Tepanal Ancestral Coyote Mezcal (75cl, 49%)

A still-proof ancestral mezcal from maestro Rafael García Aragón in Santa María Sola de Vega, Oaxaca. It is distilled from wild Coyote, a variety of Agave americana that grows in the hills around Tepanaltepec, and bottled at 49% ABV in a 750ml bottle. Coyote is slow to mature and rarely bottled on its own. The García Quiroz family has made agave spirits here for three generations, roasting the agave in a stone-lined earthen pit, fermenting with wild yeast in open wooden vats, and double distilling in small clay pots. The nose shows earth, cacao shell, leather, roasted maguey and dry forest. The palate is bold and concentrated, with dark chocolate, burnt sugar, pine resin, cracked pepper and roasted nuts over mineral depth, finishing long, smoky and earthy.