Reviews / Maguey Melate Espadilla/ Tobala
Review · · by The Editors
Maguey Melate Espadilla/ Tobala
Don Fede blends espadilla and tobalá – eighty years of judgment
Score: 4.0/5 agaves
- Producer: Maguey Melate
- Maestro: Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez
- Region: Puebla
- Agave: Espadilla, Tobala
- ABV: 46.7%
- Price: $65 ($$)
Verdict
Honor Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez by name. This espadilla-tobalá blend is the work of a producer who knows exactly when to stop adding – hunt it. Closer to what the best Mezcalosfera releases achieve than typical Melate blends. Commit if you can still find it; Don Fede's bottles are finite.
Espadilla meets tobalá, judged by eighty years of cuts
Tasting notes
Nose: Green melon with wet stone, honey
Palate: 46.7% and Federico Valentín Alva Ibáñez blends his Puebla espadilla with tobalá – the wild agave's floral-mineral signature lifts the espadín cousin's warmth without displacing it. Eighty years of cuts shows in the balance
Finish: Warming, floral. Stays very long
The bottom line
A master's blend. Buy before the bottles run out