Bicuixe + Tepextate | March 2024 | Tomás García Cruz | Summer 2024 release | 54 bottles | Elote AZ
Born in 1950, Don Tomás García Cruz was raised in a rural context of clandestine spirits production during a time of strict regulation. His father, Don Nicolás, ran one of the two shared palenques that operated in Logoche during the middle 20th century, and was the first to receive a license to legally produce in the late 1970’s. Tomás and his siblings have in turn passed on their knowledge to their own children, and grandchildren who continue to push the craft forward. Despite, or perhaps in light of his 74 years, Tomás remains at the vanguard of experimentation and innovation in the campo and in the palenque and produces some of the finest spirits in all of Mexico.
The family’s landholdings encompass different parcels of varying sizes in the immediate area surround their home in Logoche. In his decades of experience, Don Tomás has observed that much of the flavor (and sugar content) of each agave is dictated by the soil in which it was grown. Of all the family’s parcels, a mixed but mostly rocky and red, cascajo stretch known as La Mina consistently yields some of the most captivating productions, all marked with a particular extra depth and complexity that becomes familiar and recognizable after time. Distilled from the contents of a single, half-filled Montezuma cypress fermentation vat Don Tomás was extremely satisfied with the outcome of this batch, and was exuberant to share it with is, declaring it “muy chingon” after just the first sip. Highly emblematic of the terruño and gastronomic traditions of the region, a total of 65 liters were produced after a careful composition of heads, hearts, and tails of the second round of distillation. About 20L were kept by the Maestro and the remaining 45 liters of this tiny batch were selected to be bottled as an exclusive pick by our friends at Elote in Sedona, Arizona.
§ Maguey(es): Bicuixe (Agave karwinskii var.) + Tepextate (Agave marmorata var.)
§ Provenance of the maguey: wild harvested from La Mina parcel
§ Producer: Tomás García Cruz
§ Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán
§ Soil type: red and rocky cascajo rojo
§ Rest time after harvest: seven days
§ Oven: Conical earthen pit; eight days with mesquite wood
§ Rest time after oven: five days
§ Maceration: tractor-drawn stone mill
§ Fermentation: Native yeasts; one 1200L Montezuma cypress sabino wood tanks with approximately 500kg of cooked agave and 350L of well water
§ Dry fermentation time: three days
§ Wet fermentation time: eight days
§ Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills
§ Final composition: Heads, hearts, and tails
§ Batch size: 65 liters
§ Date of distillation: March 2024
§ ABV: 48.7%