Hopefully, you still have a little of Chucho’s arroqueño left over from Vol. 7 (or at least a good memory), so you can do a little side-by-side with this month’s mexicano, made by the same mezcalero, in the same palenque, just a few weeks apart. The only differences being the agave varietal and where the plants grew. This time it’s Agave rhodacantha grown just down the road from the palenque in San Baltazar Chichicapam.

The 8-year-old mexicanos used in this batch were velilla (mature, just before sprouting their quiote) when harvested, and were the first ever cultivated crops to be grown on a virgin plot of tierra arcillosa (clay rich soil) that belongs to Chucho. He described the land and plants as beyond organic.

While the flavors and style of this batch are all Chichicapam, the hijuelos (baby plants) were originally purchased in Santa Maria Zoquitlán - an area with plenty of mezcal fame to its name - 90 minutes south of Chichicapam. The rainy season is the best time for planting, but it’s also the best time for torrential downpours. After picking up up a truckload of planters from his magueyero, Chucho found himself caught in a thunderstorm and flash flood that nearly ended with his truck sinking in the large river that borders just outside of town. Thankfully, Chucho and most of his plants survived to tell their tale.