Reviews / Maguey Melate Espadilla - Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez
Review · · by The Editors
Maguey Melate Espadilla - Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez
Don Fede's standing espadilla – working bottle, master's hand
Score: 3.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Maguey Melate
- Maestro: Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez
- Region: San Nicolás Huajuapan, Puebla
- Agave: Espadilla
- ABV: 45.1%
- Price: $60 ($)
Verdict
Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez distilled this at 95 and the bottle still carries his discipline – track his name everywhere it appears in the Melate catalog. At 45.1% this is the espadilla for the weeknight pour rather than the collector's box for the occasion; both are worth owning. Closer to Lalocura's approach than Amaras'.
The working Don Fede – a master at weeknight proof
Tasting notes
Nose: Cooked agave with warm stone
Palate: 45.1% is the everyday frame for Don Fede's espadilla – less concentrated than the collector's box 54% release but still carrying his signature economy. The Puebla espadín cousin reads honestly
Finish: Warming, quietly fruited – long
The bottom line
Weeknight Don Fede. Honest, restrained, his hand