Palenqueros Coyote Valente Garcia (70cl, 47%)

A clear joven mezcal made from cultivated Coyote agave. Adrián and Raúl García and Semeí García continue the work of the late palenquero Valente García in Santa María La Pila, in the Miahuatlán district of Oaxaca. The agaves are cooked in an underground conical stone oven, crushed by an electric machine, fermented for six days with natural yeasts in sabino and ocote vats, then distilled twice in a 350-litre wood-fired copper still. It is bottled undiluted at 47% ABV, with an outturn of 1,429 bottles. The nose shows quince, citrus and cinnamon, with a savoury note reminiscent of smoked bacon. On the palate, milk caramel and roasted cocoa meet a deep, rounded sweetness. Nuts and a hint of vanilla carry the long finish, where bitterness and remaining sweetness interplay.