Mezcal, Tobala Capon

• Mezcal produced in Bramaderos, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca
• Maestro Mezcalero Onofre Ortíz Ortíz
• Produced from 100% Tobalá (A. potarum), using 100 piñas (3,000 kg) matured 12–16 years and harvested capón
• Agave rested for 5 days after harvest
• Cooked for 3 days in an oak-fired conical stone oven then rested 3 days
• Milled using a combination of axe, machete, and small mechanical grinder
• Fermented 5 days in cypress wood tanks (tinas) using ambient yeast and well water
• Distilled twice using an alembic copper pot still
• 2,000 liters produced
• The nose is faintly floral, and ripe with orchard fruit like macoun apple and d’anjou pear; dense texture on the palate, with pronounced minerality and notes of fresh strawberry, kiwi candy, green grapes, and fresh sweet herbs
• 48% ABV

Less common in Miahuatlán than some parts further north in Oaxaca, the small and beloved Tobalá really shines here! The variety’s fruitier profile components are pulled forth, bolstered by the region’s trademark mineral salinity, which Onofre leans into even further. Generous and crushable, this is among the most wide-reaching and crowd-pleasing batches we’ve tasted in a minute.