Maguey Melate Reposado

Verdict

Reposado is a hard trick – wood can clarify a mezcal or smother it, and at 42.3% there's not enough spirit left to push through the barrel. Pedro Santiago's blanco work is stronger than what landed here. The bottle is competent and drinkable; it just doesn't make the case that this particular espadín needed aging. Skip toward the joven if you find both.

Tasting notes

Nose: Light oak, then vanilla, cooked agave, a faint caramel sweetness

Palate: At 42.3% the wood softens everything that made Pedro Santiago's espadín worth bottling – the agave is there but dressed down, the texture padded rather than defined

Finish: Sweet, gently tannic – short

The bottom line

A drinkable reposado. Buy the blanco instead