Reviews / Mal Bien Mezcla de 5 Magueyes
Review · · by The Editors
Mal Bien Mezcla de 5 Magueyes
Guerrero-Oaxaca five-agave blend that reads more pleasant than essential
Score: 3.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Mal Bien
- Maestro: Ciro Barranca, Javier Barranca
- Region: Chilapa de Álvarez, Guerrero
- Agave: Papalote, Sacatoro
- ABV: 49.32%
- Price: $65 ($)
Verdict
The Barranca brothers' mezcla de 5 magueyes is an ambitious Chilapa-blend that ends up being less than the sum of its parts – each agave is in the bottle but none of them gets center stage long enough to make an argument. Compare with the Cortés three-agave ensamble and you'll hear the difference between arithmetic and composition. A fine ensamble; not the Mal Bien ensamble to buy first.
A five-agave ensamble that lands pleasant, not pointed
Tasting notes
Nose: Cooked agave, green pepper, light smoke, warm spice
Palate: 49.32% of Ciro and Javier Barranca's copper-pulled ensamble – cupreata and angustifolia drive with sacatoro and papalote siblings, the bottle is round and warm without any single voice dominating
Finish: Dry, savory – long
The bottom line
A pleasant maximalist ensamble. Others do it sharper