Destilado de Agave Arroqueno Ancestral

• Destilado de agave produced in Yeguesia, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca, and bottled under the In Situ label, Mezcasiarca (NOM EM-012-SC)
• Maestro mezcaleros: “In Situ Team”
• Distilled from 100% Arroqueño (A. Oaxacensis oaxacensis)
• Cooked in a traditional earthen oven
• Milled by hand using wooden mallets (mazo)
• Fermented in open-air wooden vats (tinas) made of oak
• Distilled twice using traditional Filipino-style clay pot stills; distilled to still strength (alta gama, meaning “no adjustments”)
• Bold aromas of toasted hazelnut, salted caramel, burnt orange, hot iron, and fresh soil, giving way to a racy yet subtly sweet palate featuring notes of coriander, hibiscus, taffy, damp hay, cherry bark, and wet stone
• 125 liters produced
• 49% ABV

Distillation of Arroqueño in Oaxaca leans broadly in two directions: thick, sweet examples produced using traditional clay pots, and vegetal, buttery numbers produced using copper alembic stills. This inspired batch manages to strike both chords, walking a line between bright and earthy—which makes sense considering it was made in Miahuatlán using clay pots rather than copper!

Tasting Notes

Fans of arroqueño will tell you that distillation of the variety in Oaxaca can lean broadly in two directions, with thick, sweet examples produced using traditional clay pots in places like Santa Catarina Minas, and grassy, vegetal, buttery numbers produced using copper alembic stills (particularly those distilled with refrescaderas in Miahuatlán). This inspired batch manages to strike both chords, walking a delicate balance between the bright and herbaceous, and the rich and earthy—which makes all the more sense considering that it was made in Miahuatlán, but using clay pots rather than copper. A brilliant zenith for Oaxacan Arroqueño.