Mezcal Verde Amarás

Mezcal Verde is the entry release from Mezcal Amaras, made entirely from Espadin, Agave angustifolia, in Oaxaca. It is an artesanal joven aimed squarely at cocktails and long drinks, with each bottle carrying a different artist label, and it leans into smoke and earthy softness rather than subtlety. As a sustainability minded house, Amaras pays its artisanal producers above the regional norm.

The agave is roasted for about five days in an underground oven fired with ocote, encino and pepper tree, which loads the spirit with the wood smoke that suits a mixed drink. A stone tahona crushes the cooked piñas before a natural fermentation of seven to thirty days in 1,500 litre vats, and the mezcal is twice distilled in a 500 litre copper still. The profile is strongly woodsmoke driven, with green apple, grass, fresh peach and a leathery edge, bottled at 42%.