Mal Bien Madrecuixe Puntas from Felipe Cortes was originally released in the US as part of Agave Mixtape Vol 4.
About this destilado de agave
Mal Bien Madrecuixe Puntas from Felipe Cortes was originally released in the US as part of Agave Mixtape Vol 4. Per Agave Mixtape:
It’s always a surprise to find a mezcalero sitting on more than a few liters of puntas that aren’t needed for some larger batch. In our experience, this usually means there’s a sad story about a jug of corazones that got spilled or a distillation that went wrong – something that prevented the puntas from getting mixed in with the rest of the distillate.
In this case, Felipe is a sharp old guy, and having seen how interested tourists and non-local visitors were when tasting the little bits of puntas he had around the palenque, he decided it might be worth reserving some to sell. He was correct.
Of course, keeping 60+ liters of 56.5% madrecuixe puntas on their own means there’s a much larger batch of 48% madrecuixe that didn’t get made. The Mal Bien team asked him how he decides which batches he wants to be sell as puntas instead of 48% spirits. “Usually, if there is a small amount of a type of maguey or if I have a little extra that doesn’t go in the oven with the rest, I think about doing something special with it.” In this case, that special something was a few garrafones of puntas, and a couple of pechugas made with remaining corazones and colas.”
Agave Mixtape
Agave Mixtape brings the best agave spirits together in one place – your place. Agave Mixtape is a subscription based service. Subscribers receive boxes with three 200ml bottles from three different brands – Lalocura, Mal Bien, and Neta (and maybe a few surprises) – filled with batches picked especially for Agave Mixtape, and not available anywhere else in the USA. Each box includes production notes on the batches, along with links to photos, and virtual tastings with the people behind the brands and the mezcaleros. You can subscribe directly from their website.
Mal Bien
Since 2016, the Mal Bien team has been traveling Mexico, driving off the map and into mountains filled with treacherous roads, police officers of questionable moral character, feral dogs, indigenous languages, narcos, ancient relics, machete wielding protestors, insect based meals, mudslides, blockades, corrupt politicians, and many of the world’s kindest, funniest, most brilliant people. In addition to some hard to believe stories, they’ve connected with a wide variety of traditional producers, whose mezcal is now bottled and exported under the Mal Bien name.
Review this bottle
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FreddieBB
1 reviewI’m tasting the 200ml at 56.5%, there is lots of heat right off the bat but wonderfully balanced by high viscosity, tropical papaya-sh notes. Strong sweet base with a complex floral nose and a bit of diesel.
Tyler
667 reviewsOh boy this is a very tasty and approachable puntas from the Cortes family of Miahuatlan. The recent reviews inspired me to get out this “heady” flask. Like many puntas, it bites and the finish is a bit dry. However, while this one is strong, it is also dangerously.. dare I say.. smooth. Big fruity flavors like red Jolly Ranchers and a bit of pink Sweet Tarts on the finish. There is a reason certain communities in Mexico prefer puntas – they pack so much flavor. The woody Karwinskii elements are in the background whereas the agave sweetness is up front. After it sits open the mineral elements really open up. Would be fun to do a side-by-side tasting with their adjusted Madrecuixe batch.
Oh boy this is a very tasty and approachable puntas from the Cortes family of Miahuatlan. The recent reviews inspired me to get out this “heady” flask. Like many puntas, it bites and the finish is a bit dry. However, while this one is strong, it is also dangerously.. dare I say.. smooth. Big fruity flavors like red Jolly Ranchers and a bit of pink Sweet Tarts on the finish. There is a reason certain communities in Mexico prefer puntas – they pack so much flavor. The woody Karwi
Zack Klamn
542 reviewsTick…tick…tick…BOOM!
Nose: Fruit punch. Raw cherries. Fine leather. A hint of sweet cream.
Palate: Junior mints. Brown sugar and cake. A saltiness you’d get from parmesan cheese. Very long, dry finish. A bit of a popcorn aftertaste.
Seriously great stuff and like El-Dawg mentioned, this goes down way too easy for 57%.
GreenspointTexas
385 reviewsI almost want to give this an incomplete. Not because it is good or bad, but just because I had it after a few other pours and impression may be different the second time. Placeholder for now… notes to come soon after I let this one open up a bit. However, I do recall this one being a little on the lighter side for a puntas, but still bursting with flavor and very well integrated/clean.
El Dawg
234 reviewsWow! So drinkable at 57%. I get the fig newtons others have mentioned. Smell is a bit unassuming, and then the taste hits you – strong of course, yet soft with sweet, sugary, and dried dark fruit notes. More like a 4.25.
AbbyNormal
5 reviewsAgave Mixtape #4. I’m Gregor Samsa and I awoke from uneasy dreams to find that mezcal tastes like this now. No fruit, wet animal, snake leather. A bit later: goat barn, hay bales, country fair, licking a horse’s neck. This is crazy stuff, so earthy. Some sweet elements too, amidst the bitter strangeness, that are hard to qualify. We don’t love it in the way that we would crave it at random moments in the future, but it would be a sadder life to have not tasted it.
Jonny
729 reviews0419FC. You had me at “Felipe Cortes” and “Puntas.” This stuff is awesome. Aromas of fig newtons, raisins, and unsweetened cherries. Very dark smelling. The palate is so delicate for this high ABV. Rakhal is spot on with the “pound cake” note. Additional notes I’m getting are strawberry buds candies, vanilla bean, and peppermint. Some Felipe Cortes mezcals remind me of my grandmother for some reason, and this one does exactly that. The experience of this mezcal transcends your typical flavor notes. It transports.
0419FC. You had me at “Felipe Cortes” and “Puntas.” This stuff is awesome. Aromas of fig newtons, raisins, and unsweetened cherries. Very dark smelling. The palate is so delicate for this high ABV. Rakhal is spot on with the “pound cake” note. Additional notes I’m getting are strawberry buds candies, vanilla bean, and peppermint. Some Felipe Cortes mezcals remind me of my grandmother for some reason, and this one does exactly that. The experience of this
Rakhal
430 reviewsApril 2019. Oh man this is so delicious!!! Delicate and floral with sweet dark dried fruits. Fig Newtons, Medjool dates, lavender, caramel, and dark brown sugar. Sometimes I also taste something like peaches, pears, and pound cake. This might be my favorite expression yet from Agave Mixtape. If only I could find a full sized bottle…