Artisanal process

Agave selection

The different types of agaves are selected once they have reached maturity, this varies with each type of agave, some mature in 7 years and others can take 17 years or more.

Jima

The agave leaves are removed with a tool called “coa”, revealing the center of the agave, known as “piña”.

Cooking

This process is carried out in a conical stone oven, in the center of which firewood is placed and set on fire, and on top of it river stones are placed. Once the stones are hot, bagasse is placed on top of them, this serves to prevent the agave from having direct contact with the hot stone and not burning. The agave is placed on top of the bagasse and it is covered with a canvas and earth to maintain the heat inside for 4 or 5 days.

Milling

The agave is crushed utilizing the Tahona process, which consists of a circular quarry stone that is pulled by animal traction and whose purpose is to crush the cooked agave.

Fermentation

Once the milling is finished, the crushed agave is transferred to pine vats and a little natural water is added to start the fermentation process. This mixture is left to rest for 3 to 5 days so that the wild yeast converts the sugar into alcohol. It is important to mention that in this process no type of sugar or external agent is added to accelerate fermentation.

Distillation

The result of the fermentation is poured into copper pot stills, where a double discontinuous distillation process is carried out to obtain mezcal. The stills are heated with direct wood fire.