Mal Bien Papalote Capón from Don Refugio Calzada Hernandez was produced in the community of Chilapa de Alvarez, Guerrero. Don Cuco, as he’s known to friends, was the president of a local association of mezcaleros and magueyeros (agave farmers) for many years, and has been a leading force behind popular agave and tree reforestation efforts that have helped make agave more plentiful today than in his youth.

Though he works almost exclusively with maguey papalote, Don Cuco’s bodega is home to a diverse collection of joven, capón and glass aged spirits, as well as a few special batches macerated with chumilin (Atizies taxcoensis), a local stink bug considered a seasonal delicacy.

The agaves used in batch 0520RC were capóned in 2018, giving them two years to increase complexity before being harvested for production.

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.