Mezcal Vago Ensamble 2019

This blue-label Vago ensamble was made by Emigdio Jarquín Ramírez in Miahuatlán, in the southern highlands of Oaxaca, from a mix of Tobalá, Espadín and Madrecuixe cooked, fermented and distilled together. Just 683 litres were filled in March 2019. Mezcal Vago bottles a single maestro per release, and the agave makeup and flavour shift batch to batch, which is part of the house style.

Emigdio distils in copper using a refrescador, a second cooling pot, and like every Vago the mezcal is made in a traditional palenque with no additives. The ensamble draws the delicate floral, mineral side of wild Tobalá together with the dry, herbal minerality of Madrecuixe and the sweeter, balanced backbone of Espadín, all carried at an undiluted 49.9% that gives the spirit weight and aromatic reach. The brand replants three agaves for every one it harvests.