Full Review

Contraluz

Contraluz
Cristalino Mezcal Artesenal

Category: Cristalino Mezcal

Date Tasted:
Country: Mexico
Alcohol: 40%
92 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$60

Contraluz
Cristalino Mezcal Artesenal

Category: Cristalino Mezcal

Date Tasted:
Country: Mexico
Alcohol: 40%
Clear color. Smoky aromas and flavors of smoked nuts, cheese, and dried meats, kettle corn, hard boiled duck egg, and hint of tar and candle with a satiny, bright, dry-yet-fruity medium body and a tingling, elegant, medium-long finish with notes of honey roasted pineapple and papaya, white cigar ash, smoked peppercorns, and ginseng gum. A satiny and smoky cristalino mezcal that has complexity, depth and smoothness; well done.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Rich, Smoky, Fruity & Spicy
Aroma Aroma: smoked nuts, cheese, and dried meats, kettle corn, hard boiled duck egg, and hint of tar and candle
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with notes of honey roasted pineapple and papaya, white cigar ash, smoked peppercorns, and ginseng gum
Smoothness Smoothness: Tingling
Enjoy Enjoy: with cigars, on the rocks and in cocktails
Cocktail Cocktails: Oaxacan Old Fashioned, Buck, Tommy's Margarita
Bottom Line Bottom Line: A satiny and smoky cristalino mezcal that has complexity, depth and smoothness; well done.

The Producer

Casa Lumbre

The Producer

Their Portfolio

BR Alma Finca Orange Liqueur 40% (Mexico) $34.00. - Bronze Medal
BR Alma Finca Orange Liqueur 40% (Mexico) $32.00. - Bronze Medal
92 Contraluz Cristalino Mezcal Artesanal 40% (Mexico) $59.00.
90 Contraluz Cristalino Mezcal Artesenal 40% (Mexico) $59.00.
87 Contraluz Cristalino Tequila 40% (Mexico) $40.00.
92 Contraluz Cristalino Mezcal Artesenal 40% (Mexico) $60.00.
85 Defrente Blanco Tequila 35% (Mexico) $35.00.
94 Nocheluna Sotol 43% (Mexico) $79.00.
96 Nocheluna Sotol 43% (Mexico) $42.00.
88 Ojo De Tigre Joven Blanco Mezcal 40% (Mexico) $32.00.
94 Ojo De Tigre Reposado Mezcal 37% (Mexico) $35.00.

Cristalino Mezcal

Spirits Glass Copita Clear.jpg
Serve in a Copita
Cristalino mezcal is a spirit from Mexico that can be made from as many as 18 different types of the agave plant, some cultivated and some wild. Most are produced in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. A cristalino mezcal is an aged mezcal that has been filtered to remove color and may contain additional flavors. It is distilled in a copper still (sometimes double distilled) aged in oak, then filtered, thus preserving a clear appearance.

Mezcal is often confused with tequila, as both are made from agave. But while tequila must be made from one specific blue agave, mezcal can be produced from eighteen different types of agave (maguey). There are two types of mezcal, those made exclusively from maguey and those made from at least 80% maguey mixed with other ingredients. Mezcal has similar aging terms as tequila, such as reposado and añejo, but generally mezcal is more of an artisanal product, so examples of mezcal vary more than tequila.

Most are double-distilled, while some are triple-distilled and then aged for several years in oak barrels. Flavors range from smoked herbs and pepper to tobacco and charred fruits. Serve these on their own, in an adventuresome cocktail, or with a cigar.

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