Artisan mezcal from Oaxaca is a world-class spirit, and it comes from the last of the world’s great spirit regions not yet dominated by huge commercial producers. Artisan mezcal is richer and more true to its material than its famous cousin tequila: this because artisan mezcal is distilled including the agave solids and without diluting the fermented distilling material with water (done with tequila to recover more alcohol). Los Nahuales (Los Danzantes in Mexico) is the brainchild of the Muñoz brothers, producing authentic local products for their fabulous restaurants. Very very few spirits are so authentically hand-made by ancestral methods. These are extraordinary products.
PRODUCTS & IMAGES
Los Nahuales Blanco (Joven)
No blanco tequila can stand up to it: finest blanco mezcal in bottle. Carefully selected espadín agaves from all over the Oaxacan valley, pit-oven roasted, stone milled, fermented in pine vats & distilled by Karina Abad and Joel Antonio. Technical improvements in method result in a mezcal that is full, rich, balanced, and lightly fruity, with a hint of agave sweetness. Light mesquite smokiness from the roasting oven. 47% abv $62
LOS NAHUALES BLANCO FROM ARROQUEÑO
Single-batch release distilled from a semi-wild sub-variety of the agave Americana. Arroqueño has good acidity, yielding great flavor definition. Nice intensity. 48% abv $115
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LOS NAHUALES BLANCO FROM SIERRA NEGRA
Single-batch release distilled from a sub-variety of the agave Americana noted for its suavity. Rich flavor. 48% abv $115
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LOS NAHUALES REPOSADO
Six to nine months in French Nevers and American oak. The oak is subtle but utterly transforms the mezcal into an unusually elegant and subtle distilled spirit that rivals great malt whiskies. Brilliant, well-structured, and complex. 47% abv $74
LOS NAHUALES AÑEJO
Just over a year in French Nevers oak. Beautifully and gracefully mature, with deep rich flavor and a soft enduring finish. Long finish: scotch whisky fans love it. Very little is exported. Scarce. 45.2% abv $115
LOS NAHUALES METODO ANTIGUO
Made the authentic pre-Norma way by using tails from the first distillation run, instead of water, to descend the mezcal to bottling proof. The tails add a lovely flowery complexity. Good stuff 47.8% abv $72
LOS NAHUALES SPECIAL EDITION NO.2
A single batch of an ensamble (blended at roasting) of wild cirial (a sub-variety of agave Karwinski) and a high mountainside espadín (agave angustifolia) distilled by Joel Antonio Juan and Karina Abad 770 bottles. The tall stalk creates flavors less baked than agaves whose piñas are at ground level: crisp fruitiness an unusual dry complexity. Scarce. 47% abv $105
LOS NAHUALES SPECIAL EDITION NO. 4
One of the finest mezcals ever distilled, a single batch of espadín (agave angustifolia) from March, 2013. The extraordinary quality of the batch was recognised when it came from the still, and it was matured in glass for five years, deepening and stabilizing its rich complexity. 770 bottles: Scarce. 49% abv $105 video
LOS NAHUALES STILL PROOF
2nd release/bottled without dilution. Produced 40% from wild jabalí (agave convallis) collected in the hills of San José Lachiguiri, west of Miahuatlan, in dark thin infertile soils. Jabalí is notoriously difficult to distill; here the acidic ferality is beautifully tamed by blending with a rich mature espadín from Pozo Blanco near Santiago Matatlan. 720 bottles only: Scarce. 53% abv $120
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