottling. To emphasize, this is a single batch, when it’s gone, it’s gone!
These batches are all produced by Carlos Mendez Blas who is a fascinating figure in the evolving world of mezcal. He produces on a contract basis for Quiquiriqui and a few other brands which means that his palenque is busy making higher production mezcals like the Quiquiriqui espadin but also making these small batches around the edges. This rotating production model isn’t exactly new nor untried but it speaks to the evolution of the mezcal business, it seems that you can eat your cake as well.
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