Tres Tribus ESPADIN Artesanal Joven Mezcal 700ml

Tres Tribus is the newest project from Juan Coronado, the former Bacardi ambassador who helped launch Mijenta Tequila, built this time around fifth-generation mezcalero Juan Antonio Coronel in the remote, pine-covered mountains of Oaxaca. Coronel, a descendant of the region's Zapotec and Mixtec people, distills in Santa María Zoquitlán using entirely wild-foraged agave and mountain water. Tres Tribus has become the mezcal category's first Certified B Corporation, and Coronel runs an active replanting program, putting four new agaves in the ground for every wild plant harvested along with thousands of native trees each year.

This Espadín is cooked in an underground conical oven layered with volcanic stones and long-burning encino oak, then mashed entirely by hand with wooden mallets. The crushed agave ferments in underground cement amphoras using pristine spring water drawn from the nearby Tidaá volcano aquifer, relying on native ambient yeast rather than cultured strains. A double distillation in copper finishes the process, yielding a spirit that leans brighter and more citrus-driven than many traditional Espadín mezcals.

The nose offers lemon and orange intertwined with hibiscus, peppermint, and a whisper of chocolate over green, herbal agave. The palate carries citrus and warm spice through a gentle smokiness, closing on a sweet, lightly smoky finish.