Maleza is a new line of Mexican amari that highlights some of the amazing traditional flavors in the Mexican culinary universe. The first two expressions — Cacahuate (peanut) and Cempasuchitl (marigold) — were just released in the U.S. in May 2024, and two more are on the way.
Maleza is the creation of two Mexican creatives: architect Andrés Rubio Isunza and graphic designer Heraclito Lopez. Previously they created Bruja de Agua (now named Granicera) gin. Maleza means “undergrowth,” as in the plants that appear on the side of the road or under the trees that are used in Mexico’s rich tradition of ritual healing and home cooking.
The first two bottlings in this series represent some of the most unique flavors in Mexico. Peanuts are quite literally “undergrowth” because the nuts grow underground. They’re also frequently underappreciated culinary assets in Mexican cooking, where they are the basis of many salsas and are even made into refreshing drinks.
The Maleza Cacahuate is made from twelve ingredients which Isunza and Lopez chose to express the smoked and spicy aromas of roasted botanicals. In addition to peanuts, they add roasted yellow tortillas, cinnamon, orange peel, toasted sesame seeds, toasted cacao, and additional spices. One of the most particular ingredients is pinole, a mixture of toasted corn, toasted cocoa, cinnamon, and sugar that is used to prepare atole, a traditional Mexican drink served warm on many a street corner.
Like all of the Maleza liquors, the base spirit is alcohol distilled from corn in Rubio Isunza’s native state of Chiapas, the southernmost state in Mexico. Chiapas’ native spirit is pox (pronounced posh) which is distilled from a mixture of corn, wheat, and sugarcane. Isunza worked with a traditional pox distiller in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, to produce a base spirit purely from malted corn because it has such a distinctive flavor.
The botanicals and spices are washed and dried in the shade to preserve both aromas and flavors. Then they undergo a six-week maceration in the dark in order to maximize extraction. The mixture is then filtered, sweetened with a combination of cane sugar and agave syrup, and rested an additional eight weeks.
Cempasuchitl is focused on expressing the flavor and aromas of Mexican marigold and bursts with a rich bouquet of chamomile and flower pollen. Marigolds are incredibly important in Mexico as a symbol of Day of the Dead, when the brilliant orange flowers are used to decorate relatives’ graves and altars. But it is also an edible flower with a distinctive aroma which Maleza blends with tangerine rinds, hops, chamomile, ginger, nutmeg, coriander seed, and four additional ingredients. The marigolds are sourced from Xochimilco, the zone of southern Mexico City crisscrossed by canals built by the Aztecs, creating a historical and cultural continuum.
Isunza and Lopez are inspired by that history and the ongoing use of these herbs, flowers, spices, fruits, and barks, because they are the living cultural links with their past. Isunza says they’re trying to “create a natural equilibrium” with Mexican plants, culture, and traditions. The next two varieties push the project into new territory: Axiote (achiote), which is bursting with flowery aromas of rose and achiote, and Pepita, a nutty and herbaceous blend of pumpkin seeds and spices.
All four expressions are already available in Mexico, where Isunza says Mexican bartenders have embraced them. He’s seeing Maleza in all the usual cocktails like sours and spritzes, but also in some distinctly Mexican combinations like a carajillo made with coffee and Maleza Cacahuate instead of the traditional Licor 43 from Spain. But Isunza says the simplest way to appreciate these liquors is in a homemade hard seltzer: just add sparkling mineral water.
