Joel Velasco
Wild Common
46%
NAS
Wild Common is the latest tequila distiller making the jump into the mezcal space. Per usual for the trend, the spirit is made not at their distillery, but in partnership with local mezcaleros. Produced in San Luis Del Rio, Oaxaca, this Ensamble is distilled by fourth-generation maestro mezcalero Joel Velasco using mature Espadín and Tobalá agaves. The piñas are roasted in an earthen pit, crushed with a stone tahona, fermented in open-air pine vats and double distilled in small stainless and copper pot stills. I've been a big fan of everything Wild Common thus far, and am excited to see how their ethos has translated into a new spirit type.
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Light sparkles of fresh guava, mango, honeysuckle, wet clay and smoke. Buried beneath is that slightly funky cream cheese quality you sometimes get in tobalá.
A creamy sweetness envelops the palate with hints of banana, pear and pineapple. It's got this lovely tropical fruit vibe going, balanced out by a sour quality somewhere between under ripe lime and astringent minerality. Great mouthfeel that punches far above its weight. Nice agave presence as well, and decidedly not smoky.
An ashy, slightly bitter note only hinted at on the palate emerges on the finish. Those sweet fruits are there, no doubt, but they're accompanied grass, eucalyptus and a smidge of toasted coconut.
Not sure what the exact breakdown of agaves in this batch are, but it definitely leans harder into tobalá than espadin. In my book, that's always a good thing. This ensamble is super approachable, with just the right amount of funkiness lurking under the surface to demand complexity. It's sweet, it's sour and it goes down real easy.
86
Disclosure: The producer provided this sample to review free of charge, and without expectation of review or rating.
