Description

• Mezcal Animas is a small co-op out of Santiago Matatlan, Oaxaca. Their main focus is utilizing wild cupreata agave grown in the mountainous region of Mixteca, which is shared by Guerreo, Puebla, and Oaxaca. With over a decade of experience in the mezcal business, Eber Villalobos is in charge of finding the wild agaves and bringing them back to the palenque in Santiago Matatlan, where maestro mezcalero, Procoro Bautista turns them into spirit.    The agave for this particular batch of Cupreata, or Papalote, as it is referred to in Oaxaca, was nine years old. The agaves were cut by hand and roasted in a stone underground oven over the course of 5 days. After roasting, they were crushed by tahona and moved into wooden tanks to spontaneously ferment. The fermentation time typically takes around 5 days depending on the climate and surrounding microorganisms of the season.    After fermentation is complete, the juice (tepache), agave flesh, and fibers are placed into a copper pot and distilled twice. The first distillation results in a low grade alcohol that is referred to as ordinario. The second distillation creates a refined, higher-proof alcohol that is referred to as rectificación. At this point the spirit is adjusted with a small amount of heads and left to rest in glass for a number of years before being bottled.    Look for notes of butterscotch, agave nectar, sarsaparilla, and honeydew.