castilla - jayacatlán

Batch: IC-03

Release date: August 2022

Nicolas, a mezcal producer in Mexico
Nicolas, a mezcal producer in Mexico

At a glance:

  • Maguey: Castilla (A.Americana)
  • Producer: Isaac Cruz
  • Region: San Juan Bautisata Jayacatlán, Etla district, Oaxaca central valleys
  • Cooking: Small in earth horno
  • Milling: Machete & burro drawn tahona
  • Fermentation: Small clay pots
  • Distillation: Double pass in hybrid filipino still: clay and steel
  • Composition: Heads, hearts and tails
  • Batch size: 60 litres
  • Date of production: Late 2019
  • ABV: 47%

Isaac Cruz keeps a riverside palenque on the outskirts of San Juan Bautista Jayacatlán - a small community in the district of Etla, in the most northern part of Oaxaca’s central valleys.

The most distinctive factor of this region is the tradition mezcal producers follow of fermenting their cooked and crushed agave in small clay pots - the same type used for distillation in some areas.

This is one of only two communities in which we’ve seen this clay pot fermentation as regular practice. The other being San Bernardo Mixtepec in a different part of Oaxaca’s central valleys.

We’ve seen many uses for bagazo - the leftover agave fibres from mezcal production - and here’s yet another… stabilisation and insulation of the clay fermentation pots.

The high degree of agave-to-clay contact of these small vessels surely impacts the flavour of the resulting ferment, compared to the more commonly seen thousand-litre-plus wooden fermentation vats.

clay pots used to store mezcal
Clay pots foaming during fermentation of mezcal
A copper pot hanging in the room filled with clay pots full of fermenting agave

Isaac and his brother Cornelio work with local varieties of Agave Americana and Angustifolia, semi-cultivated in the hills around their palenque.

This, our third bottling from the family, is a batch of 100% maguey Castilla (A.Americana). This agave in this climate takes around 9-10 years to be ready for mezcal production, with this batch (IC-03) harvested and distilled in late 2019.

The palenque is equipped with two very small earthen agave ovens. The roasted plants are rough chopped by machete before being milled by a stone and concrete tahona, pulled by two burros.

recently harvested agave for mezcal
rows of young agave growing for mezcal production
A tahona stone Milling agave for mezcal
A donkey pulling a tahona stone to mill and crush pinas for mezcal

After fermentation in the idiosyncratic clay pots, the mash is double distilled in an equally unusual hybrid set-up. The clay tradition follows through to the top chamber of these filipino style stills, but the lower boiling pots in the community are made of metal - either steel or copper.

The condensing lid at the top of the still is copper. Cold water runs continuously over the lid, causing the vapour hitting its underside to condense and run out of the bamboo shoot as mezcal.

the tradition cooling method of mezcal
Steel or copper boiling pots for mezcal

Steel or copper boiling pots

Cold water runs continuously over the lid, causing the vapour hitting its underside to condense and run out of the bamboo shoot as mezcal.

When viewing agave spirits through the lens of terroir, it’s impossible not to include Jayacatlán as a uniquely identifiable region of production, and we’re very pleased to offer this bottling which is absolutely of its place.

Nicolas, a mezcal producer in Mexico

Gracias Isaac

House Tasting Notes:

Deceptively subdued straight out of the bottle, this initially oily number opens up to woody and grassy tones like you’re walking through a pine forest. Peppery background with lingering smoke on the finish. Just keeps getting better in the glass.

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