Review: Aguita Magica Ensemble Mezcal

This quirky mezcal from Oaxaca’s Don Rogelio comes packaged in a conical bottle, wrapped in gold wire, with upside-down language on parts of the label — so, you see, it’s special. It also has “magica” in the name.

All of that aside, this ensemble release is made from a blend of 7-year old Espadín and 15-year(!) old Tobalá agaves, made with a traditional tahona and cooked in underground ovens.

We received a small sample to review — and even the mini was wrapped in gold wire.

Aguita Magica Ensemble Mezcal Review

The nose surprises with its general softness, the smoke well-tamed and the aroma otherwise somewhat indistinct. It takes its time to develop, at which point notes of freshly turned earth, mushroom, and green bean arrive, layered with notes of chimney soot. Things sweeten up with time in glass, showcasing a curious blend of lime leaf bubbling away in brown butter, peppery on the back end.

The producer notes banana as the predominant tasting note, and it’s a curious one that has had me noodling over it. Plantain, I think, is more accurate, with its starchy, more savory character — here coming across as less cooked than you’d expect with your Cuban dinner. The smoke isn’t heavy, but it’s certainly present, more gravelly and tarry than I expected (or desired) given the curiously fruity attack. As the mezcal develops a significant minerality develops, like licking a freshly cut piece of slate. A more savory quality builds from there, the finish evoking smoked nopales, street corn, and more tough, wet asphalt.

Initially gentle and almost innocuous, this is a mezcal that develops gradually, forcefully, and almost bizarrely as it falls ass-first down its bespoke rabbit hole, landing on a nutty and candy-sweet pillow at the bottom. While it’s an enchanting experience from start to finish, in the end I couldn’t decide whether I wanted more brooding smokiness out of it… or less.

80 proof. NOM-O638X.

B+ / $70 [BUY IT NOW FROM FROOTBAT]

The post Review: Aguita Magica Ensemble Mezcal appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider’s Guide to Good Drinking.