Don Amado Mezcal Rustico

Don Amado, Rústico

Made at the historic Real de Minas distillery in Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca. Master distiller Germán Bonifacio Arellanes produces this Rústico by centuries-old traditions: slowly roasted Espadín maguey, natural fermentation, and double distillation in ceramic pot stills. This is the region's minero style: intense, smoky, and artisanal.

Style: traditional, mineral, and wood-fired. Flavor: citrus-forward Espadín, balanced ash, roasted nuts, corn, herbaceousness, light caramel, and fresh herbs. Production: four days of earthen roasting, wild fermented with bagaso, and slowly double distilled in clay pot stills. Character: a pure, robust mezcal in minero style, with earthy depth, natural smoke, and strong terroir.

Data Master Distiller: Germán Bonifacio Arellanes Region: Santa Catarina Minas, Oaxaca Altitude: approx. 1,463 m ABV: 47% Brix: approx. 26° from Espadín (A. angustifolia Haw)

Process

Espadín maguey halved and quartered (cogollo removed) and roasted for four days in an earthen pit oven over a mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood.

Roasted maguey macerated with a blade-spindle destrozadora (traditional shredding technique from Minas).

Natural fermentation in 1,400 L pine wood vats, together with bagaso, using only open-air wild yeasts.

Double distilled in fire-fired ceramic pot stills (minero style) to approximately 53% ABV, then reduced with triple-distilled demineralized water.

Un-aged, bottled directly at 47% ABV.