Reviews / Mal Bien Quiote de Alto
Review · · by The Editors
Mal Bien Quiote de Alto
Michoacán alto – inaequidens from the quiote, no less
Score: 4.0/5 agaves
- Producer: Mal Bien
- Maestro: Isidro Rodriguez Montoya
- Region: Rio de Parras, Michoacán
- Agave: Alto
- ABV: 46.5%
- Price: $150 ($$)
Verdict
A Michoacán bottle distilled from quiote (the agave's flower stalk) is a category unto itself, and Mal Bien's Rio de Parras release is the one we'd pour to explain it. At 46.5% it's proofed fairly for the format, and Isidro Rodriguez Montoya makes the agave's regional specificity clear. A real regional document.
An inaequidens quiote bottle that isn't just a collector's checkbox
Tasting notes
Nose: Wet stone over cooked agave, stone, green pepper, faint floral
Palate: 46.5% of a rare quiote-based distillation – Isidro Rodriguez Montoya's inaequidens pulls a savory, grounded weight with an herbal mid that neither cupreata nor angustifolia would produce
Finish: Dry, quietly mineral
The bottom line
A regional rarity that actually delivers