Michoacán, King of Funky A deep dive into A. inaequidens A quick guide to this box.  First of all, it is essential to note that this is a deep dive box; all the spirits featured in it were produced by Miguel Ortiz Villagomez at Cañada del Agua, Michoacán. In this first newsletter, we’ll talk mainly about the A. inaequidens, of which you’ll find two bottles. The  375 ml is a re-run of what we bottled in 2022, a batch that has been aging in glass for 3 years. And the 100 ml is a contemporary batch, produced by Miguel in 2025. Every mezcal batch is unique, and we believe that tasting these two A. Inaequidens side by side is the best way to prove, unequivocally, such a thing. There is a Cupreata in there too (in the other 375 ml bottle), but we’ll discuss it next month. For now, let’s move on to our regular newsletter. Chava was born in Michoacán, so he’ll be in charge of this newsletter.  Over the last ten years, there has been a drastic change in how people perceive beer, wine, spirits, and all the wonderful drinks that can get you dizzy. When I started drinking (at a very early age that I will not disclose), alcohol was a way of being connected to the larger world. In the same way that the Yahoo chat rooms made it possible to exchange words with someone on the other side of the world, drinking Absolut Vodka gave you the same experience as a raver in Ibiza or a yacht owner in St. Tropez. You became a world citizen, capable of placing an order, with authority, in any club or bar around the world. What I didn’t know back then was that this dream, of a worldwide shared experience, had its limitations. As I grew older, both my palate and my peers’ palates began to expand. We welcomed the comfort of familiar flavor profiles, but we were not satisfied with a limited set of flavors representing the world. We sought specificity; the flavors and aromas uniquely associated with a place (Oaxaca vs. Durango), a tradition (Tequila vs. Mezcal), or a genus (Agave vs. Dasylirion). Domesticated vs terroir-rich spirits I would claim that most big-brand products feel domesticated, even if they are complex. It is like watching a movie that overuses CGI; even the most spectacular battles struggle to evoke any emotions. On the other side of the spectrum, you have the early Hong Kong-made Jackie Chan movies, where you can feel his muscles and bones bouncing against the walls and end up celebrating every ingenious move that converts a mop or a fan into a lethal weapon. Instead of using the most advanced technology, makers of what I’d characterize as exceptional spirits decided to engage with nature fully. As Eric Kozlik (a good friend who hosts the “Modern Bar Cart Podcast”) puts it, you can trace the origins of these products when you taste them, in the same way that you can track a fox in the woods. There are clues all around that suggest the fermentation style, the terroir, the type of alembic, and so on. “Funky” or “funk”, is usually present within these more complex, terroir-rich, spirits. Everyone may have a different version (and threshold) of what this means to them. But, after listening to countless descriptions, I could say that “funky” usually refers to that space between aged cheese and very ripe fruit—the excessive personality of a room-temperature Durian. Michoacán, king of funk  Michoacán is quite a unique place. In Mexico, it is synonymous with lushness, deep cultural roots and a feisty spirit:  the Purepechas, native to this state, were one of the only indigenous groups that the Aztecs never conquered. The most used agave in the area is “Cupreata”, but there are plenty of other less efficient, and very delicious agaves that are used like Manso (A. americana), Azul (A. tequilana), Chino (wild A. cupreata), and the hero of this story, Alto/Bruto (A. inaequidens). This agave, which holds two impressive names (“Alto” meaning tall and “Bruto” meaning brute), grows in deep, mountainous areas near old pines and thick vegetation. If you think that agaves can only thrive in deserts and that complexity is only achieved by hydric stress, A. inaequidens is here to prove you wrong. However, this gorgeous agave comes with various challenges. First, you have to retrieve its massive hearts from slippery slopes that can only be reached by donkey and on foot. This agave sport very strong flavors but a limited amount of sugars, making its fermentation process tricky. If it stalls, you’ll lose the whole batch. This is why “aguamiel” (unfermented or lightly pulque) is added right at the beginning of the fermentation. Common sense would tell you that this extra influx of sugars allows the yeasts to be happier and more stable. But we’ve never found a detailed article on the subject. Some people would also claim that this practice is what gives Michoacán mezcal its funk, but that is also unclear. To this day, we haven’t been lucky enough to try an Alto/Bruto that was produced without the aguamiel boost. What we know for sure is that you will never forget the first time that a maguey Alto/Bruto hit you. In our case, when we tasted Miguel Ortiz’s spirits, we felt “funk” at full force, but a force with a clear intention. Like a guided tornado. To quote some of the gentlemen who took the time to analyze it in mezcalreviews.com: “Holy moly I was not expecting this. Nose immediately after popping the cork – bubblegum, pecorino., bubblegum goes wild here. I’m not the biggest fan of bubblegum, but this is impressive nonetheless.” – Azi “The nose has the cheesy, lactic scent but it also has some floral undertones and honey essence. The tastes on the palate keep changing with each sip: trying to nail down that cheesy note, definitely a sheep type cheese, maybe feta, but also reminds of cotija.” – JDB “Aromas of pink lemonade, green apples, bubblegum, and confectionary sugar. The palate has a hint of parmesan cheese, but not overly lactic.” – Jonny Granny Smith apples, blue cheese, and something that tastes the way a fresh can of tennis balls smells when you open it. When I swallow and let the air out of my nose I get an intense explosion of mint like taking a handful of spearmint Altoids candy and chewing them up, I love it!!!! – Rakhal We hope that you enjoy this little experiment. There are not many A. inaequidens in the market (and those out there can be pricey), so this is a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of one of our favorite agaves. We also believe, and we have no way to prove this beyond our intuition, that wild or semi-cultivated agaves are the best way to taste the drastic differences between seasons. Unlike farmed agaves, which are a consequence of well-calibrated routines, the A. inaequidens in these batches had to adapt to ever-changing conditions. As my father says: “Nature used to have a word, these days, she’s a whimsical teenager”. This being said, we know that people are always passionate about its wide range of flavors, so we can’t wait to discuss this box extensively in our “Taste & Chat”. Saludcita! Want to know more about this feature? Follow along throughout the month on facebook or instagram to get all the videos, fun facts, and conversations about this month’s feature. Some topics to look forward to include: More on Cañada del Agua, and many of the characteristics that make this terroir so unique. A close look into Michoacán’s fermentation techniques, tools and tricks. Plenty of speculation about the flavors contained in these two expressions. We know this amount of “funk” may scare some, so we have to contextualize these spirits as well as we can. 1 clue for next month’s edition 1) We’ve done a spoiler at the beginning of this newsletter. So, surprise, it’ll be a Cupreata produced by Miguel Ortiz. But instead of clues, this month we decided to make some short reviews on our Sonora box. We realized that there are many things that we never express fully about how we think and feel about the expressions that we chose, so here are some short videos of us discussing all the expressions in the June/July Box. Rumaldo Flores Amarillas – Bacanora Review Ramón Miranda – Lechuguilla/Bacanora Review Rumaldo Flores Amarillas – Bacanora with Uvalama Review Quote of the Month “In my lifetime I’ve never seen the tools or the recipe change. Maybe they’ve changed things in other places. But not here” ~ Miguel Ortiz Villagómez CRAFTSMANSHIP TRADITION SUSTAINABILITY