LAMATA TAMAULIPAS ENSAMBLE 47.8% 750ML AGAVE SPIRITS; TRADICIONAL MEXICO; Maestro Mezcalero Jose Castellanos

Destilado de Agave produced in Las Virgenes, Tamaulipas Maestro Mezcalero Jose Castellanos Equal blend of 3 agave: A. americana, A. asperrima & A. univittata Cooked in a conical earthen oven and crushed in a trapiche (sugarcane press) Fermented from pressed juice only (no water, no fiber)!!! Distilled twice using moonshine-style steel pot still with “thumper” barrel condenser 48% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch) Amazing, mind-bending mezcal from just over the Texas border. Since water and fiber are not used in fermentation, the amount of agave used to produce this batch is significantly higher than most mezcal. Rich and unctuous mouthfeel with a powerful, perfumed nose of muscat grapes, broiled prawns, tomato water, and oregano. TASTING NOTES In the border state of Tamaulipas, agave distillates have a unique history all their own, exemplified by this beautiful ensamble (blend) from maestro Jose Castellanos. Three different agave are used in equal proportion: Agave asperrima and Agave americana, both referred to generically as “Maguey” (Spanish for “agave”), with the smaller Agave univittata, locally dubbed “Amole”. All three are harvested and cooked together in a conical earthen oven; their caramelized juices are then squeezed out using an antique sugarcane press, or trapiche, while the fibers are discarded. During U.S. Prohibition, moonshine-style stills were smuggled over the border from Texas and became the favored local method: a traditional pot still is amended with a wooden barrel or “thumper” acting as a condenser between the pot and the coil. The resulting mezcal is wildly unique, with a distinct and delightful funkiness found nowhere else in Mexico.