Destilado de Agave Coyote 'Francisco Garcia Leon'

• Destilado de Agave bottled exclusively for Skurnik
• Maestro Mezcalero: Francisco García Leon
• Produced in San Guillermo, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca
• 100% Coyote (A. lyobaa)
• Cooked in a conical underground oven; crushed with horse-drawn tahona
• Fermented in open-air sabino (cypress) vats (“tinas”)
• Distilled once using traditional copper pot stills with condenser (“refrescadera”)
• Jasmine, tobacco leaf, menthol, candied plum, wet stone, old leather, white chocolate, cracked slate, cracked pepper, and fresh dryer sheets—amazing and dense on both nose and palate!
• 50% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

A Skurnik-exclusive batch of just 30 liters, chosen during a recent pilgrimage to maestro mezcalero Francisco Garcia León’s palenque, this rare gem is made from the result of cross-pollination between cultivated Tobal (A. potatorum) and Madrecuixe (A. karwsinskii) that has recently earned its own taxonomic classification, A. lyobaa.

Tasting Notes

A Skurnik-exclusive batch of just 30 liters, chosen during a recent pilgrimage to maestro mezcalero Francisco Garcia León’s palenque, which lies nestled between Ejutla and Miahuatlán in Oaxaca. As is the local tradition, Francisco uses a small condenser (or “refrescadera”) to force additional rectification on each pass through the copper pot still—in this case, allowing for higher alcohol and bold ancillary flavor compounds on just a single distillation run. Francisco recently upgraded his palenque dramatically, creating tall, perforated walls by filling wire metal frames with gathered stones and river rocks, which allow the passage of sunlight, oxygen, and ambient yeast while also creating a cool, shady workspace. Francisco’s mezcales express a minerality and a racy brightness which are classic to the region, yet clearly specific to the space he and his family have been building over the years.

This expression is the product of a hybrid still and a hybrid agave; though the term “coyote” can refer to several species of agave across Mexico, it is often used in reference to hybrid varieties such as this one, the result of cross-pollination between cultivated Tobal (A. potatorum) and Madrecuixe (A. karwsinskii), and has recently earned its own taxonomic classification, A. lyobaa. A truly rare gem, this batch is an exhilarating stand-out from a producer and region lauded for some of the most elegant and complex mezcales on the market today.  

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