Del Maguey Single Village Arroqueno Santa Catarina Minas Mezcal

Arroqueño is one of the giants — an Agave americana variety whose piñas can weigh hundreds of pounds and take up to twenty-five years to mature — and Del Maguey's is distilled in clay in the ancestral heartland. Ron Cooper, the Taos artist who founded Del Maguey in 1995 on the single-village idea, bottles it from Santa Catarina Minas, the village in the Ocotlán district where distillation is still done in ollas de barro over direct fire, by the Carlos family palenque: wild arroqueño, roasted in an earthen pit, crushed by hand and tahona with no machinery at any step, naturally fermented, and twice-distilled in clay, bottled at around 49% ABV; check your label for the lot. Marcas de Tequila describes a creamy texture with pronounced melon, fresh green bean, and vibrant citrus — the distinctive notes that make it unique. Expect a nose of cooked agave, green vegetables, and honeydew with the earthy softness of clay, opening into a rich, viscous, almost creamy palate where melon sweetness meets a green, savory depth and a mineral edge, the smoke gentle and integrated, finishing very long and elegant. Honest note: arroqueño is scarce — a plant that takes a quarter-century yields little and can't be rushed — and this is a sipper priced accordingly. In a copita, neat, slowly. The certified-organic hand-blown bottle with the Ken Price label. A giant agave, in clay.

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