Ensamble (Cuixe Verde, Madrecuixe, Bicuixe, Espadin, Tepextate) 2019 | Manuel Aquino | Winter 2020 Release | ENSMAN001 | 114 Bottles
Available through PM Spirits in NY
This very special ensemble blend is comprised of 54 different agaves grown in rocky red cascajo soil. Manuel, with some assistance from his wife, Nacha, harvested four large Madrecuixe, twenty Bicuixe, twelve Espadín, three Cuixe Verde, and five massive Tepextates from an area so rugged that they had to be carried out by hand. The Cuixe Verde used in this is ensemble a very particular local karwinskii phenotype. It appears to be the product of open pollination and from a unique seed growing from what is collected from the regionally specific Madrecuixe, aptly named as the “mother” of agaves given the diverse offspring that is born from its seed.
Cuixe Verde grows extremely tall and thick, reaching over three meters in height in eight to 12 years. The plants can weigh hundreds of kilograms and yield a liter of spirits for every 6-8 kg of cooked agave. This plant does not produce seeds of its own, limiting its means of propagation to its rhizome system. There are very few farmers that have had the means or knowledge to propagate this varietal. As such, Verde is an extremely prized, but very rare cultivar.
The agaves were all harvested, cooked, and fermented during the final days December 2018, and distilled just after the New Year. For the cooking process, a mix of mesquite and guamuchil was used in an oven that remained covered for 12 days. After unearthing the agave, the piñas were left to cook for four days and were then processed by machete and an electric mill. Given the colder temperatures of the season, the macerated fibers were left to dry and ferment for three days before well water was added, followed by an additional 14 days under open air before the mash was ready to be worked and distilled. The final composition of this batch was made with the careful blending of the heads and body of the distillate, known as the puntas and corázon, with the final cuts of each postura made at 40% alc.