Mezcal San Cosme Artesano Edición 01 Ensamble

Mezcal San Cosme Artesano Edicion 01 is a joven ensamble, a mezcal made from several agaves cooked, fermented and distilled together rather than blended afterwards. This first release leans on largely wild magueyes: Madrecuixe at fifty percent, Tobala at twenty and Espadin at thirty, distilled in small batches at a palenque in Oaxaca.
Production follows long held methods. The agaves are baked in earthen pits lined with hot stones, fermented in stone vessels and crushed with a large millstone before distillation. Crystal clear in the glass, it shows smoke, wood and lemon on the nose, with a dominant smoky palate carrying roasted agave, leather and dry grasses into a long finish. At 43% the karwinskii minerality and the pit roast set the tone.