Barril - San Agustín Amatengo

Batch: LEJ-08

Release date: April 2026

At a glance:

  • Maguey: Barril (A. Karwinski)
  • Producer: Luis Enrique Juarez Ramírez
  • Region: San Agustín Amatengo, Ejutla, Oaxaca
  • Cooking: 40 piñas in classic in-earth horno, 3-day roast
  • Milling: Bull driven tahona
  • Fermentation: 5-6 days in open air wooden tinas with well water
  • Distillation: 2-in-1 copper alembic with refrescadera
  • Batch size: 175 litres
  • Date of production: December 2023
  • ABV: 50.6%

Oaxaca’s southern Ejutla district is known for its bold culture – its cuisine, its traditional dance, and its agave spirits. It's not uncommon to find very high proof distillations here.

Having been working with the Ramírez family in this community for some years now, we're very pleased to announce a double release of single agave batches: this Barril (Agave Karwinski), and batch LEJ-05 (Arroqueño).

The release is accompanied by a blog post on refrescadera style distillation.

Cultivated Agave

Freshly roasted

Luis & Sergio unloading Tobaziche

Here in San Agustín Amatengo, Luis and his family employ a ‘refrescadera’ distillation technique that allows for a 2-in-1 distillation with a single pass of the alembic still.

Read more about this technique in our blog post.

Find more batches from the palenque in the Oaxaca Central Valley section of our mezcal map.

Milling with tahona

Reflux plate of the refrescadera

Installing the refrescadera

40 cultivated maguey Barril (A. Karwinski) plants were harvested by Luis in late-November 2024. In early December the 40 piñas were roasted for 3 days, crushed with a tahona so large it takes two bulls to pull, fermented with well water, and distilled in the quintessential 2-in-1 style.

Cooking

Distilling

After final adjustment with ring water, the final batch yield was 175 litres.

Gracias Luis, Sergio, y familia

House Tasting Notes:

Nose: Rich salted fudge with brown butter, and creamy earthiness.

Palate: A bright, powerful, and candy sweet hit.

Finish: Black pepper spiced stewed plumbs, with notes of soft moss.

With time in the glass: Really exciting. Absolute banger.

Grab a bottle for your collection while stocks last:

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