Quiquiriqui Mexicano

Quiquiriqui Mexicano is a mezcal distilled from wild and semi-wild Mexicano agave in Santiago Matatlán.

Agave Mexicano is called Dobadaan in Zapotec in some districts, and grows from Sonora down to Oaxaca, mostly in the foothills. Nobody has counted them properly, but there are thought to be seven or more sub-varieties, among them Penca Larga, Penca Corta, Liso, Chontal and Amarillo Grande, and each gives a different character in the still, much as grape varieties do in wine. The plants used here are around ten years old, wild and semi-wild, grown within an hour of the palenque. Carlos Méndez, the sixth-generation mezcalero behind the house Espadin, distils it. He also collects wild seed from the hills, raises the seedlings under cover and returns them to the wild.

Herbal and mineral, with green agave, citrus peel, wet stone and only a whisper of smoke. Serve it neat at room temperature in a copita and give it a few minutes in the glass. Good beside grilled fish, ceviche or roasted vegetables, and a fine base for a mezcal sour.