Macheé Puntas de Maguey Coyote

Verdict

Puntas bottlings are the still's concentrated fraction and tend to amplify whatever the agave was going to say. Machee's puntas coyote at 55% uses that property well – the coyote's pine-and-mint signature is amplified, and the bottle reads more as an intensified version of the agave than as an ethanol study. Hunt for the still-head work; this is a good one.

Tasting notes

Nose: Pine resin, then wild mint, green tomato, warm stone

Palate: Puntas are the highest-ABV cut of the still, and coyote at 55% is an aromatic amplifier – every herbal note is turned up. Machee has delivered the agave's high-altitude signature without compressing it under the weight

Finish: Cooling, mineral – very long

The bottom line

High-proof coyote that earns the format