Rey Campero Jabali Mezcal

A unique and rare Mezcal, made from the notoriously-difficult-to-treat agave.

Rey Campero (meaning King of the Countryside) is made by Rómulo Sánchez Parada in Candeleria Yegloe, a tiny village of 150 people in the mountains of southern Oaxaca. Rómulo learned to make Mezcal from his father and grandfather but the family’s roots in Mezcal go back to his great grandmother Clara Manzano Rios who built the family’s palenque in 1870 and began distilling with her husband Nicolas Sanchez. This was the first palenque to be built in Candelaria Yegolé. Flash forward more than a century, Rómulo finally got his Mezcal brand started in 2012. Today, Rey Campero is imported to the U.S. by Mezcal savant William Scanlan who runs the awesomely named Heavy Metl Imports.

Rey Campero Jabalí Mezcal is made from Jabalí agave. Apparently, it’s notoriously difficult to treat this varietal as it foams during distillation and it would literally blow up your still. Even if you somehow master the distillation process, it’s very hard to make batches that would be large enough to actually make a profit. But that didn’t stop Rómulo who invented a new distilling method to overcome these challenges (Now everybody uses his method!). The result is a truly special Mezcal. Rey Campero Jabalí Mezcal greets you with a mild and floral nose before the palate offers its unique combo of orange zest, slate, citrus, pepper, and smokiness.