Mezcal Madrecuishe 'Don Chucho'

• Mezcal produced by Casa Cortés in Oaxaca, Mexico
• 100% Madrecuishe (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
• 48% 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. Madrecuishe is a subvarietal of A. karwinskii, typically yielding higher sugars, and possessing the unique potential to propagate other subvarietals or to cross-pollinate with other species altogether.

Tasting Notes

Madrecuishe 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.

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 (Cuishe, Tobaziche, Barril, Largo); Madrecuishe, whose name translates in a mix of Spanish and indigenous Zapotec to “mother agave,” is typically quite tall and wide, laden with higher brix of sugar than most other fiber-heavy examples of the species. Expect bright herbaceous vegetal notes to pop alongside bold fruit and perhaps a hint of salted peanut or caramel. But also, expect the profile to change dramatically from batch to batch.