COMUNIDAD – Santa Catarina Minas
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Heladio Lopez learned his craft working in excellent destilerías in Santa Catarina Minas. He has built a small shed next to his house where he distills superb small clay-pot batches from local agaves.
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Santa Catarina (pop 1976) is at 5190 feet in a small valley in mountainous terrain south of Oaxaca city. Rich volcanic soils.
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Two of Heladio’s three clay stills
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The single fermentation vat. Below, the space where Heladio crushes roasted agaves with a mazo (mallet).
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Placing the upper pot for the next run.
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Tending the fire. Even heat is crucial.
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Sealing the still with bagasso, the agave solids from an earlier run.
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Tripón, the agave in Heladio’s Comunidad no.12, is a large local Karwinskii variant, seldom distilled. Its mezcal is rich and complex.