Reviews / Hop Mez

Review · · by The Editors

Hop Mez

A hop-infused pechuga – experimental, maybe overreaching

Score: 3.0/5 agaves

Hop Mez bottle
  • Producer: Hop Mez
  • Maestro: Celso Martínez López
  • Region: Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca
  • Agave: Espadin
  • ABV: 40%
  • Price: $55 ($)

Verdict

Hop Mez is a concept bottle – it exists to make you say 'hops in mezcal?' and not much else. The underlying espadín pechuga work is fine, but at 40% the hops dominate a spirit that should be expressing agave. Pass unless you're throwing a craft-beer-meets-agave dinner. For a real pechuga, go La Herencia de Sánchez's below or any serious Santiago Matatlán producer.

A gimmick that answers a question nobody was asking

Tasting notes

Nose: Green hops, then citrus pith, cool agave, faint yeast

Palate: 40% – Celso Martínez López adds hops to a pechuga-style third distillation; the result is legible IPA-meets-mezcal, intriguing the first sip, less so by the fifth

Finish: Hoppy, warm – short

The bottom line

Skip. Concept bottle, not a drinker's bottle