ArteNOM Selección de 1123 Tequila Blanco

ArteNOM is a curator project from Enrique Fonseca, each release a single distillery expression bottled under its NOM number. This is the Selección de 1123, made at Cascahuín, the Rosales family distillery at El Arenal in the Valles lowlands of Jalisco, from agave azul, the sole species tequila permits. It is technically a blanco, though briefly rested 28 days in former brandy barrels from Oaxaca, which adds a faint pale gold tint without crossing into reposado weight.

Cascahuín works in the assertive lowland register, brick hornos, natural fermentation and copper pot distillation, and the spirit shows it: cooked agave alongside pepper, pineapple, citrus and earthy, mineral notes, with a flash of mint and a thread of raw green agave. The short cask rest lends only the lightest oak. Bottled at 43%.