Abasolo El Whisky de Mexico

May 9

Whisky from…Mexico??? You read that right! Nixtamalized corn and all. This 100% corn whisky from Abasolo takes the 4,00-year-old process of nixtamalizing corn for food and applies it to whisky-making for the first time. I have to say, I was impressed with the results.

As you can see from the image, I got to try this blind. I had zero idea what it was - if anything, it tasted more like an ex-bourbon cask-aged Speyside whisky, maybe from a smaller distiller that wasn’t as distinct (e.g. Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, Macallan). It had that light orchard fruitiness and mouthfeel…but something was off.

It tasted like a corn base, not malt.

Corn is more than just the base for bourbon - it’s a lifestyle and a basic crop for the native North, Central, and South American cultures. Corn - or maize - appeared around 10,000 years ago and has been central to food in the Americas ever since. One particular evolution took it from important to irreplaceable: nixtamalization. By soaking corn kernels in an alkaline solution, perhaps containing lye, the maize’s nutritional content was exponentially increased by softening and dissolving the husk. You’ve seen what happens to the corn then - the large kernels in pozole are those exact kernels puffed up from boiling.

Abasolo takes those traditions from the food scene to whiskey, using just a single strain of corn - cacahuazintle - that grows around 7,000 feet above sea level in the states of Mexico, Tlaxcala and Puebla. They then malt a portion to create the enzymes needed for saccharification (turning carbohydrates into dissolvable, digestible sugars that yeast find delicious) and add the rest of the nixtamalized corn into the mash before entering the venerable pot still. After a 120+ hour fermentation, that is.

Want more uniqueness? Abasolo uses open warehouses, light roofs, used and toasted oak barrels, and no walls. Open aging - unheard of. I’ll keep looking, but I know of no other distiller or producer aging in open warehouses of this type. Whatever they’re doing, even after three years Abasolo is putting out a great product that does the grain proud. Can’t ask for more than that!

Abasolo El Whisky de Mexico: Specs

Classification: Whisky from Mexico

Origin: Destilería y Bodega Abasolo

Mashbill: 100% Cacahuazintle Corn

Proof: 86 (43% ABV)

Age: 3 Years Old

Location: Jilotepec, Mexico

Abasolo El Whisky de Mexico Price: $70

Official Website

Abasolo El Whisky de Mexico Review: Tasting Notes

Eye: Light straw. Thin rims and slow droplet legs.

Nose: Light apple juice, orchard wood. A hit of fermentation funk, but not an outright bad smell. This definitely leans towards the malt, smells a bit more Speyside-ish than Irish.

Palate: Nice mouthfeel right away, with some chocolatey notes. Gentle heat and some oak dryness. Still leaning toward malt. The chocolate turns fruity and vanilla-d. The mouthfeel stays silky and coating, though not heavy. Hint of orange zest on the back end. Feels like a pot distillation.

Finish: Peach/apricot nectar, the chocolate tries to come back but flops back down.

Blind Guess: A Speysider, but not a big 3. The chocolate notes are intriguing after the apple/orchard-forward nose. Mouthfeel is suggestive of a grain whiskey or a blend, even though the malt is also arguable. Going to guess 86 proof, 10-12 years old, ex-bourbon cask, Speyside/Highland, if I had to pinpoint a distillery I’d go for Aberlour or a Deanston single cask.

Overall: Wow was I off…but not really. It’s not your usual corn, having been nixtamalized. It’s like comparing Fritos to Tostitos, both corn chips but different. It’s around 3 years old and pot distilled - the youth really isn’t apparent, but the pot still gives you a great mouthfeel even at only 3 years.

Final Rating: 6.7

10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)

9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)

8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)

7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)

6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)

5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)

4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)

3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)

2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)

1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)