It’s been a few weeks of nothing but whisky reviews. Let’s do another week of mezcal. This week’s reviews will all be of releases by La Luna. Based in the mountains of Michoacán, La Luna produces mezcal from a range of agave types and seems to be quite widely available in the US. I base this latter statement on the fact that their mezcals are easy to find in Minnesota, and ours is not a state where a lot of specialty booze is easily spotted on shelves. You can find out more about the company here. The first one I am reviewing this week is Lot 63 of their Tequilana made from Blue Weber agave and bottled at 48.51% (the abv varies by lot number). This is the same agave that is used in the production of tequila. You may have encountered the statement, “all tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila”; well, this mezcal may effectively be a tequila—though unlike most tequilas this is made in an artisanal manner with the agave cooked in ovens and very long fermentation times and so on. Let’s see what it’s like.
La Luna, Tequilana (48.51%; Lot 63; from my own bottle)
Nose: Bright and green with lime and cut chillies in vinegar. On the second sniff the herbal notes come out to play: dill, sage, thyme; the smoke comes out behind the herbs. There’s a fair bit of salt too and then a little vegetal bitterness. As it sits there’s some naugahyde. Not much change with a drop or two of water.
Palate: Comes in as promised by the nose; a little sweeter here. A good drinking strength and rich texture. The smoke builds with each sip and then the vegetal notes begin to come through here as well. With more time it gets more peppery. With water it gets sweeter still.
Finish: Long. The smoke is most evident here as the brighter green notes fade. More vegetal and peppery here too with time. As on the palate with water.
Comments: This is an excellent everyday mezcal. Goes down dangerously easily. Even though I’m very much at an exploratory stage and looking to try as much as I can, there’s a very good chance I will replace this bottle when it’s done.
Rating: 87 points.