Extraordinary Mezcals and Other

ALIPUS San Andres Ensamble: Espadín with some 20% semi-wild bicuishe (variant of agave Karwinskii), at its best where Don Valente distills, and he is a master of Karwinskii. Rich, clean, and nicely balanced.  

ALIPUS San Andrés: Fermented in cypress vats & distilled by Don Valente Angel from agave espadín grown at about 5000 feet on thin soiled low hills and terraces, near Miahuatlan. The local practice is to add some madrecuishe, to the roast. Complex, rich, intensely floral.

ALIPUS San Baltazar Guélavila: Fermented in very old pine vats & distilled by Don Cosmé Hernandez and his son Cirilo from agave espadín grown at about 5700 feet in hilly, white, & rocky soil. It’s the most popular Alipus in Mexico and we can’t always have it in stock. Soft, delicate, fruity minerality, slightly sweet.  

ALIPUS San Juan del Rio: Fermented in oak vats & distilled by Rodolfo Juan Juarez in the Cruz family distillery along the river, using non-irrigated agave espadín grown in sunny mountain-top plantings in ferriferous soil at 4600 feet. Fruity, rich, smokey, pleasantly sweet.      

ALIPUS San Luis del Rio:

ALIPUS San Miguel de Sola: Fermented in oak vats & distilled in small clay potstills by Felipe de Jesus Rios, Leonardo Rojas Garcia, and Felix Garcia Jimenez from espadín and semi-wild arroqueño (agave Americana) grown at about 3200 feet in very steep ferriferous soils. Fruity and intense.

ALIPUS Santa Ana del Rio: Fermented in slender pine vats & distilled by Doña Minerva Hernández from agave espadín. The pueblo is at 4000 feet but the local agaves are grown higher up at about 5200 feet in mountainous sandy calciferous soils. Balanced and very cleanly distilled: our favorite. Soft and lightly fruity.  

ALIPUS XX Anniversary Edition -San Juan del Rio: Single-batch from wild agaves, to celebrate 20 years of Alipus, the first exported mezcal with a social motive. San Juan was the first Alipus producer.

Alipus XX Anniversary Edition Santa Ana del Rio: single-batch using wild agaves, to celebrate 20 years of Alipus, the first exported mezcal with a social motive. Santa Ana's population is 376. You have to wade across the river to get to the destilería.

ANIMAS Ensamble Artesanal: Beautifully distilled blend of espadín and tobalá, Herbal and fruity minerality, with a subtle sweetness.  

ANIMAS Papalometl Artesanal: Sourced in the high Mizteca. Memorable.

BALAM Churique: An unclassified wild agave, found only in the Chihuahuan desert and locally called lechugilla (“small lettuce”), distilled using artisanal methods by Bienvenido Hernandez in Madera, at 6500 feet in Chihuahua. Hand-milled. The sparse & tiny agave looks intimidatingly thorny. Agave distillates from tough environments are intense: so is churique. Unique, mineral (chalky), appealingly slightly sour finish.

BALAM Sotol Desierto: Dasylirion Wheeleri distilled using artisanal methods by Enrique Valencia in the pueblo of Coyame, at 4000 ft in the high Sonoran desert of Chihuahua. Hand-milled. Sotol growing in a dry and colder climate yields intensity, with plenty of minerality, and a touch of sweetness. Focused and nicely clean.

BALAM Sotol Durango: Dasylirion Wheeleri distilled using artisanal methods by Jesús Román in Peñon Blanco at 5200 feet in Durango. Hand-milled. Sotol from the mountains is softer and fruitier. Long complex finish.

BALAM Raicilla de Costa: From Rosalio Rodriguez in El Tuito in the mountains of Cabo Corriente, south of Puerto Escondido. Rodriguez distills chico aguiar (agave angustifolia) and agave rhodacantha, both wild and grown in his own fields. The climate is moderated by being close to the sea: spicy and nicely vegetal.

BALAM Raicilla de la Sierra: From Benito Salcedo Rios in El Mosco, a tiny pueblo (pop. 148) at 3200 feet in the Sierra Madre, south of Mascota. Benito is an agronomist, and you can taste his feel for the plant: lechuguilla (agave Maximiliana), a wild agave he working on cultivating for sustainability. Focused and very cleanly distilled.

BALAM Raicilla Del Llano: From Juan Jesús Ariaz Lugo in San Gabriel on the central plateau SW of Guadalajara. Agave angustifolia, the familiar espadín cultivated in Oaxaca, but tasting far more fruity and earthen, very accessible at the lower ABV preferred by many raicilla distillers. Nicely round.

BALAM Raicilla Extra Anejo: Starting in 2012, Rosalio every year has aged a barrel of rhodacantha for a year, then added it to the earlier ones in a single tank. In 2019, he filled a small barrel with the aged solera for a month of integration, and filled 274 bottles. We are aware of no other distiller who does this: truly one of a kind. Deep and rich. Scarce.

BALAM Raicilla Madurado de La Costa: From Rosalio Rodrigueaz in El Tuito, a solera of rhodacantha: Rosalio ages one barrel’s worth of his rhodacantha every year, then adds it to the solera; the oldest dates from 2004. 559 bottles only, average age over 8 years. There is nothing like it made from agaves. Complex and very mellow.

BALAM Sierra Tigre: Ancestral distillation on a Filipino clay still by Chuy Lapian in Las Agujas (pop. 48, at 5100 ft) in the Sierra del Tigre southwest of Guadalajara. His distillation is as authentic as it gets: like many Jaliscans, he uses a masonry (brick) above-ground oven to roast wild agave inaequidens. The lengthy (23- day) fermentation and the single distillation to high alcohol of a 400-bottle batch yields a raicilla of notable focus and lactic complexity. BIG.

COMUNIDAD No. 1 ~ Bramaderos: A rich MEZCAL of 5 wild/semi-wild agaves: barril, bicuishe, madrecuishe (all varietals of Karwinskii), coyote (Americano), and Mexicano (also called dobadaan, rhodacantha), with cultivated espadín, grown at +/- 5000 feet in shaley ferriferous soils near Miahuatlan. Unusually complex, soft, and very clean: Distiller Alberto Ortiz, “Don Beto”, is a master of Karwinskii. Bramaderos, pop. 578, is at 5500 feet. The batch was distilled October 4, 2017. 731 bottles. More about Don Beto

COMUNIDAD NO. 10 – Santa Catarina Minas: Wild tobasiche, a variety of agave Karwinskii, one that also takes a long time to mature. Gently rich, nicely round. The batch was distilled in November of 2021. 55 bottles More about Heladio Lopez

COMUNIDAD NO. 11- Santa Catarina Minas: Wild jabalí, agave convallis, an agave so hard to distill that many avoid it. Creamy and sweet, fabulous length. A masterpiece. The batch was distilled in February, 2022. 55 bottles More about Heladio Lopez

COMUNIDAD NO. 12 – Santa Catarina Minas: Wild tripón, a local agave Karwinskii variant that is very rarely distilled. Rich and spicy complexity. The batch was distilled in March, 2021. 48 bottles More about Heladio Lopez

COMUNIDAD No. 2 ~ El Lazo: A lovely 220-liter batch of COYOTE, a local variant of agave Americana var. Oaxacensis, grown from wild stock and harvested from La Casita, a steep hillside planting, by the distiller, Ángel Cruz Robles. This man knew his agaves intimately. El Lazo, pop. 126, is on the other side of the high ridge west of Sola de Vega. The local Americana in unusually focused. Earthy, intense, complex. The batch was distilled January 11, 2021. More about Angel Cruz Robles

COMUNIDAD NO. 3 – RANCHO VIEJO: A small 197-liter batch of wild Mexicano (agave rhodacantha), distilled in a small pueblo south of Sola de Vega. Self taught Distiller Gabino Ramirez,  rents a small still in the village and ferments in small cylindrical vats; the separated fermentations add complexity. The mezcal is a single distillation to proof, using a refrescadera mounted atop the still, which increases the rectification of the distillate. Soft and richly vegetal. The batch was distilled June, 2021. 263 bottles. More about Gabino and Jacopo Juarez

COMUNIDAD NO. 4 – AMATENGO: We rescued the last 40 liters of a fabulous batch distilled from wild and exceptionally mature tepextate (agave marmorata) that son Luis was pouring in his mezcaleria in Oaxaca city. Distiller Sergio Juárez performed a single distillation to proof using a refrescadera; The batch was distilled January 14, 2022. 55 bottles.

COMUNIDAD NO. 5 – BRAMADEROS: A delicate blend (mezcla) of espadín (agave angustifolia) and wild bicuishe (agave Karwinskii) distilled by Don Beto’s son Onofre Ortiz, at the family distillery. The rolling hills of ferriferous clay-shale soils in Miahuatlan produce exceptional Karwinskii; the local mezcals are among Oaxaca’s finest, The batch was distilled in December, 2021. 293 bottles More about Don Beto

COMUNIDAD NO. 6 AMATENGO: Amatengo was once famous for its wild barril (agave Karwinskii). Sergio Juárez is deliberately restoring the reputation. Single distillation to proof preserves the floral/herbal characteristics of mezcals from this large slow-growing agave. Creamy and intense with nice minerality. The batch was distilled in February, 2022. 140 bottles

COMUNIDAD NO. 7 RANCHO VIEJO: A small and exceptional batch of wild tobalá (agave potatorum), distilled in a small pueblo south of Sola de Vega. Distiller Gabino Ramirez' father Jacopo showed up when we were picking up Gabino’s mezcal and showed us this little beauty. Single distillation to proof using a refrescadera captures the delicacy of this agave, for which Sola de Vega is justly famous. Elegance from the region’s chalky soils. The batch was distilled in March of 2021.  151 bottles. More about Gabino and Jacopo Juarez

COMUNIDAD NO. 8 BRAMADEROS: A powerful and very unusual blend, distilled by Onofre Ortiz, of 6 wild agaves (arroqueño, bicuishe, coyote, madrecuishe, Mexicano, and tepeztate) against a calm backdrop of espadín. Beautifully balanced and very very complex. Don Beto said regretfully that he had been saving this for himself. The batch was distilled December 9, 2021. Do not miss this. We have only 80 bottles. More about Don Beto

COMUNIDAD NO. 9 Santa Catarina Minas: Wild sierrudo, a very large variety of agave Americana that takes a long time to mature, some 20 years. Lactic, herbal complexity, rich long finish.  The batch was distilled in March, 2022. 55 bottles More about Heladio Lopez

CUENTACUENTOS Arroqueño ancestral – MCRios: Wild agave Americana from Miguel Cruz Rios in El Lazo, west of Sola de Vega. The region's arroqueño has a feral intensity. Complex, & well-distilled.

CUENTACUENTOS Arroqueño Artesanal -A.C.Robles: From Ángel Cruz Robles in El Lazo in the mountains above Sola de Vega. Wild agave Americana var. Arroqueño is acidic, yielding a mezcal that is clean and intense.

CUENTACUENTOS Barro – Entire 2nd Distillation Batch: Craft Distillers sells batches to bars that are the entirety of a second distillation in a small clay pot, 30 1 liter bottles. We put your name (or your group's) and the batch number on a strip label: you would have the only 30 bottles in the world.  

CUENTACUENTOS Barro Mezcal: Small 30-liter batches of joven espadín (agave angustifolia): the first distillation in copper, the second distillation in a 35-liter clay pot still in Santiago Matatlan, the historical center of Oaxacan mezcal distillation. Read Spear has worked a miracle: clay-pot mezcal with real character at a decent price. Soft clay mouthfeel. 46% abv. $65 video  

CUENTACUENTOS Coyote Ancestral–A.Calvo: Clay-distilled. A wild local sub-varietal of agave Americana, like arroqueño but with narrower spines. From Ángel Cruz Calvo, Angel Robles grandfather in El Lazo above Sola de Vega. Here’s video of Angel Calvo, aged 86, using a mazo.    

CUENTACUENTOS Coyote Ancestral-A.C.Robles: On clay potstills. A wild local sub-varietal of agave Americana. Another beauty from Ángel Cruz Robles in El Lazo above Sola de Vega. Exceptionally clean.

CUENTACUENTOS Cuish Artesanal – Serafin Garcia: Wild agave Karwinskii from Serafín Garcia Gerónimo near San Dioniso Ocotopec. We like Karwinskii because it is high-stalked, away from the heat of the ground, so the flavors taste a bit fresher. Cuish is Serafin’s specialty: beautifully distilled.

CUENTACUENTOS Cupreata (Papalote) artesanal-B. Gatica: Wild agave cupreata capón harvested at 1600 meters from Benigno Sanchez Gatica in El Peral, Chilapa de Alvarez, Guerrero state. Cupreata is at its' best in Guerrero. Ansley's favorite agave/intense.

CUENTACUENTOS Espadin Ancestral -A.C. Robles: From Ángel Cruz Calvo in El Lazo above Sola de Vega. High mountain agaves distilled in clay, Ángel Calvo is 86 and still used a mazo.

CUENTACUENTOS Espadin Artesanal -Serafin: From Serafin Garcia Geronimo near San Dioniso Ocotopec.  Single batch Agave  angustifolia.  Unusually well distilled blanco

CUENTACUENTOS Espadín ancestral – MCRios: Mountain-grown agave and gustifolia from Miguel Cruz Rios in El Lazo, west of Sola de Vega. Chalky soils, mountainous terrain and ancestral methods create a uniquely worthy mezcal.

CUENTACUENTOS Madrecuishe Artesanal-Everardo: Semi-wild agave Karwinskii from Everardo Garcia Salvador in San Pablo Mitla (the 1544 church stands on top of great Mizteca ruins). One of Everardo’s last distillations. Soft minerality from chalky soil

CUENTACUENTOS Mexicano Artesanal-L.Santos: Wild agave macroacantha from Laurentino Santos in Santa Catarina Coatlan in Miahuatlan. Nice minerality from the ferriferous soils.

CUENTACUENTOS Tepeztate Artesanal – Serafin: From Serafin Garcia Geronimo near San Dioniso Ocotopec. Agave marmorata.

CUENTACUENTOS Tobala -D.Leon: Wild agave potatorum from Daniel Léon in Quielela near Sola de Vega, Ancestral distillation in a clay pot still. Tobalá from Sola de Vega distilled in clay is about as good as mezcal gets.

CUENTACUENTOS Tobala Ancestral-A.C.Calvo: From Ángel Cruz Calvo in El Lazo in the mountains above Sola de Vega. The rare agave Seemania: worth buying. Scarce

CUENTACUENTOS Tobala Artesanal – Serafin: From Serafín Garcia Gerónimo near San Dioniso Ocotopec. Wild agave potatorum. Good price for tobalá.

CUENTACUENTOS Tobala Everardo: From Everardo Garcia Salvador in San Pablo Mitla. Agaves potatorum & angustifolia.  

CUENTACUENTOS Tobalá ancestral – A.C.Robles: The wild and rare variant agave Seemania from Angel Cruz Robles in El Lazo, west of Sola de Vega. The region produces Oaxaca's best tobalás. Complex and mineral. Great mezcal from a great distiller

LAS PERLAS Raicilla de Jalisco: The most carefully made agave spirit we know of, by Santiago Díaz Ramos near Las Guásimas, on the coast just south of Puerto Vallarta. Hand- crushed using mazos; the fermentation is 3-4 weeks. The top of the copper still is a hollow tree trunk, lending a soft moistness to the spirit: beyond ancestral. Wild and semi-wild agave angustifolia and rhodacantha harvested, distilled, and bottled one batch at a time: about 650 bottles. Fresh, clean, full-bodied, very easy to drink. Scarce.      

LAS PERLAS Raicilla de Jalisco Chico Aguiar: Single small batches distilled from wild chico aguiar, usually listed as rhodacantha but in this area more likely an unclassified hybrid of wild rhodacantha and wild angustifolia. The pinas are small. It took 21 pounds of agave to make each of the 216 bottles. Focused flavors: herbaceous fruit and a sweet mineral spiciness. Very well made: worth the price. Scarce.  

LOS NAHUALES Anejo: Very little is exported to the USA: maybe 300 bottles a year. 12-18 months in French Nevers oak. Beautifully mature, with plenty of rich flavor. Very long finish. Scarce

LOS NAHUALES blanco Arroqueño: Single-batch distilled from a semi-wild sub-variety of the agave Americana. Arroqueno has good acidity, meaning great flavor definition. Nice intensity. 51 bottles left.  

LOS NAHUALES Metodo Antiguo (blanco): A custom-ordered return to the ancestral method of using the tails cut (codas) to dilute the mezcal to bottling proof, instead of water. Very fresh and appealing, with lots of complexity. Unique in the US market. Scarce  

LOS NAHUALES NAHUAL de Coyote: New release:  Rich and complex blanco, 70% coyote (agave Americana), 30% espadín. A masterpiece based on sustainable plantings of domesticated wild agaves: the calm espadin is the perfect backdrop for the feral coyote. Amazing value.

LOS NAHUALES Nahual de Jaguar Reposado: Most reposado mezcals aren’t worth the trouble, but this one is: aged in French Nevers and American oak for some 6-9 months: a superb and subtle mezcal. The mesquite smokiness becomes focused to something resembling peat in an Islay malt. Clean, refined, well-structured, with a deep long finish. Elegant is the word.

LOS NAHUALES NAHUAL Special Release No. 1:

New release: a very small batch distilled from wild arroqueño. Beautifully distilled: subtle intensity. Balanced minerality.

LOS NAHUALES Sierra Negra: Single-batch distilled from a second, and rare, sub-variety of the agave Americana, noted for its suavity. One of our favorite agaves: lovely stuff. Rich flavor. 50 bottles left.

LOS NAHUALES Special Edition no. 2: Distilled in March, 2016, by Karina Abad from espadín (agave angustifolia), 69.8%, and wild cuishe (agave Karwinskii Zucch.), 30.2%. The blend (ensamble) was created by roasting, milling, fermenting, and distilling in a single batch. We like ensambles using espadín: its calm richness is the perfect backdrop to the intensity and, in the case of Karwinskii, the chocolatey slight bitterness of wild agaves. Beautiful balance. 2 bottles left  

LOS NAHUALES Special Edition no. 4: One of the finest mezcals ever distilled, a single batch of espadín (agave angustifolia) from March, 2013. The extraordinary quality of the batch was recognized when it came from the still, and it was kept back to be matured in glass for five years, deepening and stabilizing its rich complexity. Just about perfect mezcal. We received a portion of the 770 bottles.  11 bottles left.

LOS NAHUALES Special Edition no. 5: An ensamble of wild cirial (an agave Karwinskii variant harvested above San Juan del Rio) and a rich and forward espadín (agave angustifolia) from Yegalache in mountainous terrain above and east of Miahuatlan. Distilled by Karina Abad: displays her masterful gift for richness and balance. 414 bottles only.

LOS NAHUALES Still Proof (2nd release): Second release. Limited bottling: an undiluted ensamble of 40% wild jabalí (agave convallis) collected in the hills of San José Lachiguiri, west of Miahuatlan, in dark thin infertile soils. Jabalí is very difficult to distill; here its acidic ferality is beautifully tamed by blending with a rich mature espadín from Pozo Blanco near Santiago Matatlan. Beautiful harmony of mineral intensity and espadín’s rich suavity. Only one bottle per order.  42 bottles left.  

MEXICAT 3-Pack Tasting Sampler: Affordably explore Mexicat Raicilla Sierra, Masparillo, and Sotol Artesanal in a 3 bottle taster pack. Truly excellent distillates, each from a single small batch, at very good prices. Each bottle is enough for two 1.7 oz pours. Packaged in a small wood crate; includes detailed educational cards. 3 x 100ML bottles.

MEXICAT Destilado de Agave Ancestral: The very rare agave Salmiana Crassispina distilled in a clay Filipino still by Maria de la Luz Martinez Ramos in remote Mexquital, San Luis Potosí. The oldest methods we have encountered: squeezing the crushed agaves by twisting them in a hammock, then fermenting with a pulque yeast. This is as indigenous a spirit as exists, and the most profound agave spirit we have encountered.  In a ceramic bottle that we cannot ship because of the risk of its getting broken;  we'll have to empty the spirit into a glass 750ml bottle and ship both to you.  Call Kristie--707-468-7899 to order. DO NOT MISS THIS.

MEXICAT Raicilla Sierra: From Mascota in the Sierra Madre Occidental, double-distilled in copper at the destilería of 4th-generation José and Benito Salceda, agronomist brothers and raicilla pioneers deeply engaged in a large sustainability project cultivating agave Maximiliana (called lechuguilla). Flavorful and soft. Double distillation tends to show a smoother side of raicilla, and the 40% abv nicely balances the intensity of the wild Maximiliana.  

MEXICAT Rare Agave Spirit (Gold): Masparillo: Distilled by hand by Don Lupe Castro in Mezquital de Oro, Zacatecas, close to tequila territory. The agave is a variant of agave Maximiliana called masparillo, a small wild agave growing at high altitudes on thin soils. Don Lupe’s stone-enclosed stills bring out a clean, focused, floral, and mineral spirit.  Masparillo is uncommon. This is good stuff.

MEXICAT Rare Agave Spirit (Silver): Manso: Another hand-distillation by Don Lupe Castro in Mezquital de Oro, Zacatecas, close to tequila territory The agave salmiana is a cultivated agave, here called manso. Don Lupe’s version is extremely well distilled: softly rich, round, citric, and spicy. Amazing price for the quality.

MEXICAT Sotol Artesanal:

About Sotol

Dasylirion Wheeleri from 4th and 5th generation distillers Norma & Bienvenido Fernandez, using artisanal methods in Madera, at 6500 feet in the mountains of Western Chihuahua. Smoky, earthy but very clean; fruity and intense; long finish: best sotol we have tasted. The Nahuatl word from which sotol derives is tzotollin, a small palm tree. There is a local belief that it means sweetness of (in) the head, and that’s certainly what this sotol is  

MEZCALERO No. 26: Hand-distilled in April, 2019, by Don Valente Angel in Santa Maria la Pila (Miahuatlan) from semi-wild arroqueño (agave Americana). Perfectly distilled: beautiful arroqueño focus. 900 bottles.  

MEZCALERO No. 27: Hand-distilled May 2019 by Rodolfo Juan Juarez in San Juan del Rio from wild tepeztate (agave marmorum), wild jabali (agave convallis), and cultivated espadín (agave angustifolia).The use of jabali is noteworthy: intensity married to earthy fruitiness; it makes wonderful mezcal but is notoriously difficult to distill. Espadín, broadly round in flavor, is the perfect backdrop for wild agaves. Special stuff. Only 18 bottles available from the 240 bottle batch.

MEZCALERO No. 28: Hand-distilled May 2013 by Don Valente Angel in Santa Maria la Pila in Miahuatlan from wild bicuishe (agave Karwinskii), semi-wild madrecuishe (agave Karwinskii), wild Mexicano (agave rhodacantha)and cultivated espadín (agave angustifolia). Aged five years in glass: soft, balanced, complex. Unreal.

MEZCALERO No. 29: Hand-distilled April 2019 by Octavio Jiménez Méndez in Santiago Matatlan from wild tepextate (agave marmorata). Tepextate's rich intense fullness.

MEZCALERO Special No. 5: An ensamble (blended at roasting) of wild cenizo (agave durangensis) and 60% espadín (agave angustifolia) hand-distilled May 2019 by Don Rubén Solis Lozano in La Constancia, Durango. The upland agaves were wood-roasted, crushed by hand, fermented in a wood-covered underground pit using wild yeasts, double distilled in a 300-liter copper potstill, and bottled in August of 2019. The tiny cenizo is notoriously difficult to distill. Beautifully balanced: the calm rich espadín is perfect backdrop to the feral intensity of the wild cenizo. 960 bottles.

MEZCALERO Special No. 6: Hand-distilled December, 2022, by Rodolfo Juan Juarez in San Juan del Rio from Maguey Azul (agave tequilana), the agave used by statute for tequila. The richness and complexity of this mezcal in comparison with tequilas vividly demonstrate the value of including the agave solids in fermentation and distillation.