madrecuishe - logoche

Batch: N-HV-01

Release date: June 2022

main image for the madrecuishe - logoche mezcal page of the Sin Gusano project website
main image for the madrecuishe - logoche mezcal page of the Sin Gusano project website

At a glance:

  • Maguey(es): Madrecuixe (Agave karwinskii var.)
  • Provenance of the maguey: Cultivated by local magueyero
  • Producer: Hermõgenes Vásquez García
  • Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca
  • Soil type: White, rocky tierra blanca
  • Rest time after harvest: Six days
  • Oven: Conical earthen pit; six days with mesquite and local hard woods
  • Rest time after oven: Eight days
  • Maceration: Machete and shredder
  • Fermentation: Native yeasts, two 1200L capacity Montezuma cypress sabino wood vats
  • Dry fermentation time: 48 hours
  • Wet fermentation time: Eight days
  • Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills
  • Final composition: Heads, hearts and tails
  • Batch size: 215L
  • Date of distillation: April 2021
  • ABV: 47.2%

Respected locally for both their quality of character and craft, Hermógenes and family have become internationally renowned for making some of the finest spirits in all of Mexico.

The maguey known locally as “Madrecuixe” is a truly remarkable plant. Similar in appearance to different agave known by the same name in other parts of Oaxaca, this Madrecuixe is a distinct and commonly cultivated subspecies of Agave karwinskii, endemic to Miahuatlán and specifically the area around San Luis Amatlán.

Characterized by a large, light-blue, spherical rosette, Madrecuixe can weigh anywhere from 60lbsto more than 200lbs, depending on its environmentand growing conditions. These same factors tend to dictate the maturation times, which typically takes around eight years, but can vary from six to beyond thirty years.

Considered a highly productive maguey by farmers and producers, it is also quite emblematic of the bio-cultural legacies of the lands and peoples of Miahuatlán.

wild agave plants growing in the wild

Madrecuixe in the fields of the Miahuatlán valley

Madrecuixe piñas ready for the roast

Madrecuixe piñas ready for the roast

Madrecuixe and other piñas loaded on the oven and ready to be covered

Madrecuixe and other piñas loaded on the oven and ready to be covered

Cultivated for centuries, if not millennia, as a food and beverage source, Madrecuixe is renowned for its exquisite flavour as well as its genetic potential. In Miahuatlán, this particular A. karwinskii varietal has the title madre, meaning mother, because the plant is capable of cross-pollination and produces seed that develops into very distinct types of agave. Seed from the San Luis Amatlán Madrecuixe will often yield the varieties known locally as Verde (or Cuixe Verde), Tobaziche, and Coyote. One can also find agave that resemble Tobalá, Jabalín, and some A. americana varietals, all born from Madrecuixe seed.

Often, the mezcaleros and growers find expressions that they themselves have never seen and cannot identify. This type of mixed outcome is so commonplace, that in order to ensure the reproduction of pure Madrecuixe, many maestros prefer to simply transplant the plantlets that propagate from the agave’s rhizome system. However, growing from seed ensures strong and healthy plants while also maintaining the biodiversity for which Miahuatlán is so renowned.

This particular production of Madrecuixe was made with a mix of nearly two tons of capón and guía maguey harvested around the full moon of March 2021 from a parcel of extremely rocky and white soil located just south of the family’s ranch and palenque.

Freshly roasted Madrecuixe for mezcal

Freshly roasted Madrecuixe

Distillation was finished in the following month of April, yielding a total of 215L composed with a careful mix of heads, hearts, and high-proof tails.

Hermógnes, and our collaborators Neta for mezcal production

Gracias Hermógnes, and our collaborators Neta.

House Tasting Notes:

The aromas and flavors are highly expressive of the well-grown Madrecuixe agave and detail the convergence of the lands, water, native yeasts, and tools, with the hands of its maker.

a bottle of the Coyote mezcal created exclusively for NETA

This collaborative bottling is only available via MAS. More details were sent to society members along with the June 2022 subscription delivery.

View the limited release bottlings we have available here, or join the MAS below...

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