Reviews / El Destilado Pechuga de Mole Poblano
Review · · by The Editors
El Destilado Pechuga de Mole Poblano
Mole poblano pechuga at 52.9% – one of the most ambitious pechugas on the US market, and a thesis on what the format can do at full proof
Score: 4.5/5 agaves
- Producer: El Destilado
- Maestro: Marcelo Luna
- Region: Zoyatla, Puebla
- Agave: Espadin
- ABV: 52.9%
- Price: $150 ($$)
Verdict
Most flavored pechugas are novelty bottles, this one is a thesis. El Destilado's decision to run the pechuga at still-strength instead of diluting to 45% is what separates it from every other mole-distillation on the market. The recipe layers instead of muddles: chocolate, chile, nuts, sesame, spices all present in sequence. Buy it next to 5 Sentidos' mole pechuga for the category's current reference flight.
Mole poblano pechuga done at the caliber the format demands
Tasting notes
Nose: Dark chocolate, dried chile, warm spice, almond, cooked agave, all arriving in sequence rather than at once. Cinnamon warms the back of the nose without dominating
Palate: Layered at 52.9%. The mole ingredient set, chocolate, chiles, nuts, sesame, spices – runs through the distillation as a full arc rather than an accent: chile first, then chocolate mid-palate, then the agave's own cooked-sugar signature underneath
Finish: Unending. Warm, savory, chocolate-forward, with a fresh-chile heat that keeps cycling back
The bottom line
Pour after a long dinner, in a small copita, with time to sit with it