Reviews / Zacbe Joven

Review · · by The Editors

Zacbe Joven

Cirial in the mix, but the proof undoes the ambition

Score: 2.5/5 agaves

Zacbe Joven bottle
  • Producer: Zacbé Mezcal
  • Maestro: Apolonio Ramirez
  • Region: San Agustín Amatengo, Oaxaca
  • Agave: Cirial, Espadin
  • ABV: 40%
  • Price: $55 ($)

Verdict

Zacbe's joven includes cirial – a karwinskii relative with real character, which should be a reason to buy. At 40%, though, the agaves read as suggestions rather than statements; the proof cuts the bottle's own pitch. Pass and buy Wild Common's ensamble or Banhez at the same money, where the proof and the blend agree.

A blend this ambitious needs a proof to match

Tasting notes

Nose: Cooked agave, green herbs, light smoke, confected vanilla

Palate: The cirial-espadín blend showing up in ghostly outline rather than definition. Polished past the interesting bits; thin and soft at 40%

Finish: Lightly sweet, hollow. Short

The bottom line

Pass. Cirial deserves more proof than this offers

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