QuiQuiRiQui Mexicano Mezcal (700ml)

In some regions agave 'Mexicano' is also known as 'Dobadaan' (its local name in Zapotec). The Mexicano variety grows from Sonura south to Oaxaca, mostly in the foothills. Drinking mezcal made with Mexicano is a unique experience. Though exact numbers are unknown, some speculate that there are seven or more sub-varieties of Mexicano—inc. Mexicano Penca Larga, Mexicano Penca Corta, Mexicano Liso, Chontal and Amarillo Grande—with each yielding different characteristics.

Using ten-year-old wild and semi-wild agave grown within an hours drive of the palenque, QQRQ’s Mexicano is crafted in Santiago Matatlán by Carlos Méndez, the sixth-generation Mezcalero behind QQRQ’s house mezcal. A passionate advocate of sustainability, Méndez collects wild seeds from the hills, cultivating and nurturing them in safe conditions before reintroducing these plants to the wild.

Tasting note: Clear. Soft, semi sweet aromas opening with varnish, tyre tube, unripe pineapple and green wood developing to dark chocolate and mesquite smoke. Incredibly accessible for the ABV, delivering off-dry, oily flavours suggesting smoldering mesquite, green banana, rubber and light fusel notes followed by a drying, minerally, charry agave finish. Arguably the smokiest of the collection. Super complex. 47% Alc./Vol.