Mezonte Jalisco

From a 2018 batch by a distiller named Santos Juarez. The funk is certainly present. It smells of cheese – a blend of blue cheese and cream cheese – along with strawberries, chalk, play-doh, and barnyard notes. It’s very earthy, yet also herbal, reminiscent of quality rooibos tea, with hints of grilled broccolini, grapefruit rind, and burning earth, among other indistinct scents. The initial taste is quite green, featuring abundant roasted agave and tropical fruit like papaya and mango, complemented by butter toffee. This transitions into a lovely mineral quality, akin to wet concrete, which persists through the lengthy, smoky finish, revealing more roasted agave and hints of blueberry. This is an amazing raicilla and ranks among the finest agave spirits I've had the honor to sample. So complex.