Double distilled from a 100% agave this Mezcal is an ensemble that has been blended from three distinct varieties of agave, Maguey Espadin, Tobala and Cuishe. Maguey Espadin is the most common varietal grown for producing mezcal, it has a moderate sweetness and gentle herbal and citrus flavours. Maguey Tobala is a smaller variety that also takes years longer to mature, it is significantly sweeter and holds more delicate floral and spice notes. Maguey Cuishe yields intensely flavoured mezcals with minerality and spice. This Mezcal is made as a balance between the three varietals and designed to be sipped, showing a sweet floral minerality with subtle smoky notes on the nose and a fresh herbal palate with a honey like sweetness, it pairs well with chocolate and citrus fruits.

Mezcal Legendario Domingo was founded in 2012 by Julian Saenger. Born and raised in Mexico, Julian has always had tremendous love and respect for the art of mezcal production, often finding ways to delve into production, marketing, brand launches and general support of the category throughout Mexico. When he finally found the opportunity to create a brand of his own through partnership with the Velasco family, he chose to centre the brand design around a recurring feeling he experienced through his journey in mezcal: celebration. Through its various labels, designed in Papel Picado, Legendario Domingo highlights different mezcal producing regions of Mexico, demonstrating exemplary distillation tradition from each region and emphasizing the differences in terroir. The mezcals Legendario Domingo produces are Palenque and regional designates (similar to vineyard designates in wine), purposefully emphasizing each region by accenting the terroir and capturing the agave varietal character, aromas, flavours and mouthfeel that wild fermentation and artisanal production afford. This Mezcal is made from 100% Cenizo (Durangensis) harvested at 10-12 years old from Nombre de Dios, in the Durango region by Maestro Mezcalero Familia Colon. The piña is cooked for 4-5 days in underground conical ovens ignited with mesquite, oak and huisache woods. The roasted piña are then crushed by a Mechanical Wheel that is traditional in region. Fermentation takes place in open underground wooden vats with fresh spring water for 6-8 days. No yeast is added, and instead indigenous yeast from the air ferments the agave juice. The mezcal is then double-distilled in a 300 litre Arabic Alembic pot still made of copper and stainless steel. The mezcal is then rested 30-45 days prior to being bottled. Each bottle is then filled, labeled and boxed by hand, completing the artisanal process from field to bottle. A nose of fresh green grapes and apple candy. the palate continues with more sweet candied fruit and freshly cut grass with more grape on the finish.

Nose: green pepper, vegetal Palate: green pepper, nuts and cream Finish: peppercorn, sweetness and citrus

This is perhaps the most reserved and yet aromatically complex of all the Quiquiriqui Mezcals, with a bright and perfumed, almost floral intensity, followed by sweet metallic notes, and some lingering fruitiness in the background. The palate is bolder, with meaty cured charcuterie characters and buttery sweetness, ahead of an almost ferrous zing and delicate wood smoke. The texture is supremely silky and slippery, coating the tongue before sliding away and leaving a finish abounding with classic Mezcal minerality.

Mezcal de Pechuga is made when a finished Mezcal is re-distilled with local fruits, grains and nuts, and a raw piece of protein (typically a chicken) is hung over the still to cook in the vapours. Traditionally, this style of Mezcal is produced for special occasions and consumed locally, and there are as many different versions as there are distilleries. QQRQ’s version trades the poultry for a homemade vegetarian mole paste, made to a traditional family recipe. Crafted by Carlos Méndez at his palenque in Santiago Matatlán, this Pechuga uses the QQRQ Espadín agave as its base. Following the second distillation, the mole paste is added and the spirit is rested to infuse for two weeks before the final, third distillation.

Don’t be tricked into thinking this has any similarity to a Patron Café or Kahlua. This is unmistakably Mezcal, but here there is a beautiful balance between minerality and smoke, hints almost of oak-aged characters of chocolate and caramel, plus that fresh coffee citrus/sourness. After a deceptively dry nose, the palate its creamy and round, viscous, silky and sweet. There’s a great balance of bitterness on the finish so it doesn't cloy. Incredibly long, there are café nuances but they are very, very subtle, lending an almost woody/spicy profile rather than brash primary coffee flavours.