Reviews / Palomo Cirial
Review · · by The Editors
Palomo Cirial
Cirial – one of Oaxaca's less-known agaves, rendered cleanly
Score: 3.5/5 agaves
- Producer: Palomo Mezcal
- Maestro: Carlos Mendez Blas
- Region: Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca
- Agave: Cirial
- ABV: 46%
- Price: $55 ($)
Verdict
Cirial lives in the karwinskii family but reads lighter and more citrus-mineral than its cousins. Palomo's version is cleanly distilled and honestly proofed, not a bottle to blow away a first-timer, but a valuable one for anyone building a karwinskii education. Reach for it in a flight that already includes a madrecuishe and a tobaziche.
Cirial is the karwinskii for drinkers who've already memorized madrecuishe
Tasting notes
Nose: Wet stone, green herb, light smoke, a mineral top
Palate: 46% of cirial with karwinskii-family markers, saline, vegetal, with a lighter body than madrecuishe. A useful single-agave study bottle
Finish: Chalky, dry
The bottom line
Reach for it as karwinskii study, not a first bottle