El Destilado Espadilla

Verdict

Luis Sandoval Dolores's clay-pot espadilla is the reason El Destilado keeps getting cited in the same breath as Real Minero and Mezcalosfera. Clay-pot distillation is where espadín-family agaves stop behaving like a commodity. This one has weight, saline length, and a distinctly non-Matatlán register – buy it before the allocation gets worse.

Tasting notes

Nose: Scorched earth, green melon, charred shallot, damp limestone

Palate: Clay pot gives the espadilla a velvet drag – the smoke is round rather than sharp, 47% carrying a surprising amount of savory agave muscle for the proof

Finish: Earthen, a faint iron note. Long

The bottom line

Take it