Tasting – Del Maguey Tobala

Del Maguey Tobala – By David Robinson

Being from Australia, Mezcal is a drink that until recently has had a little bit of an identity crisis. It would be fair to say that Mezcal is seen as the evil brother of Tequila, the ‘Tequila with the worms’, or even a redneck Mexican Moonshine product.

I have had the pleasure of travelling to Oaxaca in February 2013 to discover the beauty of Mezcal and am glad to see the ‘evil brother’ perception is quickly changing as more and more products/brands are becoming available in Australia. Only recently the entire Del Maguey range has been distributed in Australia & we were lucky enough to have had Ron Cooper head down under to spread the word. Since my trip to Oaxaca it would be an understatement to say I have a massive soft spot for Mezcal. It would be a greater understatement to say that I was extremely excited to get my hands on a rare bottle of Del Maguey Tobala

Tobala is an agave, maguey, unlike any other. It grows naturally at the highest altitude Canyons around Oaxaca. This wild agave grows in the shade of oak trees, very different to the Agave Azul and the Espadin which thrive in sunlight. Different to the Espadin & Azul Agave, the Tobala is smaller and broader leaf. It takes about eight Tobala Pinas to equal one pina from either the Espadin or Azul.

The area in which the Tobala comes from is an altitude of 8,200 feet, within a mountainous, tropical microclimate. Did I mention that they only make around 400 litres a year, which equates approximately 600 bottles of this rare gem a year; after the villages patron saints fiesta.

Ok so about the Del Maguey Tobala.

DOM 041X

Launched, Alcohol content, Distillation

Colour Clear

Aroma :Smokey, slight sulphur, Cooked Agave, Pineapple & Honey

Taste : Beautifully smooth Mezcal, with the initial taste being slightly sweet, with pear,, caramel and cooked agave, moving beautifully through the mid palate with a smokey & peppery hit, great length and balance

Finish Beautiful length. Wow, definitely one of the best Mezcals I have tried!!! Saludos!

For a Mezcal that runs at 45% this is incredibly smooth.