Agave Mixtape Vol. 10

In each mixtape you will receive one Puntas Sierra Negra - Victor Ramos, Puntas: Ensamble Madurado en Vidrio - Ageo Cortes, and a surprise puntas of either Lalo Angeles or Javier Barranca.

Which puntas you get is a surprise but if you order 2 at once, we will make sure each box contains a different batch so you will be able to collect them all.

Puntas Sierra Negra
Victor Ramos
60.20% August, 2023

Mengoli de Morelos, Miahuatlán, Oax.

After taking some time away from the Palenque to focus on his health, Don Victor is back doing what he does best – firing his stills hot and fast, and turning out batches of truly excellent mezcal. While a bunch of these will make their wat to the USA via Mal Bien next year, we thought it would be good to celebrate the return of our guy Victor F’n Ramos with a fresh batch of puntas from one of his favorite varietals.

Puntas: Madrecuixe, Bicuixe, Tepextate, Coyote

Ageo Cortes

56.5% April, 2018

Mengoli de Morelos, Miahuatlán, Oax.

Originally 50 liters when we purchased it back in 2018,  Ageo held this batch of puntas for us in the Cortes bodega, letting them mellow in the family’s vintage glass damajuanas as an experiment. Thirsty and impatient, we spent the next five years taking little nips and personal samples, and by the time we were ready to bottle it this fall, there were only 40 liters left.

Tracking the evolution of this batch over the years, the most notable difference is the drop in ABV. The batch was around 62% ABV when it was fresh (VS 56.5% at the time of bottling). In theory, the ABV would stay the same in a perfectly sealed container. In practice, the mouth on the old glass demijohns doesn’t make a perfect seal with the corn cob being used to plug it, and alcohol escapes while humidity in the air sneaks in.  As for the flavors, it seems the opposite was true. Going from memory, flavors in 2018 weren’t nearly as potent. Strong, yes, but not nearly so well defined as what we have today.

Puntas: Papalote, Zacatoro, Espadín, 3 Desconocidos

Javier Barranca

75.1% June, 2023

Ahuacuotzintla, Chilapa de Álvarez, GRO.

At 75.1% ABV, it’s the mezcal equivalent of the Maxell Tape ad with the dude getting his hair blown back from a high fidelity recording of Flight of The Valkyries.

The maguey used to make this batch are notable for a couple of reasons. First, the use of magueyes desconocidos - plants that are rare enough in the region that mezcaleros haven’t bothered to give them names. Our best guess is that these are all different varietals of A. americana and A. rhodacantha, but we’re not botanists. Second, while the agaves were all roasted, mashed, fermented and distilled together, they were harvested from a few different places:

Papalote – La Mohonera, Santa Catarina

Zacatoro - Zompazolco

Espadín – La Mohonera

Desconocidos – Santa Cruz, Nejapa

La Mohonera, Santa Cruz and Nejapa are all very close to Javier’s fabrica. Santa Catarina and Zompazolco are a few hours to the north on some rough dirt roads.

Puntas Espadín

Lalo Ángeles

69% April, 2022

Santa Catarina Minas, Oax.

If there’s anything “bad” we can say about Lalo, it’s that his batches rarely have the element of surprise. We hear “puntas de espadín,” imagine their platonic ideal, open the bottle and yup, there it is. Then again, that’s kind of the point. His aim isn’t to be a modernist creator, pushing the limits of what’s possible with fermentation and distillation, it’s to be a faithful documentarian of each plant’s finest qualities. Searching for an analogy, there are less parallels between Lalo’s work and any artistic movement, than there are with the fractal geometry of nature whose vast complexity and total predictability exist as one. 

This batch was distilled from espadín grown on Lalo’s field’s in Minas in October of 2022. After composing the final mezcal (balancing the corazones with puntas y colas), there were 200 liters of mezcal espadín at around 49% ABV, and 24 liters of 69% puntas, which were rested in glass galones for about a year before being bottled for Mixtape.

THE RECIPIENT IS REQUIRED TO BE 21 AND OVER IN ORDER TO RECIEVE THE ORDER

• Shipping estimates at checkout are BUSINESS DAYS (No weekends or holidays)
• Any order placed after 3pm EST will ship NEXT BUSINESS DAY 
• A return request of an UNOPENED product must be made within 24 hours of receiving your shipment.  Note that all returned products will be subject to a 20% restocking fee plus a $15.00 return shipment fee.
• Products that have been opened are NOT eligible for a return. 
• A damaged package request and picture evidence of damaged items must be made within 24 hours of receiving your ‘shipment delivered’ email notification.  Note that damaged products must be returned to us in order to receive a refund.
• A missing package request must be made within 14 days of receiving your ‘shipping confirmation’ email
• Please download the FEDEX app to manage your shipment (signature required, delivery drop location, etc.)