Agua Magica Unveils Aldo Sohm Limited Edition Mezcal
Most mezcal never sees a barrel, and very few have ever sat in wood that held Austrian dessert wine. Agua Magica has just released Reposado Edicion Limitada, a limited mezcal made with Aldo Sohm, the wine director at New York's Le Bernardin. Only 750 bottles exist, so this one is aimed squarely at collectors and anyone who likes their agave spirits a little unexpected.
Did You Know?
The barrels previously held Trockenbeerenauslese, a sweet Austrian dessert wine often shortened to TBA, from Sohm's own wine brand, Sohm & Kracher.
After eight months in barrel, the mezcal rested in glass for another nine months to let the flavors settle together.
The partnership between Agua Magica and Sohm began back in 2024, so this bottle has been in the works for a while.
The Release
Reposado Edicion Limitada was made by maestro mezcalero Rogelio Juan Hernandez, and it uses a different agave blend from the brand's core bottle: 66.6 percent espadin and 33.4 percent tepeztate. The agaves were cooked in a conical stone oven and crushed with a tahona, a large stone wheel that grinds the cooked agave. The mash fermented for 10 days in pinewood vats using wild yeast, then was double distilled in copper pot stills.
The twist is the aging: eight months in an underground cellar in Caucasian oak barrels, also called Russian oak, that previously held Sohm's TBA wine. That wine is a cuvee of Chardonnay and Welschriesling. Reposado simply means the spirit has spent time in wood, and here the wood came with a very specific past.
According to the brand, the result layers honey, berry, caramel and baking spice over the mezcal's core notes of agave, grass, citrus and soft smoke. Agua Magica suggests sipping it neat. A rocks glass should bring out the agave character, while a cordial glass (a small, stemmed glass) should amplify the flavors picked up in the barrel.
The Story of Agua Magica
Agua Magica was founded in 2021 by Rafael Shin and Rogelio Juan Hernandez, a fifth-generation maestro mezcalero. The mezcal is produced in Oaxaca by Hernandez together with his son Julio Juan.
The brand says it follows a few strict principles: wild yeast instead of industrial yeast, no additives for flavor or color, no added sugar, and no volume targets, so batches stay truly small. Plenty of craft mezcal brands make similar promises, but the core expression shows the approach working. Per the brand's website, the Ensamble is 40% ABV (80 proof), costs $70, and is made from espadin and tobala agaves. According to Robb Report, it uses agaves aged seven and 15 years, with subtle smoke that does not overpower the palate.
Why It Stands Out
Wine barrel finishing is common in whiskey, but it is still rare in mezcal. Using barrels from a sommelier's own dessert wine, and then giving the spirit nine more months in glass, makes this a thoughtful crossover between the wine and agave worlds. At 750 bottles, it will not stick around long.
The Details
Style: Reposado mezcal
Producer: Rogelio Juan Hernandez, with his son Julio Juan, in Oaxaca
Agave: 66.6% espadin, 33.4% tepeztate
Production: Conical stone oven, tahona milled, 10 days wild yeast fermentation in pinewood vats, double distilled in copper pot stills
Cask/Finish: Eight months in Caucasian (Russian) oak barrels that held Trockenbeerenauslese, then nine months resting in glass
Release Size: 750 bottles
Price (SRP): $250
Availability: Specialty retailers and the Agua Magica website
Tonights Poison Take
This is a collaboration with a clear idea behind it rather than a name on a label. Sohm's wine barrels, a reposado structure and a long rest in glass give mezcal fans something new to taste and talk about. At $250 and 750 bottles, the smart move is to check the brand's website and your local specialty shop early.
Bar Talk: This mezcal was aged in barrels that once held Austrian dessert wine from a Le Bernardin sommelier's own label.
Send this to the mezcal fan who loves a wine-barrel experiment, and tell us in the comments what you would pair it with.
Please enjoy responsibly.
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