Destilado de Agave, Arroqueno (Rodolfo and Efigenia Cortes)

• Mezcal produced in San Nicolas, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca
• Maestros Mezcaleros Rodolfo & Efigenia Cortes
• 100% Arroqueno (Agave americana)
• Cooked in a conical earthen oven
• Crushed using a traditional animal-drawn stone mill (tahona)
• Fermented with ambient yeast in wooden tanks (tinas) using well water
• Distilled once using a traditional copper pot still with condenser (refrescadera)
• Aromas of marzipan, potting soil, chalk dust, Bazooka bubble gum, Bosc pear, and subtle kiwi, with a buttery lactic note riding above; the palate attacks with a kiss of red currants alongside grilled pumpkin, corn husks, capers and olives, wet stone, saline, and a touch of iron, with the fruits reappearing in the mid-palate only to finish dry and angular. Quite a journey! 
• 120 liters produced in May 2024
• 51.2% ABV

While the town of San Nicolas in Miahuatlán sits along the Río Miahuatlán, and just a few miles south of La Compañia, Ejutla (the historic home of refrescadera-style, single-pass copper pot distillation), the mezcales made here show distinctly different organoleptic profiles, leaning much more into Miahuateco minerality in contrast to their sweeter and more tropical neighbors in the municipality. The mezcales made by mother-and-son team Efigenia and Rodolfo Cortes are particularly labor intensive, such that they only produce with two-to-three loaded ovens per year. They adjust the proof of their mezcal without the use of water, using only the puntas and colas (“heads” and “tails,” respectively); Efigenia—at 80 years old—is also locally admired for the quality and precision of her petates (floor mats or bedrolls made from palm). The family distills an array of agave, mostly ensambles including Mexicano, Espadín, and various Agave americana and Agave karwinskii varietals; early in 2024, though, they came into a rare grip of ripe Arroqueño and were able to offer this pure and exuberant batch. Only 120 liters were ultimately produced.