Abasolo claims to be the first and the only Mexican distillery that makes maize-based whisky. It is also one of the highest distilleries in the world, located at over 2500 metres above sea level in the heart of Jilotepec. A beautiful building as well.
This whisky is made with Cacahuazintle corn, which is cultivated over generations for its distinctive flavour. I’ve read it predates industrial farming by at least 1000 years. The corn is then prepared using a nixtamalization technique, which involves cooking in a lime water, alkaline solution, and roasting in an adapted coffee roaster. A small fraction of the corn is malted. They have a nice description of the process on their website.
They use new toasted and used oak for maturation, which takes about 2 years if I’m not mistaken. The first bottling dates back to 2020.
Abasolo – El whisky de México (43%, OB +/- 2024)
Nose: hints of cheap alcohol at first. Perhaps closer to rum, with hints of green bananas, later also a hint of fermenting pineapple. Vanilla and wood shavings, with a sourness of nail polish in the distance. Then there’s a hint of tequila and new leather as well. Later also a combination of citrus and metallic notes.
Mouth: quite basic, with very little flavour. I’m getting a banana sweetness again, with a little honey. After that it turns to mineral notes but also raw alcohol, as well as some black tea and gin-like botanicals. A pinch of white pepper comes out as well. Then some shoe polish, along with new wood flavours.
Finish: short, including pine needles, some cocoa darkness and more (gentle) tequila notes.
An unusual spirit. I’m not a tequila drinker myself but I can imagine this works for people who like tequila or wodka on ice. You could make a cocktail with it. As a sipping whisky, it falls short of most other products from most other countries though. If you’re interested, The Whisky Exchange has it.