Voices in the Field – Topanito Tobalá
For Cinco de Mayo I present a new mezcal to you. German spirits importer Perola’s Topanito range features agve spirits with a great value for money. So, as a new addition to the line-up they presented a trio of wild agave mezcals. I chose the Tobalá variety and used it in a Mexican inspired Highball.
Under the Topanito name, Perola already bottles three tequilas and two Mezcals, I featured here. Now they have three new wild agave spirits in their portfolio. In this case, the Tobalá variety needs twelve to 15 years to reach maturity. Additionally, you need quite a lot of the small pinas for mezcal production. The Topanito Mezcal is produced by the Amantes de lo Ajeno S.A.
Fruity, slightly smoky and umami notes
The Topanito Tobalá clearly shows that it is a Mezcal: You instantly notice agave, glue and smoke notes. Contrary to the other bottlings in the Topanito Mezcal range, the smoke is a little subdued. Yet, the wild agave amplifies the umami and glue notes. Additionally, you also get some fruity notes some would describe as berries.
A topped off Sage Smash
My plan was to create a Smash with some pineapple sage I recently planted on the balcony. However, I ended up topping the drink off with soda water, because I used a glass which was too big. Either way, I also used a new eau de vie from Manuel Engel. His mango and passionfruit eau de vie really brightens up the drink with exotic fruit notes.
1,5 cl Engel Mango and Passionfruit Eau de Vie
3 cl Lime Juice
2 cl Agave Syrup
2 Sprigs Pineapple Sage
Top off with Soda Water;
Shake – double strain – chilled clay mug over ice cubes – top off;
Garnish: Pineapple Sage Leave – Black Hawaiian Sea Salt;
Song: Calexico – Voices from the Field;
Besides the herbal and sweet notes, the mezcal really shines through nicely. Apart from that, you notice some exotic fruit notes from the eau de vie which pair perfectly with the fruitiness of the agave spirit. The salt adds some more complexity and also underlines the mineral flavours of the Mezcal. All in all, this is a perfectly refreshing Summer drink!
*The fact that I received a product reviewed in this article for free, did not – in any way – influence the rating of said product. The Mezcal was provided by the Perola GmbH.
