Mal Bien Papalote from Don Ciro and Javier Barranca was produced in the community of Chilapa de Alvarez, Guerrero.
About this destilado de agave
Mal Bien Papalote from Don Ciro and Javier Barranca was produced in Chilapa de Alvarez, Guerrero. Don Ciro has been distilling agave spirits longer than most mezcaleros have been alive. His grandson Javier, on the other hand, is relatively new to the family business, having spent much of his 20s in “El Norte.” Working together for the past 7 years, theirs is a story of tradition, the passing of generational knowledge and its adaptation in a new era.
This batch was made by Javier working “a medias” with a magueyero neighbor that provided the plants in exchange for half of the finished batch. The agaves were cooked in a 10 ton pit for 4-5 days, rested a day before being milled in a wood chipper, fermented naturally with spring water for 5-7 days. The result is double distilled in 400 liter copper alembic stills and adjusted using puntas and colas from the distillation run. Lot 1020JB was produced in October 2020 using maguey papalote (Agave cupreata); the entire batch was just 222 bottles.
This is the not the Capón version. For that bottle, see: Mal Bien Papalote Capón – Barranca
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.
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Ben P
110 reviewsThis is a review for a batch picked and sold by the Georgetown Wines in NY.
Nose: herbal sage and mint, subtle melon, light mesquite, pineapple juice
Palate: so much fruit and melon. Like biting into a honeydew, so much more fruit though too. Ripe mangoes and perfect papaya. The backend has some minerality I absolutely love too. Slate and green veggies. Finish is balanced minerals, some pepper (not hot) and a bit of citrus bitterness.
This stuff is terrific. All the fruit and minerals I love in Papalote in such a crushable format too
This is a review for a batch picked and sold by the Georgetown Wines in NY.
Nose: herbal sage and mint, subtle melon, light mesquite, pineapple juice
Palate: so much fruit and melon. Like biting into a honeydew, so much more fruit though too. Ripe mangoes and perfect papaya. The backend has some minerality I absolutely love too. Slate and green veggies. Finish is balanced minerals, some pepper (not hot) and a bit of citrus bitterness.
This stuff is terrific. All the fruit and minerals I love in
KoalaCoelho
8 reviewsTasted this at my friend’s house a few nights ago, and can’t stop thinking about it. The flavors were really unique, like pineapple and coffee. More than the flavor notes, it had a great intensity. I can appreciate subtlty in a spirit, but with the right flavors, sometimes I want them to really boom. It reminded me of a mezcal version of Aberlour A’bunadh, which is one of my favorites for the same reason – both have a lot of sweetness and body to go along with the heat. Definitely want to find more mal bien papalote.
Tasted this at my friend’s house a few nights ago, and can’t stop thinking about it. The flavors were really unique, like pineapple and coffee. More than the flavor notes, it had a great intensity. I can appreciate subtlty in a spirit, but with the right flavors, sometimes I want them to really boom. It reminded me of a mezcal version of Aberlour A’bunadh, which is one of my favorites for the same reason – both have a lot of sweetness and body to go along with the heat. D