Mezcal time part I – Mezcal Nauyaca (Mezcales de Leyenda) – Review

It’s summer time (almost), and I am always on the lookout for malt alternatives. I am not much of a Mezcal expert, and have only tried a few (not very good ones) until now, but I’ve been hearing good things about quality Mezcals, and luckily my mate Sjoerd (who’s always on the look out for quality booze) arranged a Mezcal bottle share, of some cool Mezcals from Mezcales de Leyenda.

Basically Mezcal is an alcoholic beverage obtained by distilling agave juice, or “maguey”, as opposed to Tequila which is basically made form the same family of plants (but has to be made in the Tequila region) Mezcal can be made in several regions in Mexico which consist a DOA : Durango , Guerrero , Oaxaca, San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas (as well as Guanajouto and Tamaulipas). At any rate, what is cool is that each region has different kind of Agave species, which vary in taste, aromas, and texture, which makes Mezcal more diverse and interesting. The Leyenda Mezcals are made using single agave, meaning only one sort of Agave, in this case we’re tasting agave Cupreata.

The first Mezcal I am tasting today is Mezcal Nauyaca, which is made of 100% wild agave Cupreata – meaning this is wild agave, not grown in fields to produce the mezcal , but just growing out there in the wild in the la Sierra Madre in Gurrero. This is a young (Joven) Mezcal which has not been matured in oak… so the color, is clear obviously.

Mezcal Nauyaca, 100% wild agave Cupreata, 42%, Guerrero, Mexico

Nose: Nice stuff. A hint of smoky and earthiness , cucumber and ground pepper. As well as a certain minerality too. I’d say it’s saline-y but there’s a certain sweetness going on underneath all that.

Palate: that’s a Nice twist on the nose. Pepper and sweet agave syrup up front. The smoke is more accentuated here, as well as salt and nuts. The pepper is back on the second wave of flavors as well as cocoa powder. Earthy but Also sweet.

Finish: spicy. Peppery. Agave and smoke. Really nice.

This has been a really nice Mezcal, much better than the ones I’ve had, and very nice neat. It’s complex, and highly interesting , with all those layers of sweet, spicy and salty notes, and the smoke. very nice stuff. Can’t wait to try the other two.