Mezcal Local

Mezcal Local is a pechuga style joven from San Pablo Villa de Mitla in the Tlacolula valleys of Oaxaca, made by third generation maestro mezcalero Leonel Hernandez, known as Don Gil. It is built from 100 percent Espadin harvested at around ten years, and as a destilado con corazon de agave it runs a third distillation in which agave hearts and a selection of fruits ride in the still.
The agave is roasted underground for three days, milled with an Egyptian wheel mill and fermented for ten days in wooden vats, then double distilled in copper. For the final pass the hearts act as a natural clarifier while apple, peach, banana and orange lend the spirit its character, giving a profile that is mild, very fruity and homogeneous with only restrained roast smoke behind the fruit. The result is rounded and gentle, long on the finish, and bottled at 42 percent.