Mezcal, Espadin 'Destilado Con Cacao', Macurichos

• Mezcal produced in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca • Maestro Mezcalero Valentin Martinez Sernas • Made from 100% Espadín (Agave angustifolia) matured between 6–12 years • Cooked in conical earthen pit oven using pine and mesquite wood • Milled using traditional horse-drawn stone tahona • Fermented in Encino oak vats (tinas) using proprietary well water • Distilled twice using a traditional clay pot Filipino still • The second distillation sees the addition of fresh Oaxacan cacao made by Gonzalo’s sisters • Rested 21 months in glass • Hot cocoa on the nose; the palate is graceful and light on its feet with pink peppercorn, jasmine, and herbs; light but pronounced smoke gives a mature backbone to the notes of cacao and the finish is salty and earthy • 48.8% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch) This one is all about family. Macurichos is produced by the four Martinez Sernas brothers and their nephew, Valentín; meanwhile, at the same palenque, the family’s three sisters produce their own Oaxacan chocolate brand using a combination of cacao grown by the family and sourced from their partners in Chiapas. For this incredible mezcal, young Valentín, during the second distillation in a clay pot still, combines the mezcales he and his uncles distill with the cacao made by his mother and aunts. A truly remarkable, gracefully integrated spirit, nearly impossible not to love.