Del Maguey Espadin Especial is a single village mezcal in the Vinos de Mezcal series. It is made in a very limited number by Rogelio Martinez Cruz, who normally makes Del Maguey’s Tobala, but who here has used 10-12 year old agave of the Espadin type. It is bottled at 45% alcohol, without adjustment with dye or chill filtration.
Color: Clear.
Smell: Beautiful, floral scent of orange blossom and lemon peel, light smoke and hints of pineapple.
Tasting notes: The taste is deep and complex, with salted caramel, pineapple and lime.
Serving suggestion: Enjoy it neat as you would a good cognac or whisky.
Started by Ron Cooper in 1995, Del Maguey is the world’s leading bottler of quality mezcal. Ron’s mission is to make good mezcal available outside of Mexico; something that used to be incredibly difficult – even almost impossible! Helping to lead the mission is Del Maguey’s exceptionally well-developed moral code, which goes far beyond what is normally seen in the industry. They are not trying to exchange glass beads for gold, but to spread knowledge of one of the world’s most complex and culturally important spirits in a responsible way, which gives something back to the local communities where the mezcal is produced, which guarantees that the small palenques can do it on the the same way they have done for hundreds of years and with the greatest respect for traditions, nature and the cultural, ritual and social importance that mezcal has in small villages in Mexico.
With Del Maguey, the concept of single village mezcal became an indicator of quality mezcal. Each mezcal in the range comes from one unique distillery in different villages around Mexico. They are not mixed together to form large cuvées, but bottled separately, in order to showcase each village’s terroir – both in relation to the soil where the agaves grow, the naturally occurring yeast in the distillery, etc.
The vinos de mezcal series includes very limited releases of mezcal made from rare agave types such as tobala or arroqueño.
The bottles’ charming labels, which depict idyllic (and sometimes a little mystical) images of everyday Mexico, were designed by Ken Price.
