Destilado de Agave, Cupreata 'Benigno Sanchez Gatica'

• Destilado de Agave produced in El Peral, Guerrero
• Maestro Mezcalero Benigno Sánchez Gatica
• Produced from 100% Papalote (A. cupreata) harvested with 2 years capón
• Cooked 6 days in an earthen pit oven, with Encino amarillo
• Fermented 7 days in white pine (ayacahuite) tanks using spring water
• Distilled twice using traditional copper pot stills
• Rested 14 years and 11 months in glass before bottling
• Melon rind, dark chocolate covered cherries, a touch of guava, aloe vera, strawberry seed, damp wool, burnt sugar, sweet potato skin, a memory of sawdust in the woodshop
• 50 liters produced (2008)
• 46.3% ABV

It’s a rare opportunity when one can taste mezcal more than 10 years madurado en vidrio (matured in glass), a process that allows volatile compounds to integrate over years of interaction with oxygen and one another. Prolonged aging  in glass seems, at times, to elevate certain qualities (softer, subtler flavors may step forward) while muting others (often the most angular and aggressive aromatics); after nearly 15 years, this batch has mellowed into itself, becoming comforting like a soft blanket and a bowl of fruits.