Maguey Melate Espadilla - Don Fede Collector's Box

Item: Maguey Melate Espadilla - Don Fede Collector's Box
Rating: 4.0
Author: The Editors

Don Fede's collector's-box espadilla – late-career Puebla

Score: 4.0/5 agaves

Producer: Maguey Melate
Maestro: Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez
Region: San Nicolás Huajuapan, Puebla
Agave: Espadilla
ABV: 54%
Price: $70 ($)

Verdict

Hunt the Don Fede collector's box for this espadilla: at 95 he distilled with a quietness most producers never achieve. Honor Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez by name, the liquid earns it. Closer to the best Real Minero espadín than any commercial Puebla release. A legacy bottle drinking at its peak.

Espadilla at 54% – Don Fede's final Puebla statement

Tasting notes

Nose: Warm hay with honey, old wood

Palate: Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez at 54% distills espadilla (the Puebla espadín cousin) with the economy of someone who has made this agave a thousand times. Every cut deliberate; the proof serves the fruit

Finish: Warming, honeyed, very long

The bottom line

Late-career Don Fede. Grab it when you find it