Cuentacuentos Coyote Ancestral is produced by Ángel Cruz Robles at his small palenque which is hidden in the forest high in the Sierra Sur mountains outside of Sola de Vega, Oaxaca. According to Cuentacuentos, maguey Coyote is found only in cultivation in this region and is not known to occur in the wild. The plant takes 18-20 years to mature. Once harvested, the agave is cooked for 72 hours in a traditional underground horno and then milled by horse drawn tahona. It is then naturally fermented for 7 days and doubled-distilled in clay pots. Spring water is used to adjust the spirit to approximately 47.5% ABV. Ángel’s technique imparts a caramel flavour that does not overpower agave Coyote’s inherent earthiness. The resulting mezcal has a pronounced minerality and benefits from the ancestral method to fully express its unique terroir.

Cuentacuentos curates small-batch traditional mezcals and destilados de agave from producers across the state of Oaxaca. Cuentacuentos released its first 6 mezcal expressions in 2018; future releases from the brand will change over time and include non-certified mezcals. The logo and bottle artwork (by artist Cesar Ruiz Conseco) features an opossum or tlacuache in Spanish. The tlacuache on the logo is El Viejito, the little old man opposum who stole mezcal from the demons as a service to humanity. The tlacuache ranks with the jaguar, eagle, and burro in importance in Zapotec, Taina, and Mexican mythologies. Cuentacuentos is bottled under NOM-O20X by Carlos Méndez Blas. The Cuentacuentos motto is Mezcal brings people together, stories make us friends.

AROMA: Fruit punch jelly bean. Has a slight meatiness to it like a smelling a patted dry top sirloin
TASTE: On the palate, there is an exquisite balance of clay, fruit, and wood. I get notes of black sesame seeds, salt, guava, and hickory.
ENJOY: Sipping mezcal is enjoyed slowly and with friends. Makes premium cocktails.

Production Notes

• Maguey: Coyote
• State: Oaxaca
• Region: Sola de Vega
• Cooking: Traditional earthen oven pit
• Milling: Horse drawn tahona
• Fermented: Natural yeast - 7 days
• Still Type: Clay pot
• Classification: Ancestral
• ABV of Mezcal: 46.34%