Gusto Historico Tobala - Emanuel Ramos

Verdict

Ramos's tobalá is the cooler sibling of Juárez's, less hedonistic, more studious. If you want to understand what refrescador distillation does to a wild agave, line this up next to the Juárez copper version above and pay attention. It's not a first-tobalá bottle; it's a second or third, for a drinker who's ready to give up a little pleasure for a little precision.

Tasting notes

Nose: White pepper – then mineral water, melon flesh, dried flower

Palate: 47.3% – the refrescador coils strip the tobalá down to its bones, leaving a cool, linear, slightly austere version that trades roundness for clarity

Finish: Long, dry, wet slate

The bottom line

Buy when you've drunk enough tobalá to want it lean