Clase Azul Guerrero Mezcal

Papalote is an agave that can't be farmed. Agave cupreata grows wild in the mountains of Guerrero and Michoacán, takes 12 to 15 years to mature, and has to be harvested from the hillsides by hand — which is why Guerrero's mezcal tradition remains one of the least commercialized in Mexico, still largely family-run over clay and wood fire. Clase Azul, the tequila house famous for its hand-painted ceramic decanters, chose it for the second release in its regional mezcal series, after Durango's cenizo and before San Luis Potosí's salmiana. The agave is pit-roasted, fermented, and copper-pot distilled in the Guerrero mountains, where the coastal climate meets deep green forest — and Clase Azul says the mezcal tastes of both. Bottled at 40% ABV in a teal-blue sandblasted ceramic decanter with a hummingbird motif drawn from local iconography, each hand-painted by artisans in Santa María Canchesda. Clase Azul's notes: grapefruit skin, fresh wood, rosemary, and peanut oil with hints of butter and daisy flowers, full-bodied. The Liquor Barn found bright citrus and herbal salinity moving into cocoa, toasted sesame, and honey, finishing on paprika and milk chocolate over smoky agave. The Liquor Bros place it as the smokiest, earthiest of the three — the one that reads most like what people expect from mezcal. Honest reception: Mezcal Reviews' drinkers split between calling it the best mezcal they've tasted and calling it overpriced, and at this tier that debate is inevitable. A collector's decanter with serious mezcal inside. Neat, in a copita, slowly.

Buy Clase Azul Guerrero Mezcal online with fast shipping right to your door.