Featured at World Whisky Day 2022: Abasolo Distillery was built in 2019 in the town of Jilotepec de Abasolo. Why this place, situated at 7,800 feet, for the first whisky distillery in Mexico, a country more popularly known for tequila and mezcal? Because the town is known as the birthplace of corn (also known as maize), and corn is what this whisky is all about. Abasolo uses 100% cacahuazintle, a Mexican heritage corn, through an ancient cooking technique called nixtamalization, which is often used in food preparation for corn in Mexico but has not been used before in the distilling process. The Abasolo Ancestral Corn is the inaugural offering.
Distillery: Destilería Abasolo
Region: Foreign
Age: NAS
Strength: 43%
Price: $44.99
Location: Jilotepec de Abasolo, Mexico
Nose: Agave, caipirinha, sugar cane, prickly pear, mineral, smoke
Palate: Corn, pepper, milk chocolate
Finish: White pepper, malt, earthy (red clay, iron), smoke
Comments: Delicious for hot weather, whether you use ice cubes or not.
Adam – I will readily admit, I did not expect to like the Abasolo as much as I did. I’ll admit to regional bias, but it didn’t seem possible for a country renowned for tequila and mezcal to produce a solid whisky, especially because the production of whisky is so often associated with warmer climes. I am pleased to be wrong, however. At first sniff, I am immediately reminded of tequila. But on further investigation, it is the sweetness of pear, a mineral-ness, the hint of clean smoke from next door, a sparkling sweetness reminiscent of a solid caipirinha. It’s refreshing, which is not something I usually say when talking about whiskies. The palate does not disappoint, though the corn leading a light pepper through a few dance steps, a haze of dark chocolate flitting through for just a second before white pepper and a dash of smoke round out the end. What a ride. In our World Whisky Day tasting this was featured at, it ended up being one of the most memorable.
Kate – The nose reminds me a little of the Westland, with a chocolatey minty essence. This one is a sensory experience. Not just taste, but feel. Kind of like an Icy-Hot, where I almost get this overwhelming cool feeling, sipping it on a hot day, like a cool gin and tonic. I am not in Mexico, I am in Cuba, pre-Castro Cuba with salsa clubs. But there’s something wafting over from next to the salsa club. You think it might be a dive bar. But there’s glitter and fans. It doesn’t match the outside of the package. It’s a fantasy. I bet this would be a blazing hot day whisky. You could reach for this and be satisfied.
Bill – The closest thing I’ve had to this on the nose is the Balcones Baby Blue. A stretch, but almost a little juniper in there, along with almond. If wintergreen had a dirty cousin. On the palate, almost an amole (not quite chocolate). Raw chocolate as fruit, not processed. This is a siesta drink.
I am not in Mexico, I am in Cuba, pre-Castro Cuba with salsa clubs.
Henry – Notes of nopal, sugar cane, and pepper on the nose. Is that tequila I smell? On the palate, pepper and corn syrup predominate. The finish is short and does not linger, with a curious and pleasing spice at the end, almost like a rye.
Ben – Like when you’re turning over a pile of old leaves. It’s not quite compost but rotting vegetal. On the tongue, it doesn’t taste like black pepper but it feels like black pepper. Smells like rye flour in the glass after I’d finished.
