Reviews / El Tinieblo Montana
Review · · by The Editors
El Tinieblo Montana
Montana – a Tamaulipas agave variant at 47%, and one of the rare northern-Mexican bottles worth tracking
Score: 4.5/5 agaves
- Producer: El Tinieblo Mezcal
- Region: Tamaulipas
- Agave: Montana
- ABV: 47%
- Price: $150 ($$)
Verdict
Tamaulipas mezcal is a regional conversation most US drinkers haven't started, drier, piney-er than Oaxaca, with a northern-highland register that doesn't sound like anything else in the category. El Tinieblo Montana is the bottle that opens the state's argument. Buy it for the Tamaulipas lesson; drink it alongside Derrumbes Durango for the northern-highland comparison.
Tamaulipas mezcal is worth paying attention to
Tasting notes
Nose: Dry grass, then pine, warm earth, herbal lift, a faint citrus high note underneath
Palate: Lean at 47%. Montana is a northern Mexican agave rarely bottled for the US market; El Tinieblo's production renders it cleanly, and the proof gives the bottle structural confidence
Finish: Very long, cooling, dry, with a slow pine fade
The bottom line
Track it down