Review: El Buho Mezcal Espadin (2024)

It’s been 12 years since we first reviewed El Buho Mezcal made with Espadin agave, and today we swing around again to see how it compares today. “El buho” is Spanish for “the owl,” an animal which (their website explains) is “revered in Mexican culture as a spiritual link between the living and the dead, carrying souls from the living world to the after life.” The brand was founded in 2012 by entrepreneur Redford Parker in partnership with the Jimenez-Mendez family, which has a long history of distilling mezcal. El Buho is currently directed by Elsa Juarez Mendez and Octavio Monterroza Jimenez. Let’s give the 2024 version — which now specifies Espadin agave on the label– a try.

Poured in a glass, the mezcal reveals more classic Espadin character than when we first tried it, including bold aromas of fresh agave, green pepper, pine, smoke, and a touch of burnt rubber. The palate follows suit nicely with lightly salted, slightly sweet roasted agave notes hitting first. Green pepper and cracked black pepper follow along with lemon citrus and light smoke. The burnt rubber note comes at the end, which is initially enjoyable but ends on a bit of a sour note that detracts from the finish. And yet, this is a really nice mezcal that is certainly good enough to sip neat. Tried today, El Buho has improved with bolder flavors that come together better than they did 12 years ago. That said, the score (B+) remains the same because the bar has gone up as more quality mezcals have become available in the U.S. Also, happily, the price has not increased since we first tried it, making it a better product for the same outlay.

90 proof. NOM 0110X.

B+ / $45 / elbuhomezcal.com [BUY IT NOW FROM CASKERS]

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