Don Amado Mezcal Tobala & Bicuishe

This Don Amado ensamble distils two wild magueyes together, the small floral Tobala and Bicuishe, a karwinskii form known for its green, mineral, herbal lean. The pairing is a study in restraint and tension, joven and unaged at 46%, made in the Arellanes family ancestral style at Santa Catarina Minas in Oaxaca, the village synonymous with clay pot distillation.

Halved and quartered hearts of both agaves are roasted for four days over guamuchil and mesquite, milled, then fermented with their own fibres in pinewood vats on wild airborne yeast for depth. Double distillation in small wood fired ceramic pot stills reaches 53% before reduction to 46% with thrice distilled water, and the clay lends its quiet earthen minerality. The nose offers summer stone fruit, delicate tea rose and roasted red chilli, while the palate turns exotic with Earl Grey, dried orange peel, candied mango and cinnamon over light wood, finishing jammy with lingering black liquorice.