Alma Tepec Chile Liqueur
-
Distiller
Alma Tepec
-
Bottler
Alma Tepec
-
ABV
40%
-
Age
NAS
- Price $30 to $59.99
Launched in 2021, Alma Tepec touts itself as the first liqueur crafted from ancestral Pasilla Mixe chilies, a rare varietal native to the Sierra Norte mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico. The brand smoke dries its peppers, macerates them in a sugarcane base distillate for up to a year then blends them with natural cane sugar. Bottled at 40% ABV and available online in the range of $35, the liqueur is recommended inside myriad mezcal cocktails and Old Fashioned riffs.
- Raided Score: 94
- The Daily Pour
- Smoked peppers, adobo sauce and dried cherry stick to the palate with a faint heat. Hints of tobacco and star anise complement the bittersweet vibe, while the sugarcane (which tastes a bit more like molasses in this context) ties it all together with a none-too-sweet touch.
- Read Full Review
Raided Score is a conversion from an external site's score, to our in house uniform scoring system. Please see the FAQ for more.
-
Nose:
Ground cocoa nibs, chipotle peppers and tons of barbeque smoke.
-
Taste:
Smoked peppers, adobo sauce and dried cherry stick to the palate with a faint heat. Hints of tobacco and star anise complement the bittersweet vibe, while the sugarcane (which tastes a bit more like molasses in this context) ties it all together with a none-too-sweet touch. It's exceptionally rich on the palate, with a complexity on par with an amari.
-
Finish:
The heat — barely noticeable at first — creeps up in a big way on the finish. Ground chili pepper flakes, some tamarind sweetness and all of that smoke and red fruit from the palate.
-
Overall:
I could pick apart the flavors in this for days! It's got so much going on, leaning heavy into a smoked, almost savory character that's evened out by baking spice, dried fruits and tannic sweetness. Just a barspoon or two totally changes a cocktail, and it works equally well over a chunk of ice. Add this to you bar cart ASAP and thank me later.
-
Score:
94
-
Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.
- Our in house critic rates spirits on a scale of 0-10 (10 best) and is aggregated the same as external sources
