Review: Kilinga Bacanora – Silvestre, Blanco, and Reposado

Sure, let’s start with the basics: What’s bacanora?

In the northern Mexico state of Sonora, bacanora is a type of mezcal traditionally made from a particular strain of agave, Agave angustifolia. Like Tequila, Bacanora is also a town that is the spiritual home of the beverage, though it can be and is made all over Sonora. Bacanora is produced much like mezcal, pinas harvested and cooked in ovens — traditionally heated by mesquite wood, which provides a mezcal-like smokiness, but not necessarily. The roasted/smoked agave is mashed, fermented, and double distilled. While much bacanora is bottled unaged, it can also go into oak barrels and be released as a reposado or anejo.

So: Bottom line, bacanora is the mezcal of the north.

Kilinga makes single-estata bacanora in the town of Alamos. It was established in 2018 and offers four varieties of bacanora, three of which we review here.

Kilinga Bacanora Silvestre – Made from 7 to 9 year old agave angustifolia pacifica. Bright and lemony on the nose, with a fresh herbaceous quality that eventually loses some of its punch. It noses like a very strong tequila, though it’s only 40% abv. Equally refreshing on the palate, with a punch of lemon and a unique note of white pepper and mint, it’s virtually smoke-free, save for the lightest hint of cigar smoke late in the game. The finish is where the spirit loses some of its power, slightly short with heavily perfumed camphor notes lingering the longest. Quite refreshing, a natural-born mixer. 80 proof. A- / $33

Kilinga Bacanora Blanco – Made from 10 to 12 year old agave angustifolia pacifica “capon,” a unique treatment done to agave wherein part of the stalk is cut off before maturity, helping the agave focus its energy back on the pina rather than the flowering stalks. The difference is immediately noticeable, with an earthier, more smoldering nose that evokes charred wood and tanned leather, plus a stronger greenery note. Not so much fruit here, but it’s ringed with some lemon and grapefruit peel. It’s bolder in every dimension on the palate, and quite a bit more fiery, with a more roasted agave quality, lightly vegetal and showcasing stronger notes of black pepper and a bit of mushroom. Some turned earth on the finish never strikes as overly savory or heavy, brightened up by some late-game lime leaf creeping into the mix. The pick for drinkers who want a bit more gravity in their glass. 84 proof. A- / $33

Kilinga Bacanora Reposado – Standard angustifolia pacifica baconora aged in American oak barrels for up to 3 years. An unusual note of cedar melding with mixed florals kicks things off on the nose here, coming across almost like a men’s cologne. These flavors double down on the palate, where the bacanora emerges as extremely floral with heavy notes of lilac and jasmine, that fresh, green cedar note building to a crescendo on the tongue. Tequila drinkers expecting the sweetness of a reposado tequila will be knocked off their barstools by the savory, floral character on display here, not to mention the overt woodiness of the finish, which comes across as more whiskeylike than anything I’ve encountered from Mexico. Truly unique but a little bizarre. 80 proof. B / $47

The post Review: Kilinga Bacanora – Silvestre, Blanco, and Reposado appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider’s Guide to Good Drinking.