COMUNIDAD – EL LAZO
Comunidad El Lazo is hand-distilled by Angel Cruz Robles.in a tiny community in the mountains west of Sola de Vega.
Angel’s clay-pot destilería is at 5410 feet on the far side of the ridge west of Sola de Vega. The grey road is the winding highway to the coast at Huatulco. The circle is Angel’s palenque. El Lazo (pop. 122) is scattered houses along the road. It’s about a 3-hour drive from Oaxaca city.
Angel’s clay-pot destilería is at 5410 feet on the far side of the ridge west of Sola de Vega. The grey road is the winding highway to the coast at Huatulco. The circle is Angel’s palenque. El Lazo (pop. 122) is scattered houses along the road. It’s about a 3-hour drive from Oaxaca city.
Ancestral roasting, crushing, fermentation, distillation. Angel’s methods are hands-on and thorough: he cuts and splits his own firewood for the still. He grows his own agaves on land uphill from the distillery, using clones from wild agaves.
Angel’s pit oven for roasting is small because clay stills are small, 25-35 liters. His batches are usually about 280 bottles
The canoa and mazo Angel uses to crush his roasted agaves. His grandfather, 86, still uses a mazo.
A rich fermentation.
One of Angel’s clay potstills
Just above the destilería. Agaves from the region are famous: flavorful, subtly intense.
Agave spears used as spouts.
The wall of a shed: flattened oil tins