Mezcal Vago Espadin Joel Barriga 2020

Mezcal Vago bottles each of its mezcals under the name of the maker, and this Espadin comes from maestro mezcalero Joel Barriga, working in Miahuatlan, Oaxaca. The agave is Maguey Espadin, the cultivated Agave angustifolia that anchors most of the category with cooked agave, citrus and a gentle roast. Distilled in August 2020 and left joven, it is a clear, agave-forward expression of a classic central-valleys style.

Barriga roasts the piñas in a pit, crushes them with a stone tahona and distils twice in a copper refrescadera, the second cooling pot typical of the Ejutla and Miahuatlan region. The house works in a traditional palenque without additives. At 50.3% the mouthfeel is thick and oily, warm and dry, leading with lemon zest and peppercorn, a touch of vanilla sweetness and light blueberry and strawberry, then earth and minerals on a brisk close.