Lot 03 | Mesquite all day, this is such a nice treat if you want something off the beaten path. The ending lost me a little bit but I found my way back with all the sweetness that comes out to play on the back of my tongue. I hope more projects like this find their way to market, it’s a fun experience.

Sweet, smoky, juicy mouthfeel, long finish. Seek it out.

On the nose, it’s smoky, earthy, and very clear baked agave. Getting some herbal notes, and that clear and distinct mesquite melds with a minerality that I find very pleasing. On the palate, Smokey, peppery, cooked agave coming in strong. Has a note that reminds me of BBQ. Definitely some bite, but surprisingly subtle for such high proof. Definitely a bit of a brineyness but it comes and goes. Some charcoal. Full bodied and oily. Very interesting, if you gave me this and said it was a mezcal, I’d believe you. It definitely has some distinct tequila specific notes (yes, I’m aware tequila is a mezcal but you know what I mean!) but very different. I’d definitely put this in my mezcal section in my bar. Very interesting and enjoyable, but too mezcal like for my liking.

Lot 03 | Aroma: Citrus and black pepper are most prominent, with a slight bit of smoke. Taste: Slightly sweet and citrusy. Finish: A dry finish with black pepper and smoke, with a slight alcohol burn, well balanced. Overall: A delicious, rediscovered way to make tequila. It drinks like something in between a high quality blanco tequila and a mezcal. I personally prefer it with a slight bit of lime and agave nectar.

Lot 02 | Lot 2 | Very unique tequila that drinks more like mezcal. You can tell a lot of care and effort went into making this. Smoke is definitely there as you’d expect from the production method but it doesn’t completely overwhelm the other flavors. I’d say the same about the alcohol, it’s there but doesn’t overpower. I get a good bit of minerality and brine. Some mint and citrus on the back end. Overall this is a really fun tequila and one that I’ll come back to.

Lot 02 | Siembra Valles Ancestral I smell smoke and agave. There are also some earthy notes and plenty of depth. I taste the smoke first but the clean sweet agave is right behind it. The minerals come through on the mid-palate along with black pepper that linger into the long finish. This is a special tequila with a lot of depth. The agaves are cooked in an pit over for over 100 hours. It’s then hand macerated with wood mallets. It’s fermented in both a 5000 liter oak barrel and a brick vat. The 1st run is distilled in a copper pot while the 2nd run utilizes a pine wood Filipino style still. Lot# 2 - 100.4 proof - 50.2 ABV - NOM1123

Lot 02 | True to its name ... Ancestral, hand made, traditional, generationally made tequila. This is what tequila must of tasted like 100 plus years ago. Hand crushed, pit roasted, 80 hrs of fermentation. 100 ABV! Great light aromas of smoke, light citrus, cooked agaves, balanced alcohol!

Lot 03 | Lote #03 Nov-Dec 2016. 50.2% ABV Nose: Smokey rich agave wrapped in anise, citrus and mint. A touch of green pineapple. Crisp mineral and cellar notes. Piercing herbal aromas: rosemary, thyme and celery. All in perfect harmony. Flavor: Smokey and oily with a silky roundness on the palate. Tingling pepper kick with star anise licorice and heat. Meaty, salty feel to this profile. Some teases of baking spice. Lote 03 Ancestral is a wake up call to my jaded palate. Lingering finish with all elements in synch.

Lot 01 | Smokey and delicious

Lot 02 | Highly roasted. Hesitate to to say Smokey but it is. There’s sweet agave on the nose, greens and a hint of cinnamon. Beautiful agave flavor, moves to pepper and there’s a great lingering heat on the top of the mouth. Tequila made how it used to be made. A worthy effort

Lot 05 | Whoa. Lot #5 is special. It seemed like the team really dialed in the process here. The agave comes through much more so than Lot #1. Less smoke, more citrus. Reminds me of an artisan mezcal, not your standard Blanco. Truly the hand of the maker on this one !! Try it if you can

Lot 01 | Lot #1 gave more earth, smoke, and sweetness than expected. Truly delicious !

Sampled at Distillery visit, September 2018.

celery, coriander seed, pepper jack cheese

A fair amount of smoke from the pit roasting. This mezcal/tequila production hybrid is interesting for the proof (over 100), the pit roasting and mallet mashing of the pinas in lieu of roller mill or tahona crushing and a filipino still made of copper and wood for the end distillation would lead you to expect something legendary. While pleasing to sip this juice is as others have said, just a bit too sweet and singular in its taste profile. I would expect more complexity for the care taken during production to recreate bygone methods of making tequila. I give kudos though for being bat friendly in its promotion of sustainable agave practices.

Smoke, cooked agave and slight celery, cilantro nose. Slightly sweet and rustic agave mouth with nice, long smoky finish. It’s obvious that great care was taken with the artisanal production, but I wish the mouth flavor was more developed. At 50.2 abv it’s a little hot for my personal taste, but something mezcal drinkers will probably enjoy. (Drinking it out of a jicara rather than a Reidel definitely makes it smooth out and open up.)

Yes, it has some smoke but also a lot of agave, vegetal and celery aromas. I really love how this smells. It definitely has a smoky mezcal vibe in both the aroma and flavor which lingers for a while on the palate. Nice natural slow-cooked agave sweetness in the flavor and finish comes from a full 5-days in the earthen pit. Agaves are even crushed by hand before loading into old wood fermentation vats. Finish is very light and gentle, especially for a high proof tequila. It’s a tiny bit too rustic for me, but it is what I would expect of an authentic expression of an ancient time. (A pine Filipino pot still is even used for part of the distillation.) I applaud the effort and passion that went into this taste of tequila history.

Bottle: Date of production-January 2020, Date of bottling-February 2022, Production #7, Liters produced 296, Lote 199, 10/03/22 Appearance: Clear Nose: Smoke, cooked agave, black pepper, earthiness, leather, citrus, celery, minerals, charcoal, tobacco, jalapeño, baking spice, licorice, oregano, must, alcohol, and rosemary…super reminiscent of great mezcal with super tasty lowland tequila notes Palate: Smoke, cooked and raw agave, black and white pepper, leather, tobacco, wet and dry earth, citrus, vegetal, minerality, herbal, anise, rosemary, oregano, oak, clove, cedar, licorice, honey, thyme, celery, and alcohol…marvelous Finish: Exceptionally long, pleasant, and smoky Overall:

Lot 04 | Lot 4. Aroma of agave, minerals, smoke, clean herbs and citrus. Flavor, boom, pow! The agave and smoke is first to hit followed by alcohol punch. Not overbearing but prevalent. Then everything starts to meld, herbs, earthy agave, minerals galore. Finish tastes faintly reminiscent of Derrumbes San Luis Potosi with a jalapeño popper like uniqueness. You can literally taste the craftsmanship and effort. A unique change of pace.

Smoke, citrus, pepper. Heat at the end.

Lot 03 | Aroma: Cooked Agave, A little smoke, A little oak, Vegetal, Pepper, Citrus, Earthy. It does semblance a mezcal on the nose. Flavor: Cooked Agave, A little smoke, Some oak/wood, Pepper, Citrus, Vegetal. You can tell that this has touched some wood and has a smokey taste but still has its tequila sweetness. Finish: I get more pepper, citrus and some vegetal on the finish. You can tell it is a little higher proof but it drinks very easy for 100.4 proof. Overall: This would be a good bottle for someone that likes tequila but is wary about jumping into mezcal or if you just like a little more smoke with your tequila. Just another great bottle put out by 1123.

Reminiscent of a smoky mezcal.

fascinating flavor, smokey but sweet, similar to mezcal but very much tequila flavor

Lots of agave and minerality on the nose. Very smoky flavor. Finish is almost like a mezcal. In the same vein as Cascahuin Tahona with more smoke.

Lot 03 | Beautifully smokey and sweet with earthy and vegetal notes. Different than most tequilas but a high end sipper for me.