Reviews / Nacional 1931
Review · · by The Editors
Nacional 1931
Matatlán tobalá at 51% – loud, but loud with a reason
Score: 3.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Nacional Mezcal
- Maestro: Celso Martínez López
- Region: Santiago Matatlán
- Agave: Tobala
- ABV: 51%
- Price: $70 ($$)
Verdict
Nacional's 1931 is tobalá pushed to near-puntas proof, and the decision pays off – the agave's mineral-floral signature concentrates rather than thins out, and the hot finish reads as structure rather than aggression. Two reviewers at 3.8 is low for what's actually in the bottle; our read leans slightly more generous. Dixeebe's 52% espadín lives on this same high-proof logic, this is the tobalá cousin.
51% tobalá is a producer confident in their cooking
Tasting notes
Nose: Wet gravel, green melon, cooked sugar, warm pepper
Palate: Celso Martínez López's tobalá pushed to 51% – concentrated, mineral, a little hot but the agave carries the proof rather than fighting it
Finish: Drying, peppery. Long
The bottom line
Buy for the proof-plus-terroir argument
Where to buy online
We found this bottle at 1 US retailer. Prices and stock vary – click through to check.