Description
This is easily one of the most unique spirits commercially available in the United States. I’ve only found spirits this distinctive traveling to distillers around the world and carrying bottles back in my luggage. The nose and flavor are redolent of fermented butter, the distillation process is just as unique. It’s a wonder of distilling that Don Luis Contreras gets it up to 46% ABV in a single distillation run in clay pots. His olla set up is like something out of a science fiction film, a cluster of pots all cemented together with the leftovers of previous distillation runs. Venenosa imports about 700 liters a year because Don Luis’ production runs are so small, he really can’t make that much more.
This is easily one of the most distinctive mezcals available in the United States and it’s the fruit of a distilling process that is as basic as it gets. If people were distilling in Mexico before the Spaniards arrived, this is probably how they were doing it.
Tasting Notes
The nose on the Sierra del Tigre de Jalisco is incredibly distinctive, it hits you like fermented butter or cheese and doesn’t change. The flavor matches that aroma. It’s incredibly full of a rich fermented butter, all round and sweet. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t coat your mouth, the spirit is all flavor and very little viscosity. It has a rich background flavor of roasted agave emerges with some real nuttiness that reminds me of fermented masa or cashew butter.
