Mezcal, Destilado con Pechuga con Mole Coloradito

• Mezcal distilled with turkey and mole coloradito, in Tlacolula de Matamoros, Oaxaca, at Casa Palacios (NOM 0654X)
• Maestro Mezcalero Flavio Pérez Méndez
• Made using 100% Espadín (Agave angustifolia) matured 8 years
• Cooked in a conical earthen pit using Encino oak that has been certified as sustainably harvested
• Milled by horse-drawn stone tahona
• Fermented in traditional wooden vats (tinas) using well water
• Distilled twice using an alembic copper pot still
• Turkey prepared with traditional mole coloradito is suspended in the still during the second distillation
• 51.4% ABV

While the tradition of pechuga is strong in Oaxaca, several examples from Puebla are made with mole poblano and Salvador was inspired to respond to that sense of regional specificity with a traditional Oaxacan mole of his own, using his mother’s recipe for mole coloradito, the distinct red mole of their home state made slowly from 27 local ingredients. Sal also became convinced that most pechugas were too minimalist or reserved, too delicate in the flavors of their chosen protein.  He decided to push the limits and definition of “pechuga” by not simply using the turkey breast, but instead using the whole bird, filling its cavity with the mole and coating its exterior, too, before suspending the carcass in the still during the second distillation. Full of flavor like a mouthful of mole, this mezcal is one more example of the strength of Salvador and Flavio’s vision and production team.