Reviews / Mal Bien Mexicano Barril
Review · · by The Editors
Mal Bien Mexicano Barril
A rhodacantha-karwinskii cross that doesn't quite commit
Score: 3.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Mal Bien
- Maestro: Chucho Sanchez, Poncho Sanchez
- Region: San Baltazar Chichicapam, Oaxaca
- Agave: Mexicano Barril
- ABV: 47%
- Price: $65 ($$)
Verdict
The Sánchez brothers' Mexicano Barril from Chichicapam is an interesting conceptual bottle – the agave itself (Mexicano Barril is a variant with ambiguous parentage) doesn't appear in many catalogs. At 47% the bottle drinks well without settling into a clear genre. Buy it for curiosity, not as a staple.
Mexicano and barril – a blend in search of its argument
Tasting notes
Nose: A green top over cooked agave – pepper, light floral, warm earth
Palate: 47% of copper-pulled Mexicano Barril – the rhodacantha's fruity density and the barril's karwinskii slant don't fully settle into a single bottle, pleasant but slightly ambivalent
Finish: Dry, soft – medium-long
The bottom line
A curiosity bottle with some real weight