Destilado de Agave, Mexicano 'Ignacio Juarez'

• Destilado de agave produced in Miahuatlán, Oaxaca
• Maestro Mezcalero Ignacio Juarez
• 100% Mexicano (A. rhodacantha)
• Cooked in a conical earthen pit oven
• Crushed using a traditional stone tahona mill
• Fermented in open air cypress vats (tinas)
• Distilled once using a traditional copper pot still with condenser (refrescadera)
• Distilled in May 2023; 100 liters produced
• 51.7% ABV

If you were lucky enough to taste a bottle of Ignacio’s recent batch of Rayo, also under the Gusto Historico label, then you already know what magic he can make of Agave rhodacantha. Coaxing huge, fruit-forward mezcales out of this verdant green agave alongside his father, Saturnino, Ignacio works wonders with this Mexicano, which once dominated the mountainsides of Miahuatlán but in recent years is slowly being replaced by faster, higher-yielding Espadín.

Thick on the nose with kiwi, passion fruit, candied lemon and black tea (calling all Arnold Palmer drinkers), jicama, grilled peaches, strawberry cream, and a flamed orange twist followed by a complex palate that adds dried herbs, fresh bricks, river moss, and crispy shallots. Way too much fun!