Mezcal
Mexico / Tepeztate-Espadín Mezcal is produced by mezcalero Hugo Quinto in San Dionisio Ocotepec, Oaxaca. Mature 8-year-old Espadin (Agave angustifolia) and 20-year-old (Agave marmorata) are hand-selected from nearby farms. Next, the harvested piñas are cooked for 6 days in an earthen pit oven fired by locally chopped oak. The cooked agaves are crushed with a tahona and then fermented in open-air wooden vats for up to 15 days. The fermented agaves are double distilled in copper stills. After the first distillation, only the hearts are used in the second distillation. Finally, the mezcal is bottled at a local facility about 10 minutes away from the palenque.