super-cute bottle for 2

Sin Gusano 20cl - Cucharillo con Espadín - Amatlán

Product information

£25.99

Description

In the community of San Luis Amatlán, in the Miahuatán district of southern Oaxaca, Camilo shares a palenque with his brother-in-law, Nicolas, and makes spirits in the style of the region.

While Miahuatlán has a long history of working with a wide variety of agave species that all thrive in its unique tierra blanca (white earth), producers are only recently experimenting with Cucharillo (Dasylirion sp). 

Cucharillo is not actually an agave, rather it’s a species of dasylirion. This type of plant has a much longer history of being distilled in the north of Mexico, where it’s known as Sotol.

As opposed to agaves, which flower just once before dying, dasylirion plants flower once every few years, after which the plant can continue to grow. This is quite exciting from a sustainability perspective, as it means seeds can be collected from a plant before it dies. In contrast, an agave must be harvested before going to seed to be good for mezcal. Each time the plant flowers, the piña will continue to grow at a slightly different angle. 

For this batch, from 20-day roast of mixed agaves, Camilo selected 25 piñas of wild cucharillo and 3 piñas of cultivated espadín (A.Angustifolia), making the balance about 70% Cucharillo to 30% Espadín.

Those plants filed just a single fermentation tina, where they were left to interact with the natural airborne yeasts for 6 days before being double distilled in a copper alembic.

This winter batch was distilled in December 2021. After proofing with heads and tails (puntas y colas) the final yield of the batch was 60 litres. It's resting since, and now here it is in Oct '23!

Aroma: Light citrus peel on the nose, with a fresh salinity that can be expected from Amatlán.

Palate:  Grassy dry straw on first sip, reminiscent of sotol from the north. Highly mineral in the mid-palate. Go back in for another nose and it’s turned into fresh masa before being pressed into tortillas and tejate. Opens into peaches and cream with time in the glass.

ABV: 46.8%

2 available

Quantity

Additional details

      Cool Chile: 20cl bottles are great to grab for a special meal to share with a few friends - each bottle contains exceptional spirit with a cultural story - they make great gifts as well.

      NOM/Batch: CGG-05 Dec 2021 (60-litre batch)

      Maestro Mezcalero: Camilo Garcia Gutierrez

      Interesting fact: 

      Maguey (Agave): Cucharillo (Dasylirion sp) 70%, Espadin (A.Angustifolia) 30%

      Region: San Luis Amatlán, Miahuatlán District, Oaxaca

      Oven type: 20-day roast, in a classic earthen horno

      Extraction method: machete and shredder

      Fermentation: slatted wooden tinas

      Still type: double pass in copper alembic

      Composition: heads, hearts, and tails

      Resting time: 2 years

      About the Sin Gusano Project: Jon Darby left his previous job in the city of London to live in Oaxaca and investigate the world of agave after a life-changing holiday in southern Mexico where he was blown away by mezcal, the skill of its production and the cultural significance of the maguey plant. He founded Sin Gusano (without the worm), a project working for the wider understanding and preservation of artisanal agave distillates – traditionally known as “Mezcal” – and the sustainable development of rural, mezcal-producing regions of Southern Mexico. Jon spends a lot of time on the road in Mexico, meeting many different mezcal producers, and seeking out the most delicious and diverse agave spirits to offer a continual evolution of limited releases. Somewhere between 35-150 litres is generally all that’s been made of each of their unique batches.

      Sin Gusano has pledged to gift 10% of profits to charitable causes. They aim to spread their giving between education programs and sustainability projects in Oaxaca, Mexico, and projects closer to home in London. They also are proud to be a carbon-neutral enterprise, offering a certified carbon-neutral product.

      Disclaimer

      As Cool Chile is not the manufacturer of this product we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided on our site (e.g. ingredients, nutritional information, etc). Manufacturers regularly change recipes and therefore we always recommend that you check the product's actual label before consuming.