Mezcal Cuishe 'Los Altamirano'

• Mezcal produced by Casa Cortés in Oaxaca, Mexico
• 100% Cuishe (Agave karwinskii)
• Practicing organic agriculture
• The agave is cooked in a horno (conical earthen oven)
• Milled using horse-driven stone tahona
• Naturally fermented in open-air wooden tanks (tinas)
• Distilled using traditional copper pot stills
• 47% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

Agave karwinskii more closely resemble a palm to many observers than what is typically identified as agave. The entire trunk is typically fermented and distilled when producing mezcal, resulting in a spirit much higher in vegetal and fibrous aromatic & flavor profiles. Cuishe is a subvarietal of A. karwinskii which grows wild in southern Oaxaca, and represents less than 1% of the agave currently growing in the state.

Tasting Notes

Cuishe (pronounced varyingly “kwee-sh” or “kwee-shay”) is a subvarietal of the Agave karwinskii species of agave, which grow wild in certain parts of Oaxaca, representing less than 1% of the agave currently growing in the state. The name Cuishe comes from the indigenous Zapotec, meaning “agave”.

Unlike most agave, whose leaves (or “pencas”) grow outwards from a central heart or core which remains close to the ground, Agave karwinskii develop as a long vertical stem or trunk, with the sugar concentrated near the top where the pencas remain green and spiky. Agave karwinskii more closely resemble a palm to many observers than what is typically identified as agave. Their height and intimidating spikes have led some indigenous communities to use them as a natural fence.

In addition, the entire trunk is typically fermented and distilled when producing mezcal, resulting in a spirit much higher in vegetal and fibrous aromatic & flavor profiles. There are many subvarietals of Agave karwinskii (Madrecuishe, Tobaziche, Barril, Largo); Cuishe is almost the goldilocks of the species: neither unusually short or tall, fat or slender, it typically stands around 6-7 feet tall and reaches maturity between 12 and 18 years.