Del Maguey Tobala Mezcal

A joven mezcal from wild Tobala, Agave potatorum, a small slow growing maguey that thrives only in the highest reaches of Oaxaca. It comes from Del Maguey, the single village house founded in 1995 by Ron Cooper, which names each bottling for its village and works with individual Zapotec palenquero families. Tobala is so small that roughly eight hearts are needed to match the yield of one ordinary Espadin, which makes it scarce and slow to produce.

The spirit is made the traditional way, pit roasted and hand distilled by the palenquero, in the manner that defines Del Maguey across its single village range. The profile is clean and soft, with ripe mango leading into cooked agave, a note of fresh earth and a gentle thread of cinnamon, carried on a long finish at 45%, an honest showcase for a rare wild agave bottled unaged.