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 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 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.

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 02 | Smoke up front on the nose. Nice agave underneath. Smoke up front on the palate and strong black pepper. You would think you are drinking a mezcal of you did not pour it yourself.

Lot 02 | Wow… I really like this. Definitely some smoke on the nose,fruit, and pepper Taste of light smoky wood (cedar bbq type), fruitiness (apricot), little vanilla,light pepper on the back end. Very nice

Lot 03 | very agave forward on the nose to some mild smoke. very green on the finish, providing a round drinking experience.

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 05 | Crazy interesting Blanco product with a smoke flavor that is very unique! Tasty for sure but likely not for everyone given the smoke

Lot 03 | Pretty woody /earthy for a white spirit! the mouth feel is viscous, spicy finish (black pepper?)

Lot 01 | Excited to try this after so long looking for it. Cantina Mayahuel had a bottle of lote 1 and we got the last sip (thanks mark). Aroma is good but overpowered with smoke (yes I know how it’s made in the “old way”). Taste is good but nothing notable. Finish is short but with some good Smokey flavor.

Lot 01 | Mezcal lite!

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 03 | Lot 3; High on my wish list & I am a big fan of the Suro name & brand, excited to experience; smoky, alcohol burn, slight citrus on the nose; heavy smoke, warm honey across the tongue; high vegetal, alcohol across the backend; almost a “Jamaican Funk” to it, this is a complex tequila, maybe too complex for my amateur palate; overall, I do like it, but at a price point north of $120usd, Lot 3, will be my last purchase; here’s looking forward to Lot 4, 5 & beyond!

One of the best I’ve ever tried. Nose is incredible, Taste is full with layers & very well balanced. A lot of care has gone into this. The finish is so mild that one would believe that it only has 40% instead of 50,4%! I was happy enough to find this at 65 € instead of 120€. David Suro thank you for bringing this out to the market

Lot 02 | Smoke but not overwhelming Smooth silk agaves Nice change of pace

Lot 02 | It has a interesting aroma and taste. Heavy smoke from the original way tequilia was made in old days. This bottle is not for the faint at heart tequila drinker!!

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!