When I decided to declutter and simplify my home bar; I did so intending to create a more dynamic bar in the process. I also felt it would allow exploring some other spirits outside of rum. One of those categories that has caught my interest recently was agave.
For the longest time, I was all but certain that I did not care for agave spirits as a whole. Most I tried tend to be either flat or just too sharp. As it turns out, as with most things, when it comes to making great agave spirits, you get what you put into it. Maturity of the agave, fermentation with or without fibers, brick oven cooking vs autoclave or diffuser, stainless steel vs copper distillation. These things matter. So, I set in search of agave spirits that I knew was out there looking for me.
Thankfully for me; our friends at Velier in partnership with Tradition Chagoya expedited the journey with their Palenqueros Mezcal Project.
Palenqueros Mezcal is a Pure Single Palenque mezcal, meaning that each mezcal in the line is the product of a single Mezcalero at a single distillery. The line currently consists of 7 Palenqueros, 12 Mezcales, from 5 regions. Then I will be taking a look at is the Alberto Ortiz Espadin-Madrecuishe.
Don Alberto “Beto” Ortiz is a 4th Generation Master Distiller from the Village of Bramaderos in Miahuatlan, Oaxaca, Mexico and is known for his work producing notable mezcals such as Yuu Baal, Donaji, and Papadiablo. Alberto crushes his agave by hand instead of horse-drawn tahona to help maintain a much cleaner distilling operation. Because of this, it takes three men around 14 hours to crush enough agave to fill a single fermentation tank.
This bottling, in particular, is made up of a combination of cultivated Espadin, the most common in mezcal, which takes on average 8-12 years to reach maturity before it can be harvested and Madre-Cuishe. Madre-Cuishe is part of the Karwinskii family of agave that also includes Cuishe, Tobasiche, and Cirial takes around 15-20 years to mature and is known for imparting more mineral notes to the mezcal.
The agave is cooked in an oven pit before it is smashed by hand with a mesquite wood mallet over a stone. From there, the plants are fermented for five days by wild yeasts in wooden pine vats.
After fermentation, it goes through a double distillation on 100% copper pot still over a wood fire before being bottled at a still proof of 53% abv. This batch consists of 1,462 bottles and retails at $79.99.
APPEARANCE
The bottle is a tall and thin wine shaped with brown glass and a simple picture of Alberto Ortiz. The labeling is adorned with any and all information you could possibly hope for in regards to the mezcal. The mezcal itself is crystal clear with the faintest oil sheen.
AROMA
There is a slight whiff of alcohol that is quickly wiped away by sweet roasted agave and honey. There is an old ashy smell that is reminiscent of a wood fireplace the morning after it was used. Subtle white pepper mixes with cookie dough and salted melon.
PALATE
Soft ash and ripe red berries. There is a hint of freshly picked mint that lays under sweeter notes of Honeycrisp apples and honeydew melon.
FINISH
Beeswax lingers on the tongue allowing Meyer lemon peel to balance minerality and wet clay.
OVERALL
What a beautiful and elegant showing of thoughtfully made mezcal. Much like Scotch, Mezcal has taken on a reputation of something that could not be further from the truth.
This is not a smoke bomb and there is certainly no worm at the bottom of this bottle. I really appreciate the efforts being put forth to showcase the true character of the spirit and you can honestly taste the care that was given to the agave throughout its journey from soil to bottle.
