Mezcal Roja

Afternoon at the palenque.

A wooden tray comes out with the reserve on it. Tortillas are warming in the open-air kitchen, the afternoon has gone slow, and the first sip blooms rather than arrives.

Cacao blossom starts light and green, well before anything turns rich. Corn silk keeps that softness going a while longer. Vetiver and ocote wood run dry underneath, and the oak barrel puts the warmth back without bringing sugar with it. A mineral warmth runs through it, closer to fired clay than to stone.

Terracotta takes heat all afternoon and lets it go slowly after dark. This does the same thing.

Kelly+Jones starts at the wine bar. The house began in a vineyard, where a winemaker scolded its founder for wearing fragrance while tasting, and the fragrance met the wine in the glass instead of fighting it. Kelly Jones has built the agave and supper-club releases around a particular hour, a particular room and a particular drink, and hands the composing to noses at Takasago and IFF.

Everything is hand-poured in the USA, free of parabens and phthalates, and carries a detailed ingredient list on every product page and every carton. The Eau de Mezcal line is built as a tribute to agave spirits artisans and their land, and a portion of every sale in it goes to Programa Vaca, which helps rebuild in Mexico's remote rural areas using natural materials.