Vago Bien Picado is a limited release made with overripe agave from maestro mezcalero Aquilino Garcia in Candelaria Yegole, Oaxaca.
About this mezcal
Vago Bien Picado is a special limited release. The term Bien Picado is something you occasionally hear at palenques in Oaxaca. When the agave is ripe, it starts to sprout its quiote. When the quiote is about a meter high they chop it off so that the sugars stay in the pina of the plant (which is later distilled). Almost immediately after being cut the bugs called picudos which are the adult form of the gusano de maguey begin to attack the plant. Picado can mean “bitten”, hence the term Bien Picado meaning “bitten up”. So this mezcal was made with overripe agave that have been bitten up by these bugs.
As of October 2019, there have been two releases of Vago Bien Picado. The first batch was just 42 liters, made with maguey Tobala and Espadin in November 2012. The second batch was 139 liters, made with 89% maguey Espadin and 11% Mexicano in May 2019.
Vago Mezcal
Mezcal Vago began when co-founder Judah Kuper visited a hospital in Oaxaca, Mexico. He fell in love with the nurse who treated him. Her father, Aquilino Garcia, was a sustenance farmer who also produced mezcal. Judah and Aquilino, along with Judah’s longtime friend Dylan Sloan, launched Mezcal Vago. In 2013, their first exported bottles arrived in Texas. Each of their mezcals is produced naturally in a traditional palenque with no additives. The brand aims to empower both the master craftsmen with a celebration of his art. Also the consumer by giving them the knowledge they need to find a great mezcal. The brand plants 3 agaves for each single agave they harvest. Their goal is to end the use wild agave by 2025 for most of their releases.
In 2017, Mezcal Vago began using different color labels for their different mezcaleros. Emigdio Jarquin (blue label) distills in copper with refrescador. Aquilino and Joel Barriga (tan and gold labels respectively) distill in copper. Tio Rey (red label) distills in clay pots. All their mezcaleros use different water sources and make different distillation cuts. In 2018, Mezcal Vago established an investment partnership with Samson and Surrey. With the new partnership, each Mezcal Vago mezcalero has a stake in Samson and Surrey.
In 2021, Mezcal Vago went through its first major brand redesign since their launch in 2013.
Learn more Mezcal Vago:
- The Mezcal Vago Tasting Room in Oaxaca on Mezcal Reviews
- A podcast interview with co-founder Judah Kuper on Show de Vie Podcast w/Mike G
- The Mezcal Vago blog Mas Mezcal
Review this bottle
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Americana Kyle
60 reviewsLot A-05-EM-19 / 50.5% / 89% Espadin & 11% Mexicano
Shewww, I was really into this one. The overripe agave makes for an incrediblely complex and deeply flavorful mezcal when shepherded properly, and Aquilino did just that. Thankful I got to try a pour, I will be looking to hopefully get lucky and try it again.
Rakhal
421 reviewsJust poured my last cup of this and realized that I never reviewed it! I’m totally getting the leather and eucalyptus from the other reviews but also a lot of pineapple. Roasted and caramelized pineapple. Yum! Picked this up at the Vago tasting room in Oaxaca.
TrogdordeFuegoanator
40 reviewsLot A-05-EM-19, date unknown 50.5%, 139 liters.
This is a funny one, polarizing right out of the gates. I believe when I first bit into it (jaja) I enjoyed it like I would a good sweet cheap beer after a long day. The price wasn’t bad and flavor was acceptable. Rounding back to it now the boozy element lifts right over top, and it falls awkwardly towards the crunchy acrid side of things. I’d recommend it in a flight but not something I’d want to take on a road trip. Pairs well with this natural wine trend, maybe.
Lot A-05-EM-19, date unknown 50.5%, 139 liters.
This is a funny one, polarizing right out of the gates. I believe when I first bit into it (jaja) I enjoyed it like I would a good sweet cheap beer after a long day. The price wasn’t bad and flavor was acceptable. Rounding back to it now the boozy element lifts right over top, and it falls awkwardly towards the crunchy acrid side of things. I’d recommend it in a flight but not something I’d want to take on a road trip. Pairs well
Whiskey on a fence post
7 reviewsNose:
nose is wheatgrass, floral perfume, the smell of mirepoix sans onions (that steam from carrots and celery soft sweetness but clear sour and earth), tobacco leaves not dried the green plant, and a lingering fruit in the background
Palate:
big sweetness on the back of the tongue, there’s that fruit. Leaves the tip of the tongue dry and the linger of a well aged cigar, some eucalyptus, a little of an almost soft earthiness like daikon. that sort of grass and dirt maybe closer to cooked leeks very savory, but sweet. The more I’m drinking it, the more I get a hard toffee flavor when sipping, but it vanishes immediately to that fruit
Finish:
finish is long, really leaves your mouth watering like eating a hard candy but just the tip of my tongue feels bone dry
Really glad I got a chance to grab one of these. This is an incredible, complex mezcal that isn’t like anything else I’ve ever had. Texans don’t realize how lucky they are to have gotten the entire batch.
really really good stuff
Nose:
nose is wheatgrass, floral perfume, the smell of mirepoix sans onions (that steam from carrots and celery soft sweetness but clear sour and earth), tobacco leaves not dried the green plant, and a lingering fruit in the background
Palate:
big sweetness on the back of the tongue, there’s that fruit. Leaves the tip of the tongue dry and the linger of a well aged cigar, some eucalyptus, a little of an almost soft earthiness like daikon. that sort of grass and dirt maybe closer to cooked
El_Cura
31 reviewsHoly Batman!
GreenspointTexas
385 reviewsBottle at La Viuda Negra in Dallas. Echo a lot of the sentiments below. Leather and sweetgrass. Very interesting considering the agaves/percentages involved. Outstanding for the price. Try it
Jonny
708 reviewsLot A-05-EM-19. 50.5% ABV. 139 liters. Aromas of dried herbs, hay, tobacco, green olives, lavender, fresh collard greens, pine, and strawberry leaves. Great viscosity. The palate has notes of newly tanned leather, hay, coffee beans, toffee, prunes, dark plums, and chocolate dipped strawberries. This is really fantastic. It keeps gaining complexity the more of it I sip. Incredible.