Cutwater Mezcal - Cutwater Spirits

Cutwater
 Mezcal

Cutwater Mezcal
Location: Our Mezcal is made in
Durango, Mexico. Agaves or magueys
are found in many parts of the world
but with regards to mezcal, certain
regions in Mexico are designated and
controlled by the Consejo Regulador
del Mezcal (CRM) to ensure the name
is protected and denotes region and
terroir just as the “Appellation
d'origine contrôlé” controls names
such as Champagne. Although
most mezcal is made in Oaxaca,
it can also be made in Durango,
Guanajuato, Guerrero, San Luis
Potosí, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas,
Michoacan, and the recently
approved Puebla.

Distillery: IZO, Izo after cenizo agave. The distillery was built to help
local farmers by the Durango government and historically ran by
local farmers. After it had gone dormant for years Gaston (born and
raised in Durango and now living in San Diego), founder of Izo
Mezcal, brought the distillery back to production and started to
make his own Mezcal.

Partnering with Gaston at Izo: Gaston came to Cutwater Spirits
to meet with Yuseff after hearing of the success of Cutwater Tequila,
asking Yuseff if he would be interested in making Mezcal. Just a few
weeks after their initial meeting, Yuseff took a trip down to Durango
to see the operation and discuss the potential of making Mezcal
together. Their initial meeting proved to be instrumental in
developing the relationship that followed, creating a similar path to
that of the development of the tequila. The serendipitous and
fortuitous casual meeting has led to a partnership that will allow for
the sustainable production of world class mezcal moving forward.

• To have Cutwater Mezcal differentiate from the house
  made Mezcal we made some slight changes to the
  distillation process and fermentation process, including
  modifying the heads cut, adding the “bagasse” to the
  fermentation as well as wooden Foeders for fermentation.

Durango Notes: This was the home state of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa. Minimum altitude is 3,200 feet (1,000 m)
above sea level. The highest peak is Cerro Gordo with an elevation of 10,960 feet (3,340 m) above sea level. Durango is known
for its dry high desert which is why the agave does so well there. Durango is also well known for its stark blue skies which lend
the perfect backdrop to Western classics like The Good the Bad and the Ugly, filmed in the high desert of Durango.
Varietal: 100 % Cenizo Agave, wild harvested (not espadin which is the typical farmed agave for mezcal from Oaxaca)

About Cenizo Durangenis: Of the Durangensis family of agaves, this wild agave is typically harvested from the hillsides of
Durango. Cenizo thrives in high altitudes up to 8,500ft with cool and dry conditions. The heart and soul of Durango mezcal is
Cenizo Durangensis. While many agaves are commonly referred to as cenizo, it was recently decided that only the agave from
Durango has the legal right to the name Cenizo. This agave is dull-green with grayish undertones and can grow quite large–
easily standing 2 meters tall when ripe. Cenizo reproduces primarily by seed in the wild, which provides a naturally strong
biodiversity for the species, with each new plant offering a unique set of genes, unlike the farmed Weber Blue Agave used for
tequila derived primarily from clones called hijuelos. This means that Cenizo is ripe for expressing its terroir and producin g
hybrids, yielding mezcal that is truly unique in every batch. Perhaps because of its strong genetics, Cenizo is an adaptable
variety. It takes around 9+ years to mature for mezcal production and the harvested pinas can weight over 200 lbs.

Sustainability: Cenizo makes delicious mezcal, and people have noticed; demand is increasing and producers are investing in
filling their nurseries with baby cenizo. We have been able to partner with Gaston and his team in Durango to begin planting
seeds (to help diversity) as well as replanting “hijuelos” (baby agaves) to jump start the growth of new plants by almost 2
years. We hope to achieve a planting rate of 5:1 in terms of planted to harvest ratio, helping assure that Cenizo is around for
generations to come.

•   Wild Cenizo
•   9-12 years old
•   Harvested by allocations
•   Replanting Project

• Volcanic
  rock lined
  pit

• Oak and
  Mesquite
  for fire

• Loaded with 100% Cenizo varietal
   • Covered with fiber and earth
   • Cooked for 3-5 days
Mezcal production: Jimadors harvest agave from the wild, cut them
in half or quarters and build a fire with mesquite and/or oak (all-
natural fallen wood from the surrounding area.)
When cooking the Agave, we use Volcanic rock lined pit ovens heated
by wood to cook and smoke the agave. We allow 3-5 days for the
agave to cook. It is then ground on a commercial sized mill and
brought inside to ferment. It is fermented in a traditional open air
foeder with wild yeast.
After our agaves are cooked underground, we take some of the fibers
from the cooked cenizo agave and add it to the Foeders during
fermentation to further accentuate the smoky flavors of the finished
mezcal.
Currently we are using the stills that were originally installed but hope
to soon be using Cutwater designed stills (similar to the ones used for
our tequila to distill the Mezcal). Our Mezcal is distilled in both copper
and stainless-steel pots using naturally occurring yeast.

• Cooked Agave Cenizo
• How does it compare to Tequila?
• What does it taste like?

Testing on site prior to production

• Hand applied labels
• Limited first.production run
  of 1650 bottles
• Batch # assigned for
  collectability

Artwork – The desert of Durango is home to the “alacrán”
or scorpion and Durango is known to be the scorpion
capital of Mexico. The owl “buho” known to be a local
resident in and around the distillery is an ominous creature
that has learned the means of survival in the harsh
environment of the high desert. Symbolizing two of the
famous residents of Durango, we chose to make our own
mythical creature, the Bulacrán, by combining both the
scorpion and the owl from Durango. The scorpion
symbolizing defiance, solitude and resilience combined
with the magical wisdom and insight of the owl join
together to make what is commonly known throughout
Mexico as an “alebrije.” These mystical animals (alibrije)
came to light from a fever dream that artist Pedro Linares
had in the 1930’s and are now popular art pieces
throughout Mexico. These colorful animals often blend
characteristics from several creatures into one mythical
beast. Local San Diego artist Dave Warshaw’s take on this
mythical beast harkens back to his long tenure as a tattoo
artist with bold lines and fine point detail, bringing to life
the mythical harbinger of delicious mezcal.

Tasting Notes- green peppery, vegetal,
smokiness (think campfire, not burnt rubber),
slight phenolic nose with sweet cooked agave
finish and subtle smoke lingering on the palate.

Cutwater Ex-Whiskey Barrels:
• Reposado
• Anejo
• Extra Anejo

Salud!

  Peas, Love
And Happiness