Mezcal Ancestral, Mexicano, 'Eustaquio Velasco Ruiz', El Jolgorio

• Mezcal Ancestral produced in Sola de Vega, Oaxaca
• Maestro Mezcalero Eustaquio Velasquez Ruiz
• 100% Mexicano (A. rhodacantha)
• Cooked in a small, conical earthen oven; crushed using wooden mallets
• Fermented in open air wood vats (tinas)
• Distilled twice using traditional Filipino-style clay pot stills
• 50.6% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

A joyful surprise, this expression is big in flavor but delicate in balance, running from flavors of tobacco leaves to chocolate mousse and managing to display copious minerality and an undercurrent of stewed fruits that is particularly pleasing. Finding Agave rhodacantha distilled in clay in Oaxaca is a particular rarity, and finding one that manages to create something so different and yet so approachable feels miraculous. A memorable batch, which we’ll be sorry to see go!