El Jolgorio Mezcal Especial Sierrudo

El Jolgorio Sierrudo is a rare bottling from the El Jolgorio Especial line, made by Jose Cortes of the Casa Cortes family in Santiago Matatlan, Oaxaca. El Jolgorio is the family's line of very small batches of wild and semi-wild agave, and this one uses Sierrudo, a seldom-distilled member of the Agave americana group related to arroqueno, sierra negra and coyote. The plant is enormous, taking sixteen to twenty years to mature and reaching up to 500 kilograms.
As an americana-group agave it gives a big, savoury, earthy spirit. The nose is fresh and herbaceous with sour fruit notes of pineapple, kiwi and mandarin, while the palate shows herbs and seeds, pine nut and almond, with a marked acidity lingering on the finish. Pit roasted and traditionally made in tiny quantities, it is bottled unaged at 50% to keep the unusual agave undiluted.