Palenqueros Valente García Madrecuishe Mezcal
Palenqueros Valente García Madrecuishe Mezcal is a single-producer mezcal from Palenqueros, the La Maison & Velier project founded by Luca Gargano that works with a small group of Oaxacan producers and names each bottle after the mezcalero who made it. Don Valente Garcia is a fourth-generation maestro mezcalero in Santa Maria La Pila, in the Miahuatlan region at about 1,550 meters, working alongside his grandson Semei Garcia Ramos. The agave is cultivated Madrecuishe, a karwinskii agave, roasted in an earthen pit oven, crushed by hand with wooden mallets, fermented with ambient yeast in cypress and pine vats and distilled over direct fire in a 350-liter copper pot still, then bottled unaged at still strength, 48.9% ABV (97.8 proof), in a 750mL bottle. This release ran to just 933 bottles. It is available to order online at Del Mesa Liquor.
- Proof / ABV: 97.8 proof (48.9% ABV), still strength
- Size: 750mL
- Agave: Madrecuishe (Agave karwinskii), cultivated
- Producer: Valente Garcia, Santa Maria La Pila, Miahuatlan, Oaxaca — fourth generation
- Process: Earthen pit oven, hand mallet crush, ambient-yeast fermentation in cypress and pine, direct-fire 350L copper pot still
- Release: 933 bottles
High-Altitude Karwinskii, Crushed by Hand
Madrecuishe grows tall and tree-like on Miahuatlan's dry hillsides, and at 1,550 meters it ripens slowly — the source of this mezcal's laser-sharp, mineral cut. Garcia's process is ancestral in all but name: pit oven, wooden mallets, wood vats, direct fire. The Palenqueros name itself comes from the palenque, the traditional distillery where all of it happens. Browse more karwinskii and single-maguey bottlings in our mezcal collection, or start with the series' Espadin, the Palenqueros Alberto Ortiz Espadin Mezcal.
Tasting Notes
Dry grass and wet-rock mineral on the nose, with green, vegetal notes, brine, a candied sweetness and subtle spice on the palate — bright, savory and precise, a mezcal shaped by high-altitude growing.
How to Enjoy
Neat in a copita, sipped slowly; the brine and green notes also make it a striking base for a mezcal Martini. More small-lot agave spirits live across our tequila and mezcal shelves and the rare and top shelf collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Madrecuishe?
Madrecuishe is a cultivated variety of Agave karwinskii, grown widely around Miahuatlan. It is known for green, vegetal, mineral-driven mezcal with a distinctive savory edge.
How limited is this release?
Just 933 bottles were produced for this release, bottled at still strength, 48.9% ABV. Once this batch is gone, it is gone.
Who makes it?
Don Valente Garcia, a fourth-generation maestro in Santa Maria La Pila, working with his grandson Semei Garcia Ramos.
Secure one of 933 bottles at Del Mesa Liquor in San Diego, CA — high-altitude Madrecuishe from a Miahuatlan master.