Destilado de Agave, 'Lamparillo - Durango'

• Destilado de agave produced in Nombre de Dios, Durango
• Maestro Mezcalero Ventura Gallegos
• 100% Lamparillo (Agave asperrima)
• Cooked in a traditional pit oven made of earth and stone
• Milled in a stone pit using an axe
• Fermented using ambient yeast in a shallow stone well lined with wood
• Distilled twice using a “viejo” still, a hybrid copper pot with a conical wooden chamber above and an external copper condensing arm
• Rested a minimum 2 years before bottling
• Massively complex and generous, this mezcal does not stop unfolding to reveal new, savory depths. Aromas of sun-dried tomatoes, aged cheddar, coriander seed, wet lumber, pineapple skin, Bosc pear, yellow flowers (particularly squash blossoms?), and river moss (or is that oyster shell?) give way to a lively palate of jasmine, white peppercorn, pine ash, soft caramel, fennel seed, dried apple, and broken slate. Endless exploration.
• 50% ABV (ABV may vary batch to batch)

Three years ago, maestro mezcalero and local community activist Ventura Gallegos assumed full operations of the small vinata (distillery) where he makes his mezcal, preserving the once lively cooperative distilling site where he’d worked alongside his mezcalero family and neighbors for more than twenty years. While he works predominantly with Cenizo, the most common agave variety in the region, he is also known for his stubborn use of rarer—and more difficult—varieties, such as Lamparillo (Agave asperrima), and for the superb quality and engrossing depth he coaxes from these unusual species.

Agave asperrima is more commonly found in northern states of Mexico, from Durango to Tamaulipas and beyond, even appearing in agave gardens as far north as Nevada. Small in stature, the species is aesthetically attractive, with pale green leaves that are rough like sandpaper and shaped like wide, flat triangles; it’s almost like a baby Agave americanathat’s been spending too much time indoors. Growing to be just a shade bigger than the famously diminutive Agave potatorum at maturity, the species also sports a discouragingly low sugar yield by weight (it can take as much as 40 kilos to produce one liter of mezcal) and so is quite uncommon to see in regular production of mezcal. Which is a shame! The spirit it offers, particularly in this careful and generously rested example, is quite distinct and quite delicious.