Reviews / Madre Espadin - Cuishe

Review · · by The Editors

Madre Espadin - Cuishe

Madre's flagship ensamble – serviceable, not special

Score: 3.0/5 agaves

Madre Espadin - Cuishe bottle
  • Producer: Madre Mezcal
  • Maestro: Carlos Mendez Blas, Jose Garcia Morales
  • Region: Miahuatlán, San Dionisio Ocotepec, Santiago Matatlán, Oaxaca
  • Agave: Cuishe, Espadin
  • ABV: 45%
  • Price: $70 ($$)

Verdict

Carlos Mendez Blas and Jose Garcia Morales can both produce better than this collectively than they do individually here. The blend is competent, the price is fair, the liquid is agreeable – but pass unless you need a bottle that performs well across twelve tables and one mezcal-curious palate. Banhez Ensamble does the same job for less money.

Madre's house ensamble drinks like a product brief

Tasting notes

Nose: Cooked pineapple with green melon, warm stone

Palate: 45% is a better frame for Madre than 40%, and the espadín-cuishe split brings mineral lift. But the blend reads like a multi-producer compromise – it resolves, it doesn't argue

Finish: Clean, slightly sweet

The bottom line

Fine on a restaurant list. Not the Madre bottle worth owning

Where to buy online

We found this bottle at 2 US retailers. Prices and stock vary – click through to check.

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