El Jolgorio Cuishe has an earthy, robust scent, like wet clay. The taste is spicy and smoky but not in an overpowering way.
About this mezcal
El Jolgorio Cuixe is made with wild maguey Cuishe (agave Karwinskii). Like its relative agave Madrecuishe and Barril, this agave grows in a cylindrical, stalk-shaped piña, with leaves spreading at the top. It is often slightly smaller than Madrecuishe, but more dense. This Mezcal has an earthy scent, like wet clay. The taste is spicy with subtle hints of smooth smoke.
El Jolgorio Mezcal
El Jolgorio translates to “the revelry”. Jolgorios are small festivals that occur in remote, mountain villages throughout Oaxaca, Mexico. They celebrate births, deaths, weddings and Saint’s days. For centuries, the lifeblood of these celebrations has been traditional mezcal. In 2010, the Cortés family began building a collective of top mezcal distillers from around Oaxaca. As of 2019, El Jolgorio represents sixteen different families, working in ten different regions of Oaxaca, Mexico, each with its own special story. Every bottle is hand-marked with the specific details of each batch, to truly connect the drinker with the family behind the expression.
In 2017, the team behind the brand realized that certain varieties of agave would be extremely limited and they would only be able to make them available once per year (if at all). They began packaging these rare editions in black bottles to set them apart from the other releases.
The artwork on the first 8 releases was created by Alejandro Peña (Espadin, Pechuga, Tobala, Cuixe, Madrecuixe, Tepeztate, Barril and Mexicano). The next 5 labels were created by Asis Cortes (Arroqueno, Jabalin, Coyote, Tobaxiche, and Cenizo) and the Sierrudo artwork was created by Alberto Almánza.
Review this bottle
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JDB
165 reviewsDid not catch the bottle or batch info. Sampled at el mezcalito in Seattle, WA on Queen Anne. Classic cuish flavors, sweet undertones, grassy, and well-balanced. Quality sipper 3.75/5 stars.
Average José
54 reviews* Harvest: 2014
* Edition: 07
* Bottle: 708/1030
* ABV: 47%
An absolutely excellent Cuishe; I speculate that the long resting period this bottle has had really helped enhance the overall profile; I highly recommend buying a bottle, opening it and forgetting about it for 6 months.
The initial nose is high quality champagne and sugar water, a very inviting initial forward presentation.
Piloncillo, cinnamon, mild red pepper and the smallest hint of cloves are the first flavors to present themselves. A tad bit of tropical fruit come then wet stone round it out and leave an overall sophisticated and very enjoyable experience.
Nice mild lingering flavors of soil and vegetal clay keep drawing me back in for more. I really enjoyed this Cuishe, it’s one of my favorites for sure and I will definitely be quite sad once its gone.
* Harvest: 2014
* Edition: 07
* Bottle: 708/1030
* ABV: 47%
An absolutely excellent Cuishe; I speculate that the long resting period this bottle has had really helped enhance the overall profile; I highly recommend buying a bottle, opening it and forgetting about it for 6 months.
The initial nose is high quality champagne and sugar water, a very inviting initial forward presentation.
Piloncillo, cinnamon, mild red pepper and the smallest hint of cloves are the first flavors to present themselv
mt_rainyer
43 reviewsDidn’t get the lot number, tried at a friend’s. The only El Jolgorio bottle that I have had a bad experience with. There have been other bottles from them I didn’t jive with, but this tasted like a smoke box mixed with melted plastic. If I had bought at full price and not just tasting someone else’s bottle, I would’ve been extremely disappointed.
Americana Kyle
60 reviewsNo lot number. As always from El Jolgorio the product was very well done, I just dont lean towards Cuishe on its own.
Zack Klamn
542 reviewsNose – Wet tobacco leaf. Gerbera Daisy. Nutrient rich soil.
Palate – Rose water – floral to the nines. Black licorice. A nice, subtle creaminess to it. Finish is greener and more bitter… like a flower stem. I enjoyed the smoke aspect but agree with some of the reviews that it is a “wet smoke” (for a lack of a better term). Overall it’s a very good sipper.
aarild
152 reviewsWoody, peanut with the skin on, fresh agave fruitiness. I am still pondering whether I prefer Karwinskiis from clay or copper distillation. Solid and good, regardless, medium smoke.
Lot 14
Bastiaan
10 reviewsIgnacio Parada 13 2016 – bottle 28/650
Earthy, smoky smell. Nice oily mouthfeel. Tastes a bit fruity with some minerality. Finish is fresh, with a slightly bitter note like orange peel. Compared to the madrecuishe it has less minerality and more smoke. I get why some reviews speak of wet ash, because of the combination of earth and smoke, but it works for me.
El-Dawg
209 reviewsEdition 14 by Igancio Parada (btw, Costco in Nor Cal is carrying these now)!
Reviews seem to be all over the place on this one, but I don’t think it’s bad at all. Love the cuishe smell (sweet, slightly floral, & creamy. Taste is more of the same with some green & citrus fruit. Nothing pops, yet nothing is offensive. Soft mezcal & smoke seems to be in check. Ignacio has put out some bangers, but I don’t think this is his best by far.
Review #70
Edition 14 by Igancio Parada (btw, Costco in Nor Cal is carrying these now)!
Reviews seem to be all over the place on this one, but I don’t think it’s bad at all. Love the cuishe smell (sweet, slightly floral, & creamy. Taste is more of the same with some green & citrus fruit. Nothing pops, yet nothing is offensive. Soft mezcal & smoke seems to be in check. Ignacio has put out some bangers, but I don’t think this is his best by far.
Review #70
Patrick
57 reviewsEdition 13
Ignacio Parada 2016
Nose : Ashy, vegetal with cilantro being the dominant note. Also getting floral and a little cinnamon.
Taste : Very smokey, sweet and vegetal
Finish : smokey and medicinal.
As an Islay fan can appreciate the smoke. However this could of been a stellar bottle if the smoke was not at 11.
Dylan
7 reviewsIgnacio Parada, edition 10 from 2015. Bottle 258/450. Batch IPCUI081117EJ. My first time trying El Jolgorio. Sweet, dusty, flour and some spearmint with wet hay. All those notes carry through the finish. reminds me of Los Nahuales Método Antiguo
Wanderingspider
53 reviewsNot sure of the vintage or lot but I always think of cuishe as earthy, as well as, on the more pronounced mineral side of agave, and a bit of funky/dankness. And this was definitely those things. Good to try, but not my favourite subspecies of karwinskii.
TheAgaveFairy
169 reviewsIgnacio Parada 09 2015 47%
First pour of a fresh bottle. Good sweetness, with tinges of asparagus and bitter orange. Cilantro and cucumber too. The fruit component is papaya driven, with some chocolate and plantain. Finish is of good length, mild ash and pleasant minerality and flamed cinnamon.
Spirit_Chaser
20 reviewsEdition: 13, Harvest 2016, 47%ABV
Ignacio Parada
Smells of ashtray and paint thinner with some subtle roasted vegetables trying to poke through but keeps being overtaken by alcohol fumes. Taste is a little better with earthy vegetable notes, subtle tropical fruits, and clay-like minerality but then the finish kills it again. Like Tyler said in a review below, it’s reminiscent of menthol cigarettes along with a harsh bitterness. This is by far the worst EJ bottle that I have had yet. For the money I laid down for it, I hope it gets better with time.
Edition: 13, Harvest 2016, 47%ABV
Ignacio Parada
Smells of ashtray and paint thinner with some subtle roasted vegetables trying to poke through but keeps being overtaken by alcohol fumes. Taste is a little better with earthy vegetable notes, subtle tropical fruits, and clay-like minerality but then the finish kills it again. Like Tyler said in a review below, it’s reminiscent of menthol cigarettes along with a harsh bitterness. This is by far the worst EJ bottle that I have had yet. Fo
Rakhal
421 reviewsLot 11. Ignacio Parada. Initial vegetal smell like raw broccoli. Creamy. Dusty leather, pear, honeydew melon, tarragon and mint. Very nice.
JorgeC
1 reviewExcelent Cuixe, one of my favourites in the El Jolgorio range. Sweetness on the noose that carries through in the palate.
Tyler
641 reviewsWeird mezcal. Earthy on the nose. Has a stale tea aspect. Almost like a soft agave Salmiana. Tastes kind of like the smell of an old suitcase. A different batch of this tastes like menthol cigarettes. I usually love mezcal from Ignacio Parada but not here. Regardless, I’m curious to try more batches of this. This one was Edition 6 from 2014.
Jonny
705 reviewsLot 005-CUX from 2014. Produced by Ignacio Parada. Bottle 117/290. El Jolgorio is super high in my book of favorite mezcals. They bottle and release some of my all time favorites and Ignacio Parada specifically makes some of my favorite stuff. That said, this is the first one to really disappoint me. Perhaps I just tried an off batch? It smelled like a wet ash tray with some slight floral aromas, but mostly just old wet ash. The ash continued to the palate as well. It tasted like someone took a bottle of really good mezcal and put out a lit cigarette in it. Perhaps other batches of this are drastically different.
Lot 005-CUX from 2014. Produced by Ignacio Parada. Bottle 117/290. El Jolgorio is super high in my book of favorite mezcals. They bottle and release some of my all time favorites and Ignacio Parada specifically makes some of my favorite stuff. That said, this is the first one to really disappoint me. Perhaps I just tried an off batch? It smelled like a wet ash tray with some slight floral aromas, but mostly just old wet ash. The ash continued to the palate as well. It tasted like someone took a