Review: Madre Mezcal Ancestral Ensamble Espadin and Tobasiche

Madre Mezcal continues to innovate with this new line extension from its ensamble offering, an “Ancestral” bottling made from Espadin and Tobasiche agave. (Note the bottle now reads “and” instead of “y.”)

What’s an “Ancestral” mezcal? It all has to do with how it’s made:

What makes Madre Ancestral unique is that compared to most artisanal mezcals, where agaves are crushed by a horse-drawn stone wheel and distilled in copper pots, this expression uses agaves crushed by hand using wooden mallets and is distilled in hand-molded clay pots. This ancestral process reflects how the earliest mezcals were made, and each pot produces only 25 liters at a time, making this a very special offering.

Espadin agave is well-known; Tobasiche is a slow-growing variety related to Madrecuixe and, while difficult to work with, it is prized for its distinct flavor. Let’s give it a try.

Madre Mezcal Ancestral Ensamble Espadin and Tobasiche Review

This isn’t dissimilar to the Espadin and Cuishe offering on the nose, initially featuring somewhat off-putting, wildly sweet aromas of extremely overripe fruit, dragged through the fireplace. The intensely herbal quality here can come across as medicinal, almost sacramental, building to exotic notes of pepper, incense, and perfume, all moderately smoked. It’s a rather crazy collection of aromatics, and the longer you spend with it, the more exotic — and enticing — it becomes.

The sweetness fortunately tempers on the palate, at least to a degree. Notes of flamed orange, banana, and mango are all prominent, tempered (or perhaps enhanced) with notes of almond nougat and marshmallow cream. Spice comes roaring into focus in short order, a mix of black pepper, cardamom, and cloves providing a rather intense savory punch. It isn’t until late in the experience when the smokier elements of the spirit become more evident, and that smoldering quality helps to tie everything together, especially the spices, which can come across as overly aggressive at first. Much like toasting spices in a hot pan, here the smoke provides a tempering quality that focuses all the flavors this mezcal practically beats you over the head with. And that’s a good thing.

Give this one lots of time to grow and evolve. It’s definitely a conversation piece worth spending ample time with.

94 proof.

A / $100

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