Mezcal Vago Espadín by Emigdio Jarquín (75cl, 50.5%)

A joven mezcal artesanal from Mezcal Vago, made from 100% espadín agave and bottled at about 50.5% ABV in a 750 ml bottle. It comes from Don Emigdio Jarquín Ramírez in El Nanche, Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz, Oaxaca, at nearly 5,000 feet elevation. The agave is 8 to 12 years cultivated and the production uses an earthen pit roast, stone tahona, pine-vat fermentation and double distillation in copper. The caliche soils of the Miahuatlán valley give it a saline, mineral-driven character. The nose shows wild flowers, fresh-cut agave, smoked agave, fresh herbs, sweet citrus and earthy minerality. The palate brings cooked sugar, honey, pineapple, mango, citrus pulp, white garden flower, mint, roasted bell pepper and cacao nibs, finishing clean and stony with granite, salt air and gentle smoke.