Review: El Buho Mezcal (2012)
Made in Oaxaca, this mezcal is made from espadin agave plants and roasted with mesquite for a full week in a fire pit before being crushed (by a burro!) and pressed for the juice. The fermented mash is twice distilled in an alembic pot still before bottling, unaged.
The smoky nose reveals little about what’s underneath, but the first sip starts off with a surprisingly high amount of sweetness on the tongue. Very fruity, it offers mainly tropical notes — papaya and a bit of pineapple, backed with touches of lemon. The smoke returns for the finish, as is typical of mezcal, a bit sticky sweet, perhaps due to that mesquite coming through.
I like El Buho’s components a lot, but as is often the case with smoky spirits, the balance is a bit off here, with sugar and fire not quite coming together into the burnt/caramelized sugar character that you want to take away from the experience.
Nice as a starter mezcal.
86 proof.
B+ / $47 / elbuhomezcal.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]
El Buho Mezcal (2012)
$47
