Fieles Difuntos

• Destilado de Agave produced in Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca
• Maestros Mezcaleros: The Monterrosa Family
• Distilled from Espadín (A. angustifolia) and Jabalí (A. convallis)
• Cooked in a conical earthen pit oven
• Milled using traditional horse-drawn tahona made of pink cantera stone!
• Open-air fermented in cypress & pine vats (tinas) using ambient yeast and well water
• Distilled twice in traditional copper pot stills
• Addition of marigold flowers, peaches, apples, chocolate, and other seasonal fruits and spices on the second run, in tribute
• Marigold, of course… but also pepitas, cardamom, mace, toasted hazelnut, poached apple, and Bosc pear, tepiche, coriander, lime peel, faint pine sap, raspberry seeds, fennel, and a touch of pineapple skin
• 48% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

It is exciting to see a batch of Oaxacan mezcal distilled with added ingredients using agave varieties beyond Espadín, especially when the decision plays into and emphasizes certain notes of the spirit. This edition of Cuish’s annual offering for Dia de los Muertos, Fieles Difuntos (Faithful Departed), features an ensamble of Espadín and Jabalí from founder Felix Monterrosa’s own family palenque. The sugary heft of the angustifolia lends weight to the oily, gamey twang of the convallis, pairing elegantly with the fruits, spices, and herbal funk of the marigold-laced mezcal. Though produced in tribute to the deceased, this spirit is very much alive.

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