This 55% ABV Cabal Still Strength blanco is made by the Montes family at Destiladora La Roca, NOM 1646.
Since Cabal moved their production to La Roca recently, I’ve been very impressed with the new clean and crisp flavors. This blanco gets right to the point on the first sip, delivering huge cooked agave sweetness and spicy pepper and cinnamon to give that sweetness some real contrast to work against.
A ball can’t bounce if it doesn’t have something to bounce off. That to me is something that is really great about this expression from Cabal; the contrast to the bold flavors lets you identify and enjoy them individually and in combination, creating a real exciting flavor ride across your palate.
Nose: cooked agave / vegetal sweetness / earth / hint of cinnamon / banana / melon / cherry / hint of citrus - grapefruit / baking spice
Taste: sweet cooked agave - bold!!! / vanilla / spicy cinnamon and black pepper / vegetal sweet - bell pepper/ banana / apple / melon / cherry / heavy citrus -grapefruit / anise sweetness / lemongrass / peppermint / nutmeg and baking spices / jalapeno / cream soda
Finish: medium to heavy viscosity coats the palate and tongue very well to allow the spicier and sweet notes to linger. The light oily texture accentuates the vegetal sweetness of the agave and gives the pepper, cinnamon, and jalapeno something to contrast with nicely, but does leave a slightly harsh alcohol bitter hit, just not on every sip.
If this was a roller coaster ride you’d still have your hands in the air and screaming when the ride has already been over for a minute.
NOM | 1646 |
|---|---|
Agave | Jalisco (Los Valles) |
Cooking | Stone/Brick Ovens |
Extraction | Roller Mill |
Water | Deep well water |
Fermentation | Stainless steel tanks, 100% agave, Open-air, without fibers, Proprietary yeast |
Still | Copper pot, Stainless steel pot |
Age | — |
ABV | 55% |
