Mal Bien remains one of the most important labels in the mezcal world because they do exactly what the best importers should do: find serious, traditional producers and get out of the way. This Madrecuixe from Emanuel Ramos is a thrilling example from Mengolí de Morelos in Miahuatlán, Oaxaca, one of the great centers of high-toned, intensely characterful mezcal. Distilled in August 2023, batch 0823ER was one of the first produced on the Ramos family’s newly constructed copper alambiques con refrescadera, part of the palenque’s recent expansion. Emanuel and his father Victor represent the 4th and 3rd generations of the Ramos family to make mezcal in the region, with deep family ties to the neighboring Cortes family. Madrecuixe, a member of the Karwinskii family, grows throughout the Ramos fields and is especially prized locally for its larger size and higher sugar content compared with the closely related bicuixe. Production is wonderfully traditional: cooked six days in a 15-ton pit with encino, guamuche, and mesquite, rested five to seven days, tahona milled, fermented three to eight days in sabino and oak with well water, then double distilled in 275L copper stills and adjusted with puntas y colas. Bottled at 50.5% with just 200 liters produced, this is powerful, deeply regional, and exactly the kind of small-batch mezcal we love.