Rey Campero Mexicano: The Soulful Core of the Sierra

There's a grounded, soulful quality to Mexicano-also known as Agave Rhodacantha. It's a varietal that's often overlooked in favour of its flashier cousins like Tobalá or Tepeztate, but in the right hands, it delivers a mezcal that's rich, resonant, and deeply expressive. And when those hands belong to Romulo Sánchez Parada, you can expect not just quality, but intimacy.

Rey Campero Mexicano isn't trying to seduce you with wild aromatics or outrageous flavour spikes. It comes on slowly, like a trusted voice. The nose is warm and welcoming-dried herbs, roasted pumpkin, orange blossom, and that unmistakable heart of cooked agave. There's a mellow smokiness-more ember than fire-and just a whisper of vanilla and cacao, like the memory of something sweet without being cloying.

But it's on the palate where this mezcal truly sings. Full-bodied and round, the texture is silk brushed over stone. You get roasted agave first-dense and caramelised-followed by earthy cocoa, allspice, and baked fruit. Think grilled plantain drizzled with honey, or molasses stirred into chamomile tea. There's a quiet complexity, not flashy but profound, that unfolds slowly with each sip. And then, in the finish, a soft minerality creeps in-like sipping mezcal at dusk while the stone walls still radiate the day's heat.

There's something emotional about this one. It feels like tradition in liquid form. You can taste the patience, the land, and the family. The agaves are typically harvested at high altitudes, roasted underground, tahona-crushed, and fermented in wood-slow, soulful, and stubbornly traditional. Nothing rushed. Nothing compromised. This is Romulo and his team doing what they do best: letting the agave speak.

And what it says with Mexicano is this-mezcal can be powerful and gentle, layered and clear, rustic and refined. It's a brilliant example of how balance doesn't have to mean boring. In fact, in mezcal, balance is the hardest thing to get right-and this bottle nails it.

Rey Campero Mexicano is the bottle you reach for when you want to share something meaningful. A spirit that invites you to slow down, to reflect, and to appreciate the craft not just in the flavour, but in the feeling it gives you. It doesn't demand the spotlight-but once it's in your glass, it holds it with quiet, steady grace.