• Maguey(es): Tepextate, Bicuixe, Espadín

• Provenance of the maguey: Wild and cultivated capón agave from family land

• Producer: Eliazar García Vásquez

• Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán

• Soil type: Red earth/tierra colorada

• Rest time after harvest: ten days

• Oven: Conical earthen oven; five days with mesquite and oak

• Rest time after oven: three days

• Maceration: Machete and shredder

• Fermentation: 1200L- capacity Montezuma cypress sabino wood vat

• Dry fermentation time: 48 hours

• Wet fermentation time: 13 days

• Distillation: 2x in a 250L-capacity copper pot still

• Final composition: Heads, hearts, and tails

• Batch size: 60L

• Date of distillation: April, 2020

Born in 1982 in Logoche, Eliazar is part a younger generation of farmers and palenqueros that came of age in the post-NAFTA era, shaped by their experiences as campesinos and migrants. Eliazar and his brothers grew up under the tutelage of their father, Don Tómas, and grandfather, Don Nicolás - a true mezcal patriarch and one of the founders of Logoche. As boys, they were tasked with shepherding the livestock and assisting in the fields of corn, beans, squash, and agave. As they grew stronger, they entered the palenque to learn the traditions of fermentation and distillation that they practice today.

The privatization of services and subsidization of inferior quality crops that came along with the new free-trade agreement in 1994 had disruptive effects on life in rural Mexico, furthering economic difficulties and forcing many of its sons and daughters to look for work in the cities, or across the U.S. border in search of new possibilities. Eliazar and his brothers left Oaxaca as teenagers; one brother stayed and the other three came back to Logoche after nearly a decade abroad. With money saved and new experiences under their belt, each brother returned with the desire to start a family and dedicate himself 100% to the production of mezcal. In their absence, their father, uncles, and aunt founded Grupo Logoche, a producer owned cooperative, and individually planted thousands of agave that would begin to ripen upon their return.

With the arrival of the full moon on March 2020, Eliazar, together with his brothers Nícolas and Juan, harvested enough ripe agave to fill a nearly 10-ton earthen oven at the family’s palenque. For the production of this Tepextate-forward ensamble, Eliazar selected the most mature capón magueyes from a red and mineral-rich, tierra colorada family parcel. Losing about 30% of their water weight in the oven, the five Tepextates cooked down to about 250kg, the 20 Bicuixe, around 200kg, and three large espadínes reduced to another 200kg of caramelized maguey. With enough maguey to nearly fill a single Montezuma cypress sabino wood fermentation vat, the dry fibers were left to rest and ferment for over 48 hours before around 500 liters of well water was added. The tepache was monitored over the course of 13 days before the flavors and aromas dictated their readiness for distillation. Carefully combining the hearts with bits of heads and tails, Eliazar composed 60 liters at 50.9% alc.