Destilado de Agave, Bicuixe 'Juan Vazquez'

• Destilado de agave produced in Miahuatlán, Oaxaca
• Maestro Mezcalero Juan Vasquez
• Produced from 100% Bicuixe (Agave karwinskii)
• Cooked in a conical earthen pit oven
• Milled using a traditional stone mill (tahona)
• Fermented in pine wood vats (tinas)
• Distilled twice in an alembic copper pot still
• Faintly floral with notes of blueberry, balsamic, burnt orange, white peach, a touch of iron, and pea shoots followed by honeycomb, leather, pepper, tobacco leaf, and a hint of sea breeze
• 200 liters produced; distilled in 2022
• 45.9% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

This is a shining example of Bicuixe, a subspecies of the tall and slender Agave karwinskii that is endemic to the southern mountain range of Oaxaca, lining the road down to the Pacific coast. Since the variety is rarely seen very far north of Miahuatlán, it is considered emblematic of A. karwinskii in the region and is often represented in local ensambles. This batch of puro Bicuixe is a benchmark varietal, homed in on the hearts of two distillations using traditional alembic copper pot stills. Maestro Juan Vasquez has been immediately beloved for his recent exports via Gusto Historico—particularly his glass-aged ensambles—but here he turns his spotlight on a single agave, and in so doing, on an entire region’s historic taste.