While in some regions of Oaxaca I seem to be able to keep things moving in accord with our palenque schedule, those wheels completely fall off in Logoche, where we enjoy such remarkable mezcal and are shown such a good time.
It was still Sunday.
I mean, my plan was to be at Don Tomás’ from about 1 PM until 3 PM; then on to Celso’s. But Gloria, Celso’s daughter, finally messaged me at 4:51 PM to ask, “Como está?” So I slapped myself around a bit, we packed up and went.
Celso García Cruz
Celso García Cruz, 61, is the younger brother of Don Tomás. I’ve written before about having loved his distillations; particularly a certain Arroqueño, the likes of which have never been matched for me. He couldn’t be at his palenque that day though as he has been suffering from poor health. A diabetic, he’s actually required amputations recently, which must be devastating for him and his family. Just today, Gloria messaged that he’s now discharged from the hospital, and he’ll now have to begin the process of recovery and “continuous medical reviews” in Oaxaca City.
This situation is such that they have requested support for his considerable medical expenses. Not sure how that might work from another country’s banking network, but if you’re able to work within Mexico’s bank transfer system, the relevant information is below. Please consider helping out if you can.
The sun was beginning to fall when we showed up. Greeting us was Gloria, Celso’s younger brother—whose name escapes me, other family: his wife Felipa, Cecilia, Mariana, Bathsheba, and a son-in-law who was particularly charismatic.
If we were counting on memory, I’d have very little to share, but thankfully I took notes! Here’s what they had for us to try:
Espadín
Cuixe
Tobalá/Coyote Ensamble (We were told the Coyote was of the Lyobaá family.)
Arroqueño
Pulquero/Chino
Cabo de Pulquero Chino
Cabo de Pulquero Cenizo
Espadín/Pulquero/Jabalí/Madrecuixe/Tepextate Ensamble
Madrecuixe
Tepextate (from May)
Tepextate (from more recently)
Espadín/Bicuixe/Madrecuixe Ensamble
Cucharillo
Shall we glance at the box scores? 12 samples at Mogen’s, 13 at Don Tomás’ and 13 at Celso’s. Yes, we sampled 38 different distillations in the same day. But the kicker: this would somehow be outdone. 😳 For a sense of the scene that evening, here you’ll find our friend Fred Collins joining in mezcal-drenched Mexican crooning with Celso’s son-in-law…
I couldn’t pass up Celso’s super Espadín, nor his ripping 5 Agave Ensamble. It was the type of day one remembers for the rest of his life. But we had to get to the motel.
Hotel Diamante Plaza
The thinking had gone like this: (1) there are TONS of mezcal producers in Logoche, and (2) there’s nowhere NEAR enough time to see more than 2 or 3—before driving 2.5 hours back to your place in Oaxaca City. So the solution: Sunday night we would stay in Miahuatlán de Porfirio Díaz, only 30 minutes away. While Logoche has no lodging, this town of about 50,000 does. This would mean being able to stay later on Day 1 and get back to Logoche much more quickly for Day 2.
Because then, the thinking continued, you can just keep drinking into the next day. 😵💫
I’d heard of the Hotel Diamante Plaza from another mezcal fellow traveller, being told it was “adequate.” A regular-sized room was only $31 USD, and even Cecilia’s and my larger room was only $40. I’m not sure if all of them were on-par with ours, but it wasn’t bad at all! I’ve definitely experienced much worse lodging.
I figured Ciro would go back home and pick us up there the next day, but he was exhausted, so we got a room for him too. Much better for all of us.
The next morning we got breakfast in a little spot. While I’m definitely a drinker of “Americano” coffee, in many places in Oaxaca they exclusively offer Cafe de Olla, which is ground coffee with cinnamon and raw, dark sugar made in an earthen clay pot. It did the trick, and we were back in Logoche in no time.
Rancho Tres Carnales
It was my second time at this palenque. Los Carnales refers to “the meats,” which can mean “of the same family,” even including close friends. This group consists of brothers Ramón and Wilfrido García Sánchez (who’ll be 37 and 35 this year) and their cousin, Hugo García Maldonado (24). It also included their brother-in-law, Primitivo Vásquez Vásquez, 41, who has been there both times I’ve visited, but who started his own palenque recently.
All of these dudes, for a time, left Logoche, seeking work in other parts of Mexico and in the southern US, making money so that they could return and form this palenque. They all extend from multiple generations of palenqueros and clearly take pride in this work. It was unquestionably one of the standouts of our trip. Here’s what they lined up for us:
Madrecuixe Verde/Tequilana Ensamble
Jabalí/Espadín Ensamble
Bicuixe/Espadín Ensamble
Espadín Capón (made by Ramón & Wili’s mother, Margarita)
Tobalá
Madrecuixe/Bicuixe Ensamble
Tepextate/Espadín Ensamble
Coyote
Tepextate/Bicuixe/Jabalín Ensamble
Tepextate Capón
Tequilana
Tequilana/Mexicano Ensamble
Pulquero
Pulquero/Tepextate Ensamble con Penca
Cucharillo (Hugo let us sample this from a bottle with the brand name “Santo Llanto,” which is apparently Gloria’s, (Celso’s daughter we met the previous day.) Lovely—but no bottles to sell. 😦)
Fred went for the Pulquero/Tep and the Coyote, while we each bought some of that Jabalí/Espadín—and I was smitten by both their lightly sweet and floral Tobalá and the Tequilana - both made by Wili.
Palenque de Cutberto Aquino Gutiérrez
I had heard that cousins Gilberto and Manuel Aquino García were making splendid mezcal at palenques right next door to each other. On arriving at the location Gilberto gave me, we discovered that the palenque is actually owned by Gilberto and Simitrio’s father, Cutberto Aquino Gutiérrez. Further, while I’m not sure just how many, there are at least six maestros who use it. And this day we would meet three of them: Gilberto Aquino García, 33, along with his brother Simitrio Aquino García, 37, and Miguel Osorio Gutiérrez, 50, whom they call “el Grillo,” (the cricket.) This nickname comes from his youth when he was known always to be singing without relent. 😂
Here’s what we sampled:
Madrecuixe (by Cutberto)
Tobalá (by Cutberto)
Bicuixe/Tobalá/Tepextate/Coyote/Mexicano Ensamble (by Gilberto)
Espadín de Frutas con Canabis (which included apple, mango & pineapple)
Tobalá/Tepextate/Bicuixe Ensamble (by Miguel)
Tepextate/Bicuixe/Espadín Ensamble (by Miguel)
Bicuixe/Coyote/Cuixe Verde Ensamble (by Miguel)
Cucharillo/Espadín/Tepextate Ensamble (by Simitrio)
Espadín (by Miguel)
Espadín (by Gilberto)
Espadín (by Celerino Robles)
I can’t overemphasize how quickly my money was running out. But, although every Logochean mezcal I had was delicious, the Tobalá from Don Cutberto was simply breathtaking. I consider it the best Tobalá I’ve had in at least 4 years. I bought as much as I could—along with Miguel’s delightful Bicuixe/Coyote/Cuixe Verde Ensamble. Fred couldn’t pass up Gilberto’s Espadín, nor Simitrio’s Cucharillo/Espadín/Tepextate Ensamble.
The maestros at this palenque tend to make smaller batches at a time than some others, but there’s no question they’re all brilliant producers. My hat is off to them!
Palenque de Manuel Aquino García
So where were we on the hit list? 15 samples at Los Tres Carnales and 11 at Don Cutberto’s means we’d had 26 for the day and 64 in two subsequent days. I was hopeful that we were in the territory of smaller producers; so no doubt the next one would be maybe 8 or 10? 12 tops? Oh no, my fellow Mezcal Maniacs. We walked across a dusty road to meet Manuel Aquino García, and THIS was what was waiting…
If you choose to count the sample bottles on the above table, you’ll find there were no fewer than 20 distillations. 😲 Things had gotten serious. My disposition was a combination of (1) not wanting to offend the maestro by eliminating some, and (2) smashed-yet-sincere curiosity. I looked at Fred, imagining we were cowboys on an episode of Yellowstone...
“There is more work to be done.”
Arroqueño
Tobalá
Arroqueño/Pulquero Ensamble
Tobasiche
Cuixe Verde
Pulquero
Jabalí (from 2024)
Coyote
Pulquero Chino (made from very small Pulqueros)
Pulquero con Verde
Jabalí (from 2023)
Bicuixe Verde
Espadín (actually made by his young son!)
Tepextate
Cucharillo (precious!)
Tepextate/Tobalá/Madrecuixe Ensamble
Coyote/Tobalá/Bicuixe Ensamble
Madrecuixe
Espadín (yes another)
Bicuixe/Espadín/Tepextate/Jabalí Ensamble
As is common, the family sat with us while we enjoyed the mezcales. Manuel’s wife is Atanacia, (Nacha,) his son is Gael and daughter Vanessa. Vanessa is a complete doll—who always looks as if she’s about to laugh at you! Gael is extremely bright and friendly. One of the Espadíns we sampled was actually made with Gael as maestro. That’s what I call startin’ ‘em early!
Cecilia and Barb had begun to drop out of tasting at the last palenque, and here this stubborn resistance continued. For some idea of how we were doing after a two day total of 84 mezcal samples, please see the below photo. Fred was out like a light—with his hand still groping in the hopes of finding more money in his plastic baggie! 🤣
All we could scrounge up was enough for 4 liters in individual bottles, but (again) I’ve been in contact with Manuel about another transaction from a distance in the next week or two. His Cucharillo is as good as it gets, the Bicuixe Verde was precious—and one of those Jabalís was also a fave of mine.
By 4:15 we were in Ciro’s van and on the road back to Oaxaca City and our Airbnb house. As teased early on in this series of articles, I felt we’d gone too far. And for me it’s a conundrum: I want to visit as many palenques as possible on a trip to Logoche—and I can’t realistically do more than 2 or 3 before having to get back to the city at a decent hour. So this seemed like the way to go.
But I’m calling it: 84 samples in 2 consecutive days is overkill.
So it’s back to the drinking board, er, drawing board. We’d have the following day off, but there were a few more places to visit—and you can bet I’ll be recounting them here on Mezcal Maniac. Thanks for following!