Bruxo Mezcal Artesanal No. 2 Espadin Barril Pechuga De Maguey

Pechuga is mezcal's ceremonial style — a third distillation with fruit, spices, and traditionally a raw chicken or turkey breast hung in the still, made for weddings and funerals — and Bruxo's No. 2 takes the idea somewhere else entirely. Instead of poultry, it's pechuga de maguey: the espadín-and-barril mezcal is redistilled with freshly roasted agave hearts, which lend a deep, sweet, caramelized-agave richness and a whisper of extra smoke, with no animal involved. Bruxo means "wizard" in Portuguese, and the X is for the way Oaxaca and México are pronounced; the brand was built by a group of friends who fell for mezcal and its people. Made in San Dionisio Ocotepec, Oaxaca, the agaves are pit-roasted, crushed, naturally fermented, and copper-pot distilled, with the final pass over roasted maguey, bottled at around 46% ABV with a wax seal; every lot varies slightly, so check yours. Mezcal Pro describes it as not your typical pechuga: rich and sweet with a hint of smoke, the roasted agave doing what the fruit and meat do in a traditional one. Expect a nose of caramelized agave, cooked sugar, and soft smoke, opening into a rounder, sweeter, fuller palate than the No. 1 — roasted agave, honey, a faint vegetal green, and warm spice — finishing long and gently smoky. Honest note: this is a specialty bottling, richer and sweeter than Bruxo's other numbers, and it's a sipper first. Neat, in a copita, or as the base of a smoky dessert cocktail. The wizard's vegetarian pechuga.

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