El Jolgorio Jabalí Mezcal

Jabalí is one of the harder wild agaves to work with, and Oaxacan mezcaleros have long treated it as a test of skill. This bottling is additive free, which means nothing stands between the roasted agave and what reaches you.

Wild agave leads, green and faintly vegetal, with tropical fruit sitting just behind it — mango skin more than mango flesh. Underground pit roasting leaves its mark as smoky earth, and a mineral, almost stony quality runs through the whole thing. Fresh herbs lift the back end and keep it from settling into sweetness.

Serve it at room temperature in a copita rather than over ice, which mutes the fruit. The 750 mL bottle is enough to share with someone who will appreciate what jabalí does, and steady enough to keep on the shelf for ordinary evenings.