El Jolgorio Mezcal Espadin

El Jolgorio Espadin is a joven mezcal from Santa Maria Zoquitlan in Oaxaca, made under the eye of mezcalero Ignacio Parada from Espadin harvested at around ten years. It serves as the way into the El Jolgorio range, a Casa Cortes collective begun in 2010 that now represents sixteen families across ten regions of Oaxaca, each bottle hand labelled with its batch details. The name means revelry, after the small village festivals where mezcal has long been the lifeblood.
This Espadin is drawn from several different agaves gathered in scattered, remote areas, with some batches rested for years in glass and others built from wild Espadin that differs markedly from the more common cultivated plant. The nose is herbal, very fresh and clearly agave driven, while the palate turns earthy with herbal notes such as lemon verbena, well balanced throughout. Bottled at 47.5%, it keeps the texture and clarity expected of a traditional Oaxacan mezcal.