CUIXE VERDE + TEPEXTATE | HUGO GARCÍA MALDONADO | MAY 2026 | ENNHGO2605 | 49.7% ALC. | 66 BOTTLES | LADIN’S LIQUOR
This remarkable small-batch production from talented young palenquero Hugo García Maldonado was selected for an exclusive bottling for Ladin’s Liquor in Sherman Oaks, California. Working with nearly equal parts by weight of cultivated Cuixe Verde and wild Tepextate, two emblematic agaves of this particular corner of Miahuatlán, Hugo skillfully crafted this co-fermented field blend.
Cuixe Verde, also known simply as Verde, is a rare Agave karwinskii phenotype native to the area in and around San Luis Amatlán, Miahuatlán. It typically matures in eight to twelve years. Similar-looking agaves share the name elsewhere in Miahuatlán, but the “true” Cuixe Verde is locally understood to be this particular large, stout form with deep green leaves. It should also be distinguished from the Verde of El Nanche and Mengolí, a type of Mexicano belonging to Agave rhodacantha.
Although Cuixe Verde occasionally appears among plants grown from Madrecuixe seed, it rarely produces viable seeds of its own and does not readily reproduce through bulbils, a propagation method used successfully with many other agave types. Historically, most Cuixe Verde around San Luis Amatlán have therefore been propagated by collecting and planting shoots that emerge from the plants’ rhizomes. These agaves remain rare and highly coveted for their large size, high sugar content, and the aromas and flavors closely associated with the terruño of San Luis Amatlán.
The steep hillsides and ravines surrounding the cultivated fields of San Luis Amatlán support wild populations of Tepextate, an Agave marmorata that generally takes fifteen to thirty years to mature, sometimes longer. While production elsewhere in Oaxaca has surged to meet new consumer demand, this agave has long been integral to the distilling traditions of Logoche and neighboring villages in Miahuatlán. A low-yielding wild agave that is difficult to harvest, Tepextate was once considered a “poor man’s drink,” carrying an additional stigma within the broader socioeconomic and racial prejudices surrounding mezcal. Today, it is one of Oaxaca’s most prized agaves, and its longstanding use in Logoche reflects the region’s deep gastronomic traditions. Handled with care and skill, Tepextate produces spirits that express both plant and place with extraordinary flavor.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Agaves: Cuixe Verde (Agave karwinskii) + Tepextate (Agave marmorata)
Agave provenance: Cultivated Cuixe Verde from neighboring San Isidro Guishe; wild Tepextate from San Luis Amatlán
Producer: Hugo García Maldonado
Region: Logoche, San Luis Amatlán, Miahuatlán
Soil type: White, rocky earth, tierra blanca (Cuixe Verde); red, rocky earth, tierra roja (Tepextate)
Rest time after harvest: Five to six days
Oven: Conical earthen oven; four days with mesquite and oak firewood
Rest time after roasting: 24 hours
Maceration: Machete and mechanical shredder
Fermentation: Native yeasts; one Montezuma cypress (sabino) wood vat containing approximately 850 kg of cooked agave and 600 L of well water
Dry fermentation time: 24 hours
Wet fermentation time: Seven days
Distillation: Twice distilled in copper pot stills
Final composition: Heads, hearts, and tails
Batch size: 55 L
Date of distillation: May 2026
ABV: 49.7%