Yuu Baal Mezcal Tobalá

Yuu Baal Mezcal Tobala is a joven mezcal from Oaxaca made by fourth generation mezcalero Isaias Martinez Juan in San Juan del Rio, drawing on wild Tobala, the small high altitude Agave potatorum that takes ten to fifteen years to mature and yields very little spirit. Yuu Baal, whose name pairs the Zapotec words for earth and fire, works in the traditional Oaxacan manner with much of its range double distilled in small clay pots.

Before bottling the spirit rests twelve months in glass, a madurado en vidrio approach that lets it integrate without taking on wood. That keeps the Tobala fingerprint intact: smoke and roasted wood from the pit, then lemongrass, green herbs and wildflower over stone, vanilla, clove and orchard fruit of peach and apple. The palate runs peppery and earthy with citrus lift, the delicacy of a slow grown wild agave at 40%.