Maguey Melate Mapisaga

Verdict

Mapisaga is a pulquero agave and most of it never reaches distillation – Cesar Mateo in Aguascalientes is one of the few making it into a stand-alone spirit. Hunt this for the category expansion. Closer to what Derrumbes and Burrito Fiestero do at the edges of the mezcal map than any mainstream release. Track the mapisaga name; it's a rare subcategory.

Tasting notes

Nose: Fermented hay with warm stone, faint yeast

Palate: Copper-distilled pulquero at 53.4% – Cesar Mateo turns the agave that usually makes pulque into a concentrated distillate. The fermented-honey tendency is there but the proof structures it

Finish: Warming, complex

The bottom line

Rare category. Hunt for the extension