Quiquiriqui Espadin Mezcal

Quiquiriqui Espadin Mezcal is the house-style Espadin mezcal, bottled at 45 per cent.

Santiago Matatlán calls itself the world capital of mezcal, and this comes from Carlos Méndez, whose family has been distilling there for six generations. Espadin is the workhorse agave of Oaxaca, cultivated and reliable, and in Matatlán it takes on a juicy, peppery signature. The piñas are pit-roasted over wood and stone, crushed, fermented with ambient yeasts and distilled twice, with nothing added afterwards. The bottling strength matters: at 45 per cent there is more succulence here, and more smoke, than in the house pours that sit nearer 40 and lose their shape the moment they meet ice or citrus.

Toffee apple, cocoa butter and citrus with a briny edge, the palate smooth and mouth-filling and the finish juicy and peppery. Clean enough to sip neat from a copita at room temperature, with a wedge of orange and a pinch of sal de gusano. It also makes an excellent margarita or paloma.