Machee Mezcal Ensamble (Espadin, Verdito, Amarillo)

The espadín brings earthy smoke and citrus while the two karwinskii-rhodacantha hybrids layer in spiced fruit, pine, and herbal minerality. Rounder and more approachable than the single-agave bottlings, but still full-bodied.

A blend of three magueys from Palenque Guixe in Miahuatlán, Oaxaca: espadín plus the local Verdito and Amarillo hybrids, each ten-plus years to maturity. Maestro Leo García pit-roasts the agave, mills by stone tahona, and distills in a copper refrescadera still. Blending is both a shortcut to complexity and a more sustainable use of the harvest. Macheé means loyalty in Zapotec.