Gracias a Dios Mezcal Cuishe

Gracias a Dios Cuishe is a single agave mezcal from the Santiago Matatlan palenque of maestro mezcalero Oscar Hernandez. Cuishe, also written Cuixe, is a wild member of the karwinskii complex that grows as a tall cylindrical piña with leaves fanned at the top, kin to Madrecuixe and Barril. It can need up to thirteen years to reach full maturity, which gives this joven its concentration and its high mineral character.
Like the rest of the range it is pit roasted, milled and fermented at the family palenque, then twice distilled in copper. Karwinskii agaves tend toward green, herbal, stony profiles, and this one follows suit. The aroma opens on damp moss and wet earth, with sustained notes of clove, white pepper, cinnamon and apple, while the palate stays mineral, dry and spiced. Bottled at 45%, undiluted enough to keep the agave forward.