Madrecuixe, Bicuixe, Coyote, Espadín | June 2022 | Aniceto García | ENNANI2206 | Winter 2022 Release | 48 bottles
Albeit in tiny quantities, Aniceto García of produces some of the most delicious and unique spirits in all of Mexico. Contemplating something special, Aniceto selected a small amount of cultivated and wild agave for the crafting of this 45L batch, of which 48 bottles have been made available through our friends and partners at PM Wine Distribution in the state of New Mexico.
Mixing both quiotudo and en guía maguey harvested from his extremely rocky and steep sloped white earth lands, the maestro used nearly equal weight of Madrecuixe, Bicuixe, and Coyote (three micro-endemic varieties), with the addition of one large and capón Espadín. In the small earthen oven that sits just a few steps from his open-air palenque, the maguey was covered with a mix of agave fibers and banana leaves -- a combination that Aniceto has come to prefer-- and cooked for six days with mesquite wood. After a short resting period of two days, the perfectly caramelized agave was crushed buy hand with a wooden mallet, or mazo. In light of the abundant quantity of sugar-rich agave juices, the fibers required a three-day period of dry fermentation before less than 100L of spring water was added to the vat. Given the exposure to the elements and high temperatures of an unusually dry stretch of June 2022, the guarape fermented for an additional two days before Aniceto deemed the mash ready for distillation.
Aniceto follows a recipe for distillation using the same materials and techniques shown to him by his grandfather: a copper boiler pot and cap, fitted with a refrescadera (cooling jacket). Unlike some other methods in the vicinity, Aniceto fills the refrescadera with cool water three times during each round of distillation, or postura. A select cut of high-proof liquid from this first round, which he refers to as shishe macizo, is separated and later used to lower the final alcohol content of the heads and hearts cuts selected from the rectification in the second distillation. In this case, the remaining bulk of around 120L of low wines were then refined and divided into multiple cuts. One liter of shishe macizo was separated and used to compose a total of 45L at 48% alc. 48 bottles have been made available exclusively for PM Wine Distribution in the state of New Mexico.
§ Maguey(es): Ensamble Madrecuixe, Bicuixe, Coyote, Espadín
§ Provenance of the maguey: Homegrown and wild harvested from family land
§ Producer: Aniceto García
§ Region: San Luis Amatlán, Miahuatlán
§ Date of production: June 2022
§ Soil type: white and rocky tierra peñasco
§ Rest time after harvest: three weeks
§ Oven: Conical earthen oven; six days with mesquite wood
§ Rest time after oven: two days
§ Maceration: Machete and mechanical shredder
§ Fermentation: Native yeasts; one 500L Montezuma cypress sabino wood vat filled
§ Dry fermentation time: three days
§ Wet fermentation time: three days
§ Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills with a refrescadera
§ Final composition: heads and hearts from 2nd distillation mixed with a select cut of shishe macizo from the first round of distillation (low wines)
§ Batch size: 45L
§ ABV: 48%