Destilado de Agave, Cuixito

• Destilado de agave produced in Yeguesia, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca, and bottled under the In Situ label, Mezcasiarca (NOM EM-012-SC)
• Maestro mezcaleros: “In Situ Team”
• Distilled from 100% Cuixito (A. karwinskii)
• Cooked in a traditional earthen oven
• Milled by hand using wooden mallets (mazo) and mechanical crusher
• Fermented in open-air wooden vats (tinas) made of oak
• Distilled twice using traditional Filipino-style clay pot stills; distilled to still strength (alta gama, meaning “no adjustments”)
• Subtle, savory aromas of granite, haricot vert, sage, catnip, jasmine, and lemon zest before a palate that bursts with pepitas, fennel, stewed raisins, paprika, papaya, a touch of brine and maybe a dry scone
• 110 liters produced
• 51% ABV

Cuixito is one of those delightful and infuriating examples of agave nomenclature that can mean different things in different places. In this example, it refers to a smaller subspecies of Agave karwinskii. However, in our experience thus far, the distillates made from this region’s Cuixito only give very subtle hints of the hallmark A. karwinskii profile! Confounding, but delicious.

Tasting Notes

Cuixito is one of those delightful and infuriating examples of agave nomenclature that can mean different things in different places. The term may be used to describe a small and particularly stumpy Agave rhodacantha; at other times, it may be used to indicate an unclassified variety of agave, or even a closely related plant from a different genus entirely; or, as in this example, it may be used for a smaller subspecies of Agave karwinskii (classified or unclassified). This association is only complicated more because, in our experience thus far, the distillates made from it only very subtly give hints of a hallmark A. karwinskii profile. No matter; the mezcal is delicious—delicate and evocative, with a glittering midpalate that lingers for as long as you’ll let it—and at the end of the day, isn’t that what really matters?