Mal Bien Coyote

About this destilado de agave

Mal Bien Coyote is made by Victor and his son Emanuel. They are the 3rd and 4th generations of the Ramos family to produce mezcal in the Miahuatlán District of Oaxaca, an area famous for its abundance and diversity of A. karwinskii sub-species (madrecuixe, tobaxiche, etc.). This maguey Coyote batch is actually made with a rare hybrid Coyote that was made when Madrecuixe (agave Karwinskii) were cross pollinated with Tobala (agave Potatorum). Other regions, like Santa Catarina Minas, will sometimes refer to this hybrid as Coyota.

The community of Mengoli de Morelos where they live and work has a population of just under 200 people. They are related to the neighboring Cortes family via Victor’s wife (Emanuel’s mother), Cleotilde, whose sister Cesilia is married to Felipe. The maguey Coyote used in this mezcal are cooked for 6 days in an underground pit oven with Encino and Mesquite. Once cooked, the agave rest 6-7 days before being mashed by ox drawn tahona. They’re fermented with open air yeasts for 4-8 days before being double distilled in a copper refrescadera still.

Mal Bien

Since 2016, the Mal Bien team has been traveling Mexico, driving off the map and into mountains filled with treacherous roads, police officers of questionable moral character, feral dogs, indigenous languages, narcos, ancient relics, machete wielding protestors, insect based meals, mudslides, blockades, corrupt politicians, and many of the world’s kindest, funniest, most brilliant people. In addition to some hard to believe stories, they’ve connected with a wide variety of traditional producers, whose mezcal is now bottled and exported under the Mal Bien name.