For the first booze review of the month, I have for you another mezcal. Last week I reviewed a special edition of La Luna’s Manso Sahuayo that was bottled for the Minnesota Agave Society. This week I have for you a tobala from Gusto Historico. Gusto Historico is a relatively recent brand. As far as I can make out, they are based in Oaxaca and bottle mezcals distilled by mezcaleros from the region, seemingly almost all from the town of Miahuatlan. Two of the main mezcaleros they work with are the father and son pair of Victor and Emanuel Ramos. This tobala was made by Victor Ramos. I specify this because they’ve also released a tobala distilled by Ignacio Juarez and another by Emanuel Ramos (the labels are of different colours and if that’s not enough to tell them apart, the names of the mezcaleros are on the rear labels that have lots of other detailed production info on them). I’ve liked all the (not-very many) tobalas I’ve tried so far and am looking forward to this one as well. Let’s get right to it. Continue reading
Tag Archives: Tobala
Cinco Sentidos, Tobala (for Tricks of the Trade)
One of the unexpected things that happened in 2023 is that I suddenly, randomly became very enamoured of mezcal. This happened in the second half of the year when I finally drank some samples I’d acquired and hoarded. It wasn’t long before I was buying bottles of my own to explore further. I’ll have reviews of those bottles in the coming months; here now is a review from one of the aforementioned samples. It is a Tobala released by Cinco Sentidos, a brand launched by El Distilado, an Oaxaca restaurant that is renowned for its collection and championing of mezcal produced by small distillers in the region. This particular Tobala was bottled for Tricks of the Trade, a store in Fort Worth. I’ve liked all the Tobalas I’ve tried so far—not that my exploration so far of the vast range of agaves and producers has been very wide or deep. Anyway let’s see what it’s like.
Continue reading
Rey Campero, Tobala
The first two reviews of this week of mezcal were both of releases from Mal Bien (the Alto and the Verde). Mal Bien is an American company that works with small producers in Mexico. Today’s review is also of a mezcal from a company that works with small producers in Mexico but this time it’s a Mexican company: Rey Campero. They are based in a small village in Oaxaca and are a family-owned company led by a mezcalero, Romulo Sanchez Parada. So if you like the idea of the bulk of the profit from the sale of mezcal going to producers based in Mexico—and I have to admit I do— Rey Campero is the brand for you. They make mezcal from a range of maguey varieties and in a number of styles. I’ll review a few more of their releases next month but first up, I have for you a review of a Tobala (the name of the variety of maguey it is distilled from). This variety is apparently grown at high altitudes, which gives it a distinct character. As I’ve said before, I’m not knowledgeable enough about mezcal to confidently tease apart the characteristics of different varietals of maguey but I am willing to slowly learn. I do know I really liked the Del Maguey Tobala I’ve previously reviewed. Let’s see what I make of this one. Continue reading
Del Maguey, Tobala
This month I’ve already done a week of reviews of a category I don’t know very much about: bourbon. I’m now pleased to do a week of reviews of a category I know even less about: mezcal. I’ll be reviewing two mezcals from Del Maguey, the brand that has in recent years raised the profile of mezcal among whisky drinkers, and another from Quiquiriqui, a brand I had not heard of until I acquired a sample of it. First up, Del Maguey’s Tobala. It is named for the variety of agave from which it is is distilled. The tobala agave is much smaller variety than most others used to make mezcal, grows at high elevations, takes a long time to reach maturity, and apparently its yields too are quite low. All of this means mezcals made from tobala are typically more expensive. This Del Maguey iteration—which is a single village/town expression from Santa Maria Albarradas—goes for over $100, if you can find it. I’ve never had a tobala mezcal before, and so will not be able to tell you if this is a representative example of the varietal, but I’m curious to try it. Continue reading