Maestro Mezcalero Candido Garcia Cruz generally makes one or two batches of Bicuixe every year, depending on how much of this wild agave is ready on his lands or those of his family, who often contribute to
his productions. He never deviates from the practice of harvesting around the days of a full
moon - when the plants’ sugars are most concentrated in the piña - and uses only fully
ripened agave.
His years of experience coupled with the particular native yeasts and microorganisms of his
palenque yield marvelous results. For this batch, Candido, his son, and son-in-law gathered
close to 200 capón Bicuixe of various sizes, harvested from reddish and rocky cascajudo
colorado parcels, with another 100 or so plants coming from a separate red and black
gravelly land, located roughly 1,450 meters above sea level.
The harvest began in the first days of March 2018 and the roasting nearly two weeks later.
Candido and family cooked the agave with mesquite wood for eight days and allowed the
agave to rest for only three days before processing the roasted plants with machete, axe,
and mechanical shredder. This short duration of rest of the cooked agaves was attributed to
the perfection of the cook, something identified by sight, but most importantly, by eating
pieces of the cooked plant, which requires an intimate familiarity with the natural flavors of
each type of maguey. The shredded fibers and juice were placed into four 1,200L capacity
sabino wood fermentation vats and rested for one day before water was added from his
river-adjacent well. The first tina or fermentation tank was ready for distillation eight days
later at the beginning of April.
Dom Candido himself no longer drinks, so much of the composition of the final spirit is done
based on sight and aroma, and often without the use of a proof hydrometer. Carefully
mixing parts of the puntas and corázon, Candido looks for a cordon cerrado, or a “closed
cord” of bubbles that vaguely resembles a honey comb that let him know that the liquid is
of a certain strength of alcohol and that the final composition will meet the high standards
of his peers. In this particular batch, the fats and oils of these quality Bicuixe plants left
behind a deceivingly large and long-lasting perla that would normally indicate a much
higher alcohol percentage. When the lab tests came in, Candido was surprised to learn that
this batch came in at a light 45% alc. The aromas, flavors, and textures are rich and complex
—qualities very telling of their region of origin and the hand of the master craftsman.
Producer Notes
