Maguey Melate Plum Ciruela

Verdict

Jaime Morales Aquino's plum distillate is a real ciruela spirit, and Maguey Melate should be applauded for releasing weird things. But 0% agave means the bottle has to carry itself on fruit alone, and at 45% it drinks thin where it needs to drink deep. We'd pour this alongside the Cuentacuentos destilados for contrast, not reach for it alone.

Tasting notes

Nose: Stewed plum with a whisper of wet firewood, sweet stone fruit

Palate: Soft and sugary at 45% with no agave to hold it up, the fruit reads clean but collapses without the structural bones a good destilado needs

Finish: Jammy, lightly acrid

The bottom line

A destilado worth trying once, not buying twice