Reviews / La Nina del Mezcal Primario
Review · · by The Editors
La Nina del Mezcal Primario
Entry espadín at 40% – La Niña's well-pour line at minimum-proof
Score: 3.0/5 agaves
- Producer: La Niña del Mezcal
- Maestro: Armando Hernandez Lorenzo
- Region: Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca
- Agave: Espadin
- ABV: 40%
- Price: $70 ($)
Verdict
La Niña Primario is what happens when a good producer makes a house well bottle, nothing misfires, but the 48% espadín in the same line makes a direct case for spending another $15. Vida is cheaper, more cocktail-tuned, and drinks like the bar-well intention is explicit. Primario is caught between sipping and slinging. No consensus; our 3.0 reflects a bottle that doesn't know which room it's in.
Primario is mezcal for drink menus, not for tasting mats
Tasting notes
Nose: Light smoke with faint citrus
Palate: Thin and polite at 40%. The Primario line is the brand's concession to bar-cost math; the agave identity is present but the proof has been engineered away from sipping territory and into cocktail base territory
Finish: Clean, faintly sweet, quick close
The bottom line
Skip the Primario; buy the 48% from the same brand
Where to buy online
We found this bottle at 1 US retailer. Prices and stock vary – click through to check.