Del Maguey Single Village Minero Santa Catarina Minas Mezcal

Minero is mezcal distilled in clay — and Mezcal Reviews' drinkers call it clay-pot magic that has no substitute. Santa Catarina Minas, a village in the Ocotlán district south of Oaxaca City, is the heartland of ancestral mezcal, where distillation is still done in ollas de barro, clay pots over direct fire with a bamboo or carrizo tube, the method that predates copper. Ron Cooper, the Taos artist who founded Del Maguey in 1995 on the single-village idea, has bottled Minero from the palenque of Florencio Carlos Vásquez and family there for decades: 100% espadín, roasted in an earthen pit, crushed by hand and tahona, naturally fermented, and twice-distilled in clay, bottled at 49% ABV. Del Maguey's notes: a nose full of flower essence, vanilla, and figs, with a burnt-honey flavor and a bit of lemon — deep and smooth. Marcas de Tequila: granite and fig on the nose, citrus, honey, and green herbs on the palate, highly recommended. Mezcal Reviews' tasters find clay, leather, black olive, and a pronounced but beautifully integrated smoke, and note it's become harder to find as prices rose. Expect the rustic softness clay lends — rounder, earthier, more textured than copper — with a long, mineral finish. Honest note: it's a sipper, and it's scarce. In a copita, neat. Del Maguey's ancestral classic.

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