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Mal Bien Tepextate – Cortes

Mal Bien Tepextate is made by the father-son duo Felipe and Ageo Cortes, who have been producing for brands like Mezcaloteca (Mezcalosfera) for many years.

About this destilado de agave

Mal Bien Tepextate – Cortes is made with maguey Tepextate that are cooked in an underground oven for 8-10 days with the following types of wood: Encino, Yegareche, Mesquite, and Palo de Aguila. The agave are milled immediately after the cook by ox drawn tahona. The milled agave are fermented in open air tinas for 3-8 days and then double distilled in a copper refrescadera still.

Felipe and his son Ageo are the 3rd and 4th generations of the Cortes family to produce mezcal in the Miahuatlán District of Oaxaca, an area famous for its abundance and diversity of A. karwinskii sub-species (madrecuixe, tobaxiche, etc.). The community of Mengoli de Morelos where they live and work has a population of just under 200 people. They are related to the neighboring Ramos family via Felipe’s wife (Ageo’s mother), Cesilia, whose sister Cleotilde is married to Victor Ramos.

In addition to the regular 750ml release of this Tepextate, a special 200ml batch was released as part of Agave Mixtape Vol 1. This batch 0220AC was produced in February 2020 and was just 280 litres in total.

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.

Member rating

3.82 out of 5

14 reviews

Ben P

Ben P

149 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars9 months ago

2023 ABV: 48%

Nose: Lemon lime, firewood, rotten banana skins, limeade, mango

Palate: Beautiful bitter citrus. Sweet mango, cucumber lemon water, tons of minerality on the back, chalk, grapefruit, lemon chalk candy, bitter basil. Finish is white pepper, chalky bitterness, cranberry bitterness, lemons, cut grass, lemongrass, more grapefruit and some bitter leatheriness

I enjoy this. I love the chalky bitterness and citrus together. Good stuff

Zack Klamn

Zack Klamn

542 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars12 months ago

Nose – Powdered sugar. Jalapeno. Aroma of sweet n’ heat.

Palate – Similar to the nose, nice (sharp!) candied, sugary jalapeno flavor. Cigar ash joins in for a long finish. Great tepeztate. This was a 2 oz. pour at Madre back in August (I took good notes, haha).

t8ke

t8ke

144 reviews
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars4 years ago

Rich on the pepper. Quite a lot of pepper, soap stone, cream. Peppery, honey, green bean and almost a cherry fruit. Papaya, ash and crisp jalapeno. Quite the complexity, and extraordinarily fresh and “tep-like”.

Whew – so much going on in this expression. The Tepextate character is undeniable and it runs free and unbridled here. So much complexity, vegetation and “freshness”. Nice work.

*The importer sent me this.

rsidrys

rsidrys

50 reviews
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars4 years ago

The sweetest tasting Tepe I’ve ever had! Fermenting bananas and wet/rich banana bread. Character is very prominent on nose and carries through mouth. Continues into finish with a hint of lactic acid and green herbs. Could be a 5 star if it wasn’t so one-dimensional. Super drinkable.

Tyler

Tyler

668 reviews
Rated 3 out of 5 stars4 years ago

A bit of a disappointment for me as a huge Tep fan. Up front it’s got the classic green pepper notes (albeit subtle) along with Miahuatlán minerality but the finish is like SweeTarts – sweet, tart, and dry. It is light and not super complex. Almost tastes a bit watered down. I’ve had some incredible mezcal from Ageo Cortes but this isn’t my fav. Agave Mixtape vol. 1 – 45.89%, distilled in February 2020.

Rakhal

Rakhal

430 reviews
Rated 2 out of 5 stars4 years ago

Batch: Agave Mixtape #1. I’m a big fan of both Mezcaleros but I don’t like this batch. To me it tastes like artificial fruit flavors, like apple jolly rancher and banana jelly beans. Too sweet for my taste and pretty one dimensional. I didn’t get any of the fresh jalapeño and bell pepper notes that I love in a Tepextate.
After further tastings with friends, they all liked this one and didn’t get the same flavors I do so I’m not sure why I’m tasting what I’m tasting, really interesting.

Batch: Agave Mixtape #1. I’m a big fan of both Mezcaleros but I don’t like this batch. To me it tastes like artificial fruit flavors, like apple jolly rancher and banana jelly beans. Too sweet for my taste and pretty one dimensional. I didn’t get any of the fresh jalapeño and bell pepper notes that I love in a Tepextate.
After further tastings with friends, they all liked this one and didn’t get the same flavors I do so I’m not sure why I’m tasting what I’m tasting, really interes

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GreenspointTexas

GreenspointTexas

385 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars4 years ago

I get a green ripeness from this one. Maybe like a green banana or unripe avocado? Tough to nail down. After the initial blast of green must, comes melons and tobacco. Finish lingers a little, with some faint rauchbier/bacon notes. Fun indeed

Gregg T&T

Gregg T&T

100 reviews
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars4 years ago

Agave Mixtape Vol. 1; ABV: 45.89%. Nose is all green – sweet bell peppers. More jalapeno peppers on the palate, citrus notes and a spicy white pepper finish. Unique Tep profile and delicious.

MassNole

MassNole

2 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars4 years ago

Green pepper, jalapeño on the nose. Similar notes on the palate with a residual sweetness and citrus squeeze.

donpedro

donpedro

39 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars4 years ago

Batch: unknown – Agave Mixtape Vol. 1; ABV: 45.89%

Nose is full of floral notes (gardenia?) with accompanying sugary, creme brûlée aromas. Somewhat reminds me of the aroma of the piñuela distillates from Rezpiral. There is also a salty, sea breeze element hiding in the back.

On the palate, there is a citrus note that I can’t quite place; it is somewhere between calamansi and citron. There is also a candied, artificial flavor bordering on “blue raspberry”. The finish is heavy on the saline, brine flavors.

Batch: unknown – Agave Mixtape Vol. 1; ABV: 45.89%
Nose is full of floral notes (gardenia?) with accompanying sugary, creme brûlée aromas. Somewhat reminds me of the aroma of the piñuela distillates from Rezpiral. There is also a salty, sea breeze element hiding in the back.
On the palate, there is a citrus note that I can’t quite place; it is somewhere between calamansi and citron. There is also a candied, artificial flavor bordering on “blue raspberry”. The finish is heavy on th

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Patrick

Patrick

57 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars4 years ago

Felipe & Ageo Cortes
Batch #0618
ABV : 50.2%
Nose : subdued, Definitely vegetal with green peppers up front, some cooked agave, mint, sugary and farmy at the end.
Taste : after reading Johnny’s review, all I taste is green flavored freezies. The power of suggestion….
Finish : medium and dry with some smoke.
Wish the volume on the nose was slightly notched up, otherwise very solid Tep.

Mansson

Mansson

71 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars4 years ago

Distilled June 2018. Vegetal and earthy with peppers, burnt wood and spices. Quite dry. Well-balanced and easy to drink.

Jonny

Jonny

730 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars5 years ago

Green aromas: Green peppers, bell peppers, jalapenos, and sweet pepper. Palate is a bit of a left turn but not drastic. Still lots of pepper but also some burnt ash, over-roasted peppers, and black pepper. There’s some notes of green freeze pops, with a bit of lime and citrus.

kozinnski

kozinnski

14 reviews
Rated 4 out of 5 stars5 years ago

Bell peppers, chalk, stone, pencil shavings, leafy greens, cilantro. Green, earthy, and vegetal to the max.

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