Del Maguey Madrecuixe Mezcal
Crafted by Marcos Cruz Méndez son of Paciano Cruz Nolasco in the verdant seclusion of San Luis del Río where the Red Ant River meanders. The wild towering Madrecuixe agave is known for its upright cylindrical shape and grows predominately in the Miahuatlan región of Oaxaca. Marcos employs traditional earth roasting and leverages natural airborne microbes for fermentation before distillation in his riverside copper stills.
Flavor Profile
Tasting
Banana leaf, tarragon, green papaya, roasted peanuts, minerality
Dried herbs and roasted nuts with fresh green papaya
Silky and elegant with savory herbal complexity
Clean and dry with mineral and savoury finish
Origin
Hot Canyon Central Valleys
San Luis Del Rio
4800 ft
Canyon Clay
Madrecuixe (Agave karwinskii)
10 to 15 years
The Process
Marcos Cruz Méndez
Hand-cut from canyon valley slopes after 10 to 15 years
Earthen pits lined with volcanic rock
Molino milling · open wooden vats · wild fermentation
What defines this mezcal
BUILT FOR THE BAR, BORN FROM THE HILL
Mezcal Vida from San Luis del Río is built with bartenders and mixing in mind, yet unmistakably rooted in place. Bursting with fruity aromatics: honey, vanilla and roasted agave, it opens wide in the glass. On the palate: ginger, cinnamon, burnt sandalwood; a touch of banana-leaf sweetness lingers at the finish.
A Tapestry of Agaves
San Luis del Río lies within the municipality of Tlacolula de Matamoros, in Oaxaca’s Central Valleys. Its steep mountains are planted so densely with espadín that the slopes look like a living tapestry of agaves. The mineral-rich rock is almost fluorescent red and green, which gives the soil its strength and mezcal its earthy flavour. At the valley floor, the Río Hormiga Colorada still flows, though now reduced to a narrow stream. The air there grows humid and sweet; papaya and mango trees line the houses, their fruit perfuming the streets.
THE STORYTELLERS OF SAN LUIS
The Cruz family are fantastic storytellers. Around the table, mezcal is poured from garrafones into endless caballitos as they tell poignant stories of crossing the border on foot and returning home to keep doing the work they learned as children, coming back from school to the palenque. Each story carries the same spirit as Mezcal Vida itself: determined, charismatic, and unforgettable.
Similar mezcales you may enjoy
Tobalá
The first wild varietal mezcal ever exported to the United States. Wild Tobalá grows in the shade of oak trees within hi…
45% ABV | 750ml
Mango, cinnamon, moss, earth, florals, minerality
Cuixe
Crafted on a hillside in Santa María Albarradas surrounded by fruit trees and rose bushes. Naturally fermented and twice…
45% ABV | 750ml
Hoja santa, fresh jalapeño, lilac, guava, lychee nut, minerality
Espadín, Arroqueño & Mexicano
The village of San José Río Minas requires traversing high mountains on narrow jagged dirt roads. The palenque has been…
50% ABV | 750ml
Papaya, ripe peaches, roses, violets, eucalyptus, minerality
