Chacaleño 375 mL – Carlos Ángulo Rios
Original price was: $60.00.$55.00Current price is: $55.00.
A northern Mexican mezcal unlike any other — this Chacaleño mezcal comes from Durango’s rugged “Golden Triangle,” crafted by mezcalero Carlos Ángulo Rios using wild, high-altitude agave.
| Mezcalero: | Carlos Ángulo Rios |
|---|---|
| Maguey: | Chacaleño |
| Agave: | Angustifolia |
| Grind: | Shredder |
| Distillation: | Copper |
| Style: | Joven |
| State: | Durango |
| Town: | El Platanar Topia |
| ABV: | 49% |
| Age of plant: | 9-12 years |
| Batch size: | Lot CAR-CHO-001: 350 liters |
| Distillation Date: | June 2019 |
Out of stock
Chacaleño 375 mL, Not quite a karwinskii, not really an Espadin.
Meet the Maestro of April 2021: Carlos Ángulo Ríos. Carlos, our first club feature to represent Durango spirits, is a third generation producer although his family took a 20 year hiatus from the craft. Now 40 years old, Carlos has made agave distillation his primary means of living since 2015, when he completed the construction of “El Platanar” and simultaneously his first nine-year-old batch of Chacaleño came to maturation. Carlos’s vinata (Durango for ‘palenque’) is located 11 hours away (14 hours with a car full of mezcal!) from Durango’s capital city in the middle of an area known as “La Quebrada”, roughly translated to “the broken area”, a well deserved nickname for this collection of aggressive cliffs and narrow valleys. According to those who know Carlos, he is both humble and confident, energetic although a little camera shy, and while he lives isolated in the deep mountains, he remains very connected and current with the world and it’s affairs. Throughout April, we invite you to get to know Carlos, learn about his unique nameless still, why his family uses cubical underground fermentation vats, and some environmental factors that make this Chacaleño expression unlike any other.
Most people think mezcal only comes from Oaxaca. This mezcal proves otherwise.
While Oaxaca produces the majority of the world's mezcal, Durango is one of the officially recognized mezcal-producing states under Mexico's Denominación de Origen — and this Chacaleño mezcal is a perfect example of why northern Mexican mezcal deserves its own spotlight. Technically classified as Espadín for certification, the maguey Chacaleño used in this mezcal is a distinct regional varietal, native to Mexico's "Golden Triangle" — the rugged borderlands of Durango, Chihuahua, and Sinaloa.
Meet the Mezcalero Behind This Bottle
This mezcal is crafted by Carlos Ángulo Rios in El Platanar de Sianori, a remote community in the municipality of Topia, Durango. It's mezcal country most drinkers have never heard of — real, traditional mezcal made far from the well-known Oaxacan valleys. Carlos makes his mezcal the traditional way: the agave is cooked in an underground earth oven, milled by hand, naturally fermented, and double-distilled in a copper pot still.
What to Expect
This mezcal is aromatic and layered — think sandalwood, incense, and dusty earth on the nose, opening into a bold mezcal palate of sage, black pepper, and mineral dryness with a long, evolving finish. It's a mezcal that rewards attention, revealing new characteristics the longer it sits in the glass.
Why This Bottle Matters
Northern Mexican mezcal remains one of the category's best-kept secrets — often overshadowed by Oaxaca, but arguably just as distinctive. This mezcal is a genuine passport to a lesser-known mezcal-producing region, crafted by a mezcalero keeping a rare, high-altitude tradition alive. If you thought you'd tried every kind of mezcal, this bottle will prove you wrong.
Best enjoyed neat — a great mezcal for anyone ready to explore beyond Oaxaca.
Additional information
| Weight | 2 lbs |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 6 × 6 × 4 in |
| Quantity | 375 mL |
| Distillation type | Clay pot |
