Yuu Baal Mezcal Espadin Joven

Yuu Baal Mezcal Espadin Joven is an artesanal mezcal from San Juan del Rio in the Tlacolula district of Oaxaca, made by maestro mezcalero Isaias Martinez Juan from Espadin grown around seven years to maturity. The brand name joins the Zapotec words for earth and fire, the two elements behind every pit roasted agave spirit, and at 40 percent this is a soft, lightly smoky bottling pitched at first time drinkers.
The agave hearts are cut by machete and coa, roasted in a concave stone oven, then crushed with a stone tahona wheel and fermented naturally in pinewood vats before a double distillation. That underground roast supplies the smoke, which here reads as smoked meat and ember rather than anything heavy, while dried papaya, orange and a dusting of spring flowers fill out the nose. The palate is sweet and fruity, mild and warm, with the Espadin showing clearly and a clean unaged finish.