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El Rey Zapoteco Cuishe

El Rey Zapoteco is one of Oaxaca’s oldest artisanal mezcal brands that still produces its mezcal entirely in-house.

Rating: (5 reviews)
Brand:El Rey Zapoteco Mezcal
NOM:NOM-O71X
COMERCAM:0105A0167512A, opens in new window
Mezcalero:Hernandez Escobar Family
Maguey:Cuishe
Agave:Karwinskii
Grind:Tahona
Distillation:Copper
Style:Joven
State:Oaxaca
Town:Santiago Matatlán
ABV: 48%
Age of plant: 15 years
Website: https://mezcalreyzapoteco.com/, opens in new window

About this mezcal

El Rey Zapoteco Cuishe is made from fully mature, wild maguey Cuishe cut by hand with machete and hoe and cooked using oak wood in an underground conical oven made of river rocks covered with soil. The cooked agaves are crushed by horse-driven Chilean quarry tahona. The crushed agave fibers are fermented in open air pine vats using natural yeasts. The fermented agave is distilled twice in copper stills to yield a 48% ABV Cuishe mezcal with vegetal notes and hints of fresh linen. A long finish, more than 2 minutes, with pepper and smoke.

El Rey Zapoteco Mezcal

One of Oaxaca’s oldest artisanal mezcal brands that still produces its mezcal in-house, El Rey Zapoteco was founded in 1960 by Don Serafín Hernandez Blas in Santiago Matatlán. Today, the business is run by the family matriarch Doña Juana and Don Serafin’s sons. Caretakers of agave fields that routinely yield some of Oaxaca’s largest agaves, the Hernandez family are faithful stewards of production techniques that remain the same as they were at their founding.

Learn more about El Rey Zapoteco:

Member rating

3.5 out of 5

5 reviews

LittleArm

LittleArm

32 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars1 year ago

E-0121. 2019
Not at all what I would expect from a karwinskii. Almost non existent nose. Vanilla ice cream and heavy mint with a hint of tobacco and spices. Light but lingering minty finish. Enjoyed this one quite a bit

Zack Klamn

Zack Klamn

542 reviews
Rated 3 out of 5 stars2 years ago

Nose – Root vegetables. Garden soil.

Palate – Vanilla cream – a tad sour. Granny Smith apple peels/skins. Flower stems. Chalky finish.

Tyler

Tyler

636 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars2 years ago

Big change from the Rey Zapoteco Espadin. Big notes of herbal mint-like eucalyptus or yerba mate. For a karwinskii, I’m not getting many of the dry woody note.. it is full of fresh flavors. Overall it is interesting but there is a sour note which distracts me a bit. At 45%, the alcohol seems a bit stronger than it should be. Batch E-0124, 2019.

COak

COak

228 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars2 years ago

Getting a lot of minty notes from the El Rey Zapotecos that I’ve tried, as I do on this one. This is on the softer side with some green beans, coffee and fresh pepper, has a nice finish.

Jonny

Jonny

700 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars4 years ago

Batch E-0124 from 2019. Big aromas of fresh coffee beans, tobacco, vanilla, and unharvested spearmint. The palate has notes of dry green apples, leather, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, nutmeg, and a dash of fresh sage and mint.

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