El Buho Especial Limited Edition Tepextate Mezcal (750mL)

TJ Steele, a Brooklyn-based, CIA trained chef fueled with curiosity and passion, headed off southern Mexico eleven years ago to hone his chef skills.

While traveling through Oaxaca TJ fell in love with mezcal, liquid food. He toured many distilleries until he found his contemporary, Jose Isaac "Pepe" Jimenez Mendez, a twenty-five year old fifth-generation mezcalero. TJ and Pepe set out to launch El Buho Mezcal with a mission of delivering a high-quality mezcal at an affordable price in an iconic bottle. In addition to it's flagship Espadin, El Buho Mezcal recently began bottling very limited edition, small batch mezcals made by Pepe's younger brother Octavio "Luyo" Jimenez Mendez. Luyo has a slow hand and a penchant for using wild and rare agaves like Tobala, Tepextate, Cuishe and Jabali. Both sides of production are overseen by the family matriarch Elsa Jaurez Mendez and her husband, Master Mezcalero Octavio Jiménez Monterroza.

El Buho Especial Tepeztate delivers an intense vegetal and earthen clay explosion of flavor with a long finish of agave, spice and exotic green fruit.

The finish just keeps coming. The palate is testament to the struggle the Tepeztate plant makes in its life of twenty five year plus jutting off the steep, rocky, high elevation mountainsides of Oaxaca. Luyo brings it to life and to you in the bottle.

Tepeztate is a rare agave worthy of the nickname 'Jaba' with it's wild wide leafed look and massive size and breadth. The vibrant yellow flowers it blooms are a tribute to the sun.

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• 96 proof
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• Tepeztate (wild) /agave marmorata/ Zapotec: "Du Cual"
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• earthen pit-roasted
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• horse drawn tahona crushed
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• natural yeast open fermentation
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• copper pot double distillation
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• Made by Octavio "Luyo" Jimenez Mendez
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• Destileria Don Isaac Santiago Matalan, Oaxaca, Mexico