Mal Bien Ninos Viejos Madrecuishe Mezcal — a 50.5% ABV (101 proof), 750mL single-batch mezcal from mezcaleros Victor and Emanuel Ramos in Mengoli de Morelos, Miahuatlan, Oaxaca. This is one of the most extraordinary agave stories in recent years: in 1993, shortly after his son Emanuel was born, Victor Ramos planted a field of Madrecuixe (Agave karwinskii). Farming and family took priority, the field was effectively abandoned, and the agaves grew extraordinarily slowly for three decades.
Harvested in fall 2023, Victor affectionately called them "Ninos Viejos" — the old boys.
Cooked for six days in a 15-ton pit with encino, guamuche, and mesquite; milled by tahona; fermented 3 to 8 days in sabino and oak vats with well water; twice distilled in two 275-liter copper alambiques with refrescaderas. Bottled in October 2023 at 50.5% ABV — just 401 bottles in the entire batch.
A spirit literally three decades in the making — 30-year-old semi-wild Madrecuixe
Tiny 401-bottle batch, bottled at full 50.5% ABV
Deeply personal father-and-son production in Miahuatlan
A collector-grade traditional mezcal at a fair price
Harvested in fall 2023, Victor affectionately called them "Ninos Viejos" — the old boys.
Cooked for six days in a 15-ton pit with encino, guamuche, and mesquite; milled by tahona; fermented 3 to 8 days in sabino and oak vats with well water; twice distilled in two 275-liter copper alambiques with refrescaderas. Bottled in October 2023 at 50.5% ABV — just 401 bottles in the entire batch.
A spirit literally three decades in the making — 30-year-old semi-wild Madrecuixe
Tiny 401-bottle batch, bottled at full 50.5% ABV
Deeply personal father-and-son production in Miahuatlan
A collector-grade traditional mezcal at a fair price
