tobala - minas
Batch: TPH-01
Producer: ‘Tio’ Pedro Hernandez
Agave: Tobala (A. Potatorum)
Community: Santa Catarina Minas, Ocotlán, Oaxaca
Distillation style: Clay pots, double pass.
ABV: 47.8%
Batch size: 53 litres
Distillation date: Late 2018
Release date: April 2022
Profile notes: Earthy, mineral, rich, a little smoky - classic Minas.
Pedro tending to one of his still (left) and adding water the the oven (right)
Here we find ourselves back in probably the most iconic Mezcal community there is - Santa Catarina Minas, in the Ocotlán district of Oaxaca’s central valleys - where 3rd generation maestro ‘Tio’ Pedro Pascual Hernandez has worked with maguey for over 50 years.
Minas is famous for its centuries old style of distilling in clay pots, which come from Oaxaca’s most traditional pottery village, Santa Maria Atzompa. To drink good mezcal from Minas is a special and increasingly expensive experience.
The roast at La Esperanza, ‘Tio’ Pedro’s palenque
Cooking at La Esperanza, ‘Tio’ Pedro’s palenque, happens in an un-lined earthen pit, with water added through a hole in the top of the earth cover part way through the process. Adding water creates steam and is considered to lead to a more even cook.
La Esperanza clay pot still with copper lid
‘Tio’ Pedro with his clay still
Milling of the cooked agave is done the old fashioned way, by hand with a heavy wooden mallet, as is the tradition if the community, which is generally seen as the gold standard for ‘Ancestral Mezcal’.
Mashed agave is fermented in classic wooden tinas before being double distilled in the famous clay pots.
Preparing the oven at night for an early morning roast
While Pedro and his nephew Lalo work with a spectrum of agave from the region, this batch is 100% maguey Tobala (A.Potatorum).
Gracias ‘Tio’ Pedro
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