Working with 14-year-old maguey mexicano harvested from the chalky soil surrounding their home and palenque, Emanuel and his father Victor roasted the piñas, crushed them with their ox-drawn tahona, and fermented the mash in the shade of their banana trees, before distilling the batch on their copper alambiques con refrescaderas.

Though father and son work together on every batch, the decisions about fermentation, cuts during distillation, and final blending of this batch were made by Emanuel. (When in doubt, you can always check for an “ER” in the batch code for Emanuel Ramos, or a “VFR” for his father.)

Mexicano is on the shortlist of favorite agaves for the Ramos family to plant and distill, making its way into nearly all of their mezclas, along with at least one pure batch each year.

This particular batch is what the Ramos family drank to celebrate the arrival of Emanuel and his wife Remedios’s second child Emanuel Jr. this July. Please join them in celebrating the next generation of mezcaleros with this bottle.