Reviews / Bonito Vicio Jabalí

Review · · by The Editors

Bonito Vicio Jabalí

Armando Rodríguez's jabalí – Sola de Vega at 49%, and a small-producer bottle that earns attention on technique alone

Score: 4.5/5 agaves

Bonito Vicio Jabalí bottle
  • Producer: Bonito Vicio Mezcal
  • Maestro: Armando Rodriguez
  • Region: Sola de Vega, Oaxaca
  • Agave: Jabali
  • ABV: 49%
  • Price: $55 ($$)

Verdict

Jabalí separates the producers who can handle it from the ones who shouldn't try; Rodríguez's bottle lands every element on-purpose without the rough edges inexperienced jabalí carries. Sola de Vega at 49% is the village-and-proof combination the agave actually needs. Track the Bonito Vicio name; a disciplined jabalí at this price is unusual.

Bonito Vicio is the small-producer jabalí worth hunting

Tasting notes

Nose: Hot stone, then green pepper, herbal density, a faint cocoa undertone and trace of dried fruit

Palate: Structured and clean at 49%. Jabalí is the agave that separates maestros who can handle difficulty from those who can't – the plant foams in fermentation, plays hard to get in the still, and punishes production shortcuts

Finish: Unending. Drying, mineral, with a cocoa-adjacent warmth at the back

The bottom line

Track it down