Del Maguey Santa Catarina Minas Pechuga Mezcal

A pechuga mezcal from Del Maguey, the single village house founded in 1995 by Ron Cooper, which names each bottling after the Oaxacan town where it is made. This one comes from Santa Catarina Minas, the clay pot village of the Minero tradition, made by a Zapotec palenquero family using the local agave Espadin and traditional methods.

Pechuga is a third distillation. Before that final run the distillate is charged with wild apples, pineapple, rice, plums and almonds, and a raw chicken breast is suspended in the still. The vapour passes through the breast, which adds nothing meaty but rounds and balances the spirit while the fruit and nuts lend a subtle aromatic lift. The result is smooth and layered, with baked apple, almond and warm spice over the roasted agave and earthy, mineral base of a Minas mezcal, bottled at 49%.