Maguey Chino

The Definition of Balance

The everyday exceptional

You can’t drink the rarest, most powerful things every day. Even if one could afford it, we believe certain flavors should be like rare bird sightings. Sometimes it is nice to create a bit of distance, forget a little, come back, and be surprised. The spirit has changed, you’ve changed.

However, we also believe that we can all agree that there is no such thing as a “simple” mezcal. Every expression, if crafted properly, will always be complex.  So, given this impossibility, what could one sip on an everyday basis? What could be the equivalent of comfort or soul food?

Maguey Chino, a completely made-up origin story

Many, many years ago, we believe that some Michoacán mezcaleros asked themselves this very question after a long night of sipping full glasses of Alto/Bruto (A. inaequidens). We are sure they were delighted with the spirit at hand, but couldn’t fathom drinking such an expressive spirit as a daily nightcap (such power would most likely convert a comforting dream into a rollercoaster).

After searching and experimenting, they finally stumbled upon the maguey Chino (A. cupreata) and decided to give it a try. They probably didn’t describe the final result in this way, but they had found the definition of “balance”.

Agave Chino, in our mind, has the best of all worlds. It is as flexible as Espadín, truly the extension of the maestro’s hand. If you try ten expressions produced in the same region using the same tools, at times you’ll doubt that such incredibly different profiles can be achieved using the same agave. At the same time, it has the subtle complexity of a Salmiana Blanco. It won’t explode on your face; it’ll rather softly and slowly expose its flavors and aromas. Perfect for long nights, tranquil afternoons, and wicked mornings (nothing like an 8 am mezcal during a sourcing trip, yum!)

Beyond the Michoacán “Chino”, A. cupreata can be found in Guerrero, Puebla, and even some areas of Oaxaca (Del Maguey’s Papalomé is sourced in Teozacalco). It is known by various names, including Papalomé, Papalote, Ancho, Yaabendisi (in Mixteco), Cimarrón, and Tuchi. There is still much to understand and taste within this agave’s universe. So we’ll be sure to re-feature a version of it in the near future.

When we first met Miguel in 2022, after falling in love with his Alto/Bruto (A. inaequidens), we were sure that we wanted to try and possibly feature his Chino (A. cupreata). Unfortunately, life got in the way, and it took him a very long time to make this batch. When we received the first sample, even though we were sitting in the middle of Mexico City, it was like revisiting his vinata and spending the whole day in Cañada del Agua, sipping spirits, cruising through semi-cultivated agave fields, and eating carnitas.

For us, Miguel is the definition of an old soul. He may look young, but he is one of the strictest mezcaleros we’ve ever met. Unlike other makers close to his age, who are eager to experiment and play, he has decided to do precisely as he was originally taught: the agave should always be perfectly ripe (“sazón”), and even if there is the need to add a few young agaves to fill an oven, he claims that just adding a few unripe agave hearts could drastically hinder a whole batch; the fermentation tanks are that big (capable of holding about 1000 gallons) because that is the old-schoold design and it minimizes the chances of overflow; he ALWAYS uses pulque to kickstart the fermentation and only sources it from one “señora” in Ucareo (he is not opposed to drinking one or two glasses of said pulque while filling the tanks though); he only mills (“majar” is the term he uses) the agave by hand using axes because in his opinion motorized mills could contaminate and morph the pure flavor of cooked agave; he uses a copper pot (“cazo”) and an oyamel top condenser (“alambique”) to distill, he has no interest in using stainless steel elements nor coil (“serpentin”) condensers, because, again, the flavor wouldn’t be the same; when making the final adjustment (“ajuste”), mixing the puntas and colas, he always aims for a very prominent “perla”, otherwise the mezcal would be considered to be “rajado” (slayed), which is far from being a compliment. These are some of the many commandments that govern Miguel’s operation, and even though we’ve been known to be open-minded and experimental at times, we couldn’t ask him to change one thing.

We feel incredibly honored to present this Chino, we hope that Miguel’s passion for the craft would be evident in every sip and, if any of you ever visits Michoacán, we would truly recommend for you to visit his amazing vinata. Saludcita!

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 insights into Michoacán’s pulque tradition. We’ve tried a few glasses and we think you should too!
• Miguel’s thoughts of on “ordinario cuts”. We all talk about the cuts in the second destillation, but we rarely discuss when to cut during the “ordinario” phase.
• And more on Miguel’s very strict rules of how to make a proper mezcal. He may be the one writing the next “Michoacán Mezcal Manifesto”.