The maestros that Cuentacuentos draws from distill beautiful mezcals: clean, pure, rich in flavor, and unusually true to the agaves they work with. These mezcals are a tribute to talented distillers… and also to Read Spear, who found them and then developed a network of fulfilling working relationships. His love of and respect for the spirit and the humans who create them shows up in the bottle.
Many of the agaves are wild. Bottling and labeling takes place in the destileria of Carlos Mendez Blas in Santiago Matatlan.
EL BARRO. Small batches of joven (blanco) espadín (agave angustifolia), with the first distillation in copper, the second distillation in a clay pot still. Wonderful mouth-feel. Great price for clay-finished mezcal. 46% abv $48
CUENTACUENTOS Arroqueño artesanal From Ángel Cruz Robles in El Lazo in the mountains above Sola de Vega. Agave Americana var. 50% abv. $120
CUENTACUENTOS Arroqueño ancestral Wild agave Americana from Miguel Cruz Rios in El Lazo, west of Sola de Vega. the region’s arroqueño has a feral intensity. Complex, & well-distilled. 46.34% abv $120.
CUENTACUENTOS Coyote ancestral On clay potstills. A wild local sub-varietal of agave Americana. Another beauty from Ángel Cruz Robles in El Lazo above Sola de Vega. 45.67% abv $120
CUENTACUENTOS Coyote ancestral On clay potstills. From Ángel Cruz Calvo (Ángel Robles’ grandfather) in El Lazo above Sola de Vega. The Sola de Vega wild coyote has longer spines and a small piña than the Americana found in the Oaxaca valley. Rare. 45.67% abv $120
CUENTACUENTOS Cuish artesanal. Wild Agave Karwinskii from Serafín Garcia Gerónimo near San Dioniso Ocotopec. Beautifully distilled. 47.9% abv $86
CUENTACUENTOS Papalote artesanal. Wild agave cupreata capón harvested at 1600 meters from Benigno Sanchez Gatica in El Peral, Chilapa de Alvarez, Guerrero state. Cupreata is at its’ best in Guerrero. Ansley’s favorite agave/intense. 47.9% abv $125
CUENTACUENTOS Cupreata (papalote). From Antonio Sonido in Pantitlan in Guerrero. The wild cupreata is so named because of the distinctive slight hint of copper on the palate. It’s one of our favorite agaves: complex. 49.63% abv $99 SOLD OUT
CUENTACUENTOS Cupreata (Papalote) From Tomás Gutierrez in Tepehuizco, at 5800 feet in Guerrero. The wild cupreata is so named because of the distinctive slight hint of copper on the palate. It’s one of our favorite agaves: complex, intense, and tangy. 47% abv $189 SOLD OUT
CUENTACUENTOS Espadin ancestral. On clay potstills. From Angel Robles above Sola De Vega. Agave angustifolia. 48% abv $89.00
CUENTACUENTOS Espadín ancestral. Mountain-grown agave and gustifolia from Miguel Cruz Rios in El Lazo, west of Sola de Vega. Chalky soils, mountainous terrain and ancestral methods create a uniquely worthy mezcal 46.22%abv $89
CUENTACUENTOS Espadín artesanal From Serafín Garcia Gerónimo near San Dioniso Ocotopec. Agave angustifolia. 47.65% abv $70
CUENTACUENTOS Madrecuishe artesanal Semi-wild agave Karwisnskii from Everardo Garcia Salvador in San Pablo Mitla (the 1544 church stands on top of great Mizteca ruins). Soft minerality from chalky soil 47.59% abv. $96
CUENTACUENTOS Mexicano artesanal. Wild agave macroacanthai from Lurentino Santos in Santa Catarina Coatlan in Miahuatlan. Nice minerality from the ferriferous soils. 46.7% abv $115
CUENTACUENTOS Tepextate: Memorial release: Everardo García Salvador’s last distillation; he died shortly afterward. Read Spear marked up the price a bit and is giving everything above cost to the family. Wild Tepextate is slow-growing and impressively big, with large fleshy leaves. An unusually long ten-day roast brings out flavor that is feral and rich. Some of the batch was distilled in clay. 48.56% abv $125 SOLD OUT
CUENTACUENTOS Tepextate From Serafin Garcia Geronimo near San Dioniso Ocotopec. Agave marmorata. 48% abv / $99
CUENTACUENTOS Tobalá. Wild agave potatorum from Daniel Léon in Quielela near Sola de Vega, Ancestral distillation in a clay pot still. Tobalá from Sola de Vega distilled in clay is about as good as mezcal gets. 45.88% abv $99
CUENTACUENTOS Tobalá ancestral From Ángel Cruz Calvo in El Lazo in the mountains above Sola de Vega. The rare agave Seemania: worth buying. Scarce. 45.2% abv $120
CUENTACUENTOS Tobalá ancestral. The wild and rare variant agave Seemania from Angel Cruz Robles in El Lazo, west of Sola de Vega. The region produces Oaxaca’s best tobalás. Complex and mineral. Great mezcal from a great distiller. 47.5% abv $120
CUENTACUENTOS Tobalá artesanal. From Serafín Garcia Gerónimo near San Dioniso Ocotopec. Wild agave potatorum. Good price for tobalá. 45% abv $96
CUENTACUENTOS Tobalá artesanal. From Everardo Garcia Salvador in San Pablo Mitla. Agaves potatorum & angustifolia. 47.5% abv / $90