La Luna Cupreata Mezcal

Rating: 16/23 I don't think I've had a cupreata mezcal before, so I'm looking forward to trying this. I hope it has a unique profile that sets it apart from an espadin. N: Sour, cheese, super funky. Yeah, this is no espadin! A bit of vegetal bitterness and faint herbal rot, but that frankly could all just be the cheese. Some sweetness, but, again, that could be the cheese.Ah, I finally get a little bit of something not cheese. I'm not sure what it is, but it's wrapped in a light sweater of ethanol and a scarf of smoke. Ah, the smoke is growing as I let this air, actually. To be clear about the cheese: it's really funky. Like gorgonzola meets washed rind or something. I'm confused by this nose and I can't decide if I like it or not. Is it complex? I'm not sure either. P: Sweet and sour, then funky and savory (while still being sweet and sour). Sort of clean water with lemon, then very quickly the gorgonzola, which starts turning into the washed rind. Some earthy notes come in and then the smoke. There's a little of what tastes like the raw agave leaves. Green apple comes out of that sweetness and tartness at times. This is a quite complex dram. Although it's challenging, it is balanced to my palate. I do get a bit of what I can imagine some classifying as vomit in here, but I still like this unique profile. F: Cheese, lemon zest, drying. A bit sweet, but oddly still kind of a clean flavor. A tad raw, but not overly vegetal. Some white pepper and herbs. - Conclusion - This is really good. I was happy to find a non-espadin mezcal for so cheap (heck, even a good espadin can be hard to find at this price), but I was prepared for this to be an interesting dram that would linger. Delightfully, this is really enjoyable. I need to keep my eye open for more cupreata and more La Luna. There's no way I'm going under a 16 here. The complexity and balance are just too good. It sort of has that Ardbeg 10 quality to it where it's not everything that it could be, but it's a great example of a funky style and a surprisingly good deal. In terms of actual flavors though, the vegetal characteristics here remind me a bit of Laphroaig 10. I think that is is pretty close to that in terms of quality. And now I'm realizing that I don't have an updated rating for Laphroaig 10. I was kind of thinking of it as a 17 though. I think it's most likely past a 16 and it could even be an 18. This is suggesting that the La Luna has a solid chance of being a 17. An 18 seems unlikely for the La Luna, but not inconceivable. I'm very close to giving this a 17, but there's just a level of mature balance to the Laphroaig that this doesn't quite have. It has the potential to have it though, so I've be very interested to try a lightly oaked versino of this that was given more air.

Note - my bottle is labeled at 46.12% ABV, which differs from the Distiller entry. Nearly clear. A nice weight when swirled. Immediate cream and vanilla on the nose, which is a departure from my expectations for mezcal - almost vanilla pudding. Little to no smoke. Cooked carrots come in around the edges, but don't dominate - vegetal notes play only a supporting role. I'm put off balance by this, but I'm not sure if its a feature of the cupreata agave or La Luna's house style. Not bad by any measure, just different. Quality all around. No ethanol despite the respectable proof. Cream again initiates the taste, with a lovely, thick mouthfeel. Mild, with only gentle sweetness... just incredible viscosity for a spell, then minerality builds and washes the palate. A twinge of metallic influence, copper lingers throughout the finish. The vanilla cream carries throughout, and couples with the viscosity to evoke pudding yet again. Char flashes before the finish, but not the smoky flavors I'm used to. Salty. Chalky, yet carries well-moderated sweetness. Bell pepper. Jasmine. Honey water. Honestly, all the components of this are extremely compelling in isolation, but I can't escape the feeling that they don't ultimately compliment one another as well as I wish they did. This leaves the final result merely as the sum of the parts, or perhaps a little less. Admittedly this is a first taste / neck pour. It is clearly a competently crafted product, but I'll have to re-evaluate throughout the bottle to see if this one grows on me. Either way, it is very affordable for a quality product if the notes appeal to you. No regrets whatsoever for the price tag. Update: plays much better in a mezcal mule than expected, admittedly with a sweet ginger beer (Gosling’s) that likes the vanilla.

Lot 6, Bottle 17, 45.22 % ABV. First Michoacan and first Cupreata for me. Nose is apple cider vinegar, apricots, a whiff of strawberry, and rubbing alcohol. Tasting, I get apricots again, a hint of pastis, tropical fruit flavored hard candies, and some sort of fruit/plastic that I can’t find a word for, sharp but not unpleasant. I don’t pick up any smoke. Lingering finish with a sweetness that reminds me of caramelized onions. Weird. I like it. Will definitely seek out more examples of Cupreata for comparison.

Nice earthy n dirty. You can taste the gritty agave flavors in it. If you want mezcal artesanal. Start here

Nose of light smoke and vanilla. Taste of aloe, citrus, and decent smoke. Finished smooth, little burn.

Earthy, charcoal agave nose. Medium body. Spicy agave, earthy, muddled fruits. Punchy finish.