Mezcal, Destilado con Tamarindo y Chiles

• Mezcal distilled with tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and various chiles 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
• Raw tamarind and endemic Oaxacan chiles (morita, arbol, guajillo, and ancho) are added directly to the mezcal during the second distillation
• 45.2% ABV

After launching his family’s mezcal brand, Salvador found himself paying more and more attention to what the people on the streets of Oaxaca and Los Angeles were drinking. Inspired by the frequent coupling of tamarind and chile —most often glued together as candied tamarind straws in micheladas—Sal set out to craft a distilled version of the pairing. Raw tamarind sourced just outside San Luis del Rio, Oaxaca, is dropped directly into the mezcal during the second distillation alongside endemic Oaxacan varieties of chile peppers, freshly cut: morita, arbol, guajillo, and ancho. Though the distillation process removes the scorching heat of the peppers, their flavors remain in full, offering a provocative yet approachable mezcalito to sip or even mix with!