Reviews / Mezcalero No. 12

Review · · by The Editors

Mezcalero No. 12

Cupreata as a single-agave Mezcalero – quieter than the ensambles, no less serious

Score: 3.5/5 agaves

Mezcalero No. 12 bottle
  • Producer: Mezcalero Mezcal
  • Maestro: Emilio Vieyra
  • Region: San Miguel, Michoacán
  • Agave: Cupreata
  • ABV: 46.3%
  • Price: $70 ($)

Verdict

No. 12 goes to cupreata, an agave typically associated with Guerrero and Michoacán – produced in an Oaxacan palenque by a producer whose default vocabulary is different. The result is a cross-regional experiment the Mezcalero project excels at: using single-palenque discipline to render an unfamiliar agave with the care it deserves. Consensus 4.0 is earned.

Cupreata from a Oaxacan producer – unusual and worth the detour

Tasting notes

Nose: Earth, then dark fruit, green pepper, faint sulfur that resolves into depth rather than reading as off-note

Palate: Dense and slightly bitter at 46.3% – the cupreata's savory-earth character holds the frame, and the Oaxacan production discipline delivers the agave cleanly despite the unusual cross-regional sourcing

Finish: Warm, mineral, with a slow earth fade

The bottom line

Track this one down if you like cupreata. A regional-crossing bottle

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