Mal Bien Alto Mezcal 750m

Watermelon-rind mezcal from the highlands of Michoacán. Mal Bien found Don Isidro Rodríguez Montoya in 2017 at his home in Río de Parras — the first stop on a tip from a friend in Pátzcuaro — and what he poured them was unlike anything they'd tasted: bright, clean, and mineral-driven, defying every funky, lactic stereotype of Michoacán mezcal. His secret is speed — where neighbors ferment 30+ days, Isidro adds a couple liters of pulque per thousand liters of mash and finishes in 8–10, sidestepping the cheesy notes entirely. A first-generation mezcalero who started at 19 and built his own vinata in 2015 after fourteen years sharing the communal still, he distills wild-hearted Alto agave (A. inaequidens, ~15 years to mature) into something that drinks almost like rosé: watermelon rind, cantaloupe, cucumber, cooling menthol, and wet slate. A soft, nuanced sipper — proof that mezcal doesn't have to mean smoke.

Mezcal Details:

Agave Type: 100% Alto (Agave inaequidens) — ~15 years to maturity

Classification: Mezcal Artesanal — Joven (unaged), small lots (~1,300 bottles), lot-coded on label

ABV: 46% — lot-specific, printed on label

Production: Fast 8–10 day fermentation seeded with pulque; distilled at Don Isidro's own vinata, built 2015

Origin: Río de Parras, Queréndaro, Michoacán, Mexico — Don Isidro Rodríguez Montoya, first-generation mezcalero

Bottle Size: 750ml