Mezcal Vago Espadin Elote 2020

Mezcal Vago Espadin Elote is a joven mezcal from the 2020 bottling, built on a single distillation of 100% Espadin and then redistilled with roasted corn. It is the work of Aquilino Garcia Lopez, a farmer and mezcalero whose maize grows beside the agave rows above his distillery in Candelaria Yegole, in the Sola de Vega district of Oaxaca. The same dried corn that feeds the family tortillas flavours the spirit, so the maize is an infusion only and the mezcal remains a pure agave distillate. Just 1186 litres of this batch were filled.
The corn is toasted on a comal, a flat wood fired clay pan, then placed in the still with the mezcal so its aroma carries over on the second distillation. It never ferments. The nose opens with smoky roasted corn and dry river stones, the palate is sweet with woody tones, honeycomb, green tropical fruit and gentle smoke, and the long finish closes on mint and papaya at a full 50.2%.