Mezcal, Cuishe

• Mezcal produced in San Guillermo, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca
• Maestro Mezcalero Francisco García Leon • 100% Cuishe (Agave karwinskii)
• Cooked in a conical underground oven; crushed with horse-drawn tahona
• Fermented in open air sabino (cypress) vats (tinas)
• Distilled twice using traditional copper pot stills with condenser (refrescadera)
• Snap pea, lemon curd, potting soil, cracked pepper, petrichor, slate, coriander, brick dust
• 49% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

Maestro mezcalero Francisco Garcia León’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.

Tasting Notes

Maestro mezcalero Francisco Garcia León comes from a long line of mezcal heritage, and his methods remain traditional and distinct to his community, nestled between Ejutla and Miahuatlán in Oaxaca; most notably, he uses a small condenser (or “refrescadera”) with each pass through the still. 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.

Resources