El Jolgorio Mezcal Especial Arroqueño

El Jolgorio Mezcal Especial Arroqueño is a joven from Casa Cortes in Santiago Matatlan, made wholly from the semi wild Arroqueño, a large agave that can need up to twenty five years to ripen. It is part of the Especial line, launched in 2017 to set apart the rarest agaves that surface only once a year, if at all, and is released in tiny batches to keep the slow growing plant sustainable.
Arroqueño carries a big cooked agave body, and here the nose runs to heavy tropical fruit while the palate shows pale green mango against an earthy, mineral note, full bodied without heat. The agave is roasted in a traditional underground pit in the artesanal Oaxacan style and bottled at 50 percent, unaged, so the long matured plant and the roast speak for themselves.