Full Review

Banhez

Banhez
Blanco Mezcal

Category: Blanco Mezcal

Date Tasted:
Country: Mexico
Alcohol: 42%
93 Points
Gold Medal
Exceptional
$33

Banhez
Blanco Mezcal

Category: Blanco Mezcal

Date Tasted:
Country: Mexico
Alcohol: 42%
Clear color. Aromas and flavors of smoked pork shoulder, cooked key lime, roasted corn, and grilled red berries with a silky, bright, dry medium body and a warming, interesting, long finish with shades of brisket burnt ends, sea salt and garden herbs in hot sesame oil, beef jerky, and saddle leather. Fruity, earthy, and mildly smoky; very good on its own, but a Mezcal Manhattan or Boulevardier would be amazing.

Tasting Info

Spirits Glass Style: Rich & Full
Aroma Aroma: smoked pork shoulder, cooked key lime, roasted corn, and grilled red berries
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with shades of brisket burnt ends, sea salt and garden herbs in hot sesame oil, beef jerky, and saddle leather
Smoothness Smoothness: Warming
Enjoy Enjoy: neat and in cocktails
Cocktail Cocktails: Paloma, Sangrita, Tommy's Margarita
Bottom Line Bottom Line: Fruity, earthy, and mildly smoky; very good on its own, but a Mezcal Manhattan or Boulevardier would be amazing.

The Importer

CNI Brands

The Importer

Their Portfolio

93 Banhez Blanco Mezcal 42% (Mexico) $33.00.
86 Libélula Joven Tequila 40% (Mexico) $29.00.

Blanco Mezcal

Spirits Glass Copita Clear.jpg
Serve in a Copita
Blanco mezcal is a spirit from Mexico that can be made from as many as 18 different types of the agave plant, some cultivated and some wild. Most are produced in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. A blanco mezcal is distilled in a copper still (sometimes double distilled) and is not aged in oak, thus preserving a clear appearance.

Mezcal is often confused with tequila, as both are made from agave. But while tequila must be made from one specific blue agave, mezcal can be produced from eighteen different types of agave (maguey). There are two types of mezcal, those made exclusively from maguey and those made from at least 80% maguey mixed with other ingredients. Mezcal has similar aging terms as tequila, such as reposado and añejo, but generally mezcal is more of an artisanal product, so examples of mezcal vary more than tequila.

Most are double-distilled, while some are triple-distilled and then aged for several years in oak barrels. Flavors range from smoked herbs and pepper to tobacco and charred fruits. Serve these on their own, in an adventuresome cocktail, or with a cigar.