PROCESS
Step 1:: HARVEST Mature agave plants are harvested by cutting off the leaves that protect the piña, or heart. Mature piñas can weigh up to 300 lbs. This job requires technical skills and can be dangerous as the leaves of some varietals are very sharp.
Step 2:: STEAM The agave piñas are cooked by roasting them. Earthen pits are lined with stones and heated by a wood fire. Once the stones are hot, the piñas put in the pit and sealed with dry agave pulp and earth. This process essentially creates a steaming effect. They are cooked for roughly 3-7 days.
Step 3:: CRUSH The roasted piñas are removed from the pits, cooled, and chopped into smaller pieces. Then, the pieces of cooked agave are crushed into a fermentable mash using a tahona. A tahona is a huge and heavy stone wheel, typically pulled by donkeys or horses.
Step 4:: FERMENT The piña mash is loaded into large wooden vats and is covered with water. The shredded agave, wood, and wild yeast turn the sugars into alcohol. The distiller will test the liquid and mash to see when it is time to distill. This is roughly a week, more or less. A skilled palenque master, making mezcal the ancestral method, will simply just sense when it is ready.
Step 5:: DISTILL The fermented mash and liquid is transferred to stills. The stills can be made of copper, clay, or stainless steel. Ferments are separated by heat and steam. Essentially, the ethanol is extracted. The particles that remain after distilling give mezcal a variety of uniquely complex aromas and flavors.
Step 6:: BOTTLE The distilled mezcal is bottled and labeled by machine or by hand. This is where YOU come into the process to enjoy the fruits of a beautiful & laborious process!