Oaxaca Farmer Co-op

Hours of driving north of Oaxaca to visit rural areas and small distilleries. It was with two young children and a wife who doesn't drink. Either I'll go to hell for that, or they deserve heaven. This bottle has no name, picked up during one of those visits. Some years back, we took a trip to Oaxaca and Mexico City for food, followed by a beach vacation to Cabo. (Cabo was terrible – overpriced, touristy). We were strongly advised to take a mezcal tour while in Oaxaca. It's very different from tours at huge bourbon or scotch distilleries. We visited two: one was a small, professionally run distillery, and this one, run by a co-op of farmers. Both made products sold only locally, with no distribution or marketing. What's made is consumed by locals. This one was run by farmers who seemed more focused on selling us their crops than mezcal. It's a small operation, with some farmers working in their free time, and a donkey (I forget his name) grinding the agave. We were treated to lunch, bought some local honey for about $10, and had all the mezcal we could drink. I enjoyed the mezcal so much, I bottled some, secured it with duct tape, and brought it back. This is unlike most mezcal I've had. The smoke is muted (perhaps from having it for 3-4 years in an unopened bottle, loosely secured with duct tape?). It's more herbal, grassy, and almost mineral-like. Personally, I love it and gave it a very biased score, but that's also due to the experience. To those who recently received a sample: I'd be happy to send a pour if anyone is interested. I still have half a bottle left.

This offers a wealth of wonderful aromas - sea salt, grilled corn, grilled peaches, watermelon, rose water, teak wood, gravel-like minerality, and clay, with just a whisper of earthy, vegetal smoke. It evokes Port Charlotte's green peat character compared to the ashy notes of a Lagavulin or Ardbeg. Virtually no burn. It's also decadently sweet and slightly oily, with significant floral, vegetal, and clay notes. The watermelon, white pepper, and cedar notes are in perfect harmony. There might also be some licorice and cigar wrapper present before the tarry, kerosene-like funky smoke appears, reminding me this is mezcal. I could consume an excessive amount of this. Like, dangerously much. The sweetness is very upfront, making it not particularly challenging in that aspect, but it maintains enough complexity to stay intriguing. It reminds me of a cuixe or espadin (based on my limited experience) but possesses the sweetness of a tequila blanco. I have no idea how it's made, and it doesn't matter, because even with a GPS, I doubt this could be located or replicated. I owe immense gratitude to a friend for 1) bringing it and 2) sharing this gem.