Cenizo - nombre de dios

Batch: D-CV-02

Release date: October 2025

Carmelo creator of the Cenizo - nombre de dios mezcal
Carmelo creator of the Cenizo - nombre de dios mezcal

At a glance:

  • Maguey: Cenizo (A. Durangensis)
  • Producer: Carmelo Vázquez
  • Region: Nombre de Dios, Durango
  • Cooking: 3 days in pit oven heated by volcanic rock
  • Milling: Axe & wood chipper
  • Fermentation: 3 days in open-air sabino wood troughs
  • Distillation: Double alembic, first in stainless steel, second in copper
  • Batch size: 150 litres
  • Date of production: April 2023
  • ABV: 52.4%

Right in the heart of Durango’s distillation hub, Nombre de Dios, Señor Carmelo Vázquez has been turning out tasty spirits for decades. He’s well known locally, and in fact taught a lot of the younger vinateros in town all they know.

This is a return to Carmelo for us, having released a Sotol from him in early 2025.

At some point in Carmelo’s long career as a vinatero, he decided to switch from working with the traditional wooden stills of Durango to utilise fractionally more modern metal alembic stills.

You can contrast a wood distilled Cenizo from the region here.

Carmelo’s copper alembic

Glued together with masa

Durango’s eponymous maguey Cenizo (Agave Durangensis), takes around 10 years to reach maturity - dependant of course on the specifics of its environment.

Once harvested, Carmelo follows the traditional horno roast and shallow Durango style fermentation seen commonly in the region.

Once harvested, Carmelo follows the traditional horno roast and shallow Durango style fermentation seen commonly in the region.

The difference from that point is Carmelo’s employment of the metal alembic stills. He makes a first distillation in stainless steel and a second in copper.

For him, these stills are easier to work with, more efficient, and require less wood to fuel.

For us, it makes a fascination side-by-side with our other Cenizo release of October 2025, which is made not far away with the traditional stills. Find it here.

Carmelo’s stainless steel and copper stills

Gracias Carmelo

House Tasting Notes:

Nose: Dusty Carmelo magic. Hints of something green, like an under-ripe corn, with a lot of underlying molasses sweetness.

Palate: Muscovado sweetness comes straight through on first sip, before a complex mix of spices hit the mid-palate.

Finish: Like walking down the spice aisle of a south-east asian street market. Long and very interesting, as you would hope for it’s +52% abv.

Grab a bottle for your collection while stocks last:

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