Mayalen Borrego

Verdict

José Morales Uribe's borrego pechuga is the rare third-distillation bottle where the meat isn't decoration. Mayalén's Guerrero base gives it a cupreata spine, the lamb adds a savory low end most pechugas only gesture at, and the proof keeps the whole thing standing upright. Buy a bottle the first time you see one, it's one of the more honest pechugas under $100.

Tasting notes

Nose: Roasted meat drippings with toasted cumin, sweet cooked agave underneath

Palate: 49% carries a proper pechuga structure, savory and fruited at once, the lamb note present without becoming gamey, a wet-stone mineral current running through the back

Finish: Long, warming, faintly smoky

The bottom line

Don't overthink it. A proper pechuga at a fair price