Tasting a distillation run of wild agave tobalá coming off the Hoga still at the Los Danzantes distillery in Santiago Matatlan, outside Oaxaca City. No agave makes better mezcal than the small and wild tobalá: elegant, refined, beautifully flavored.
Posted in: Mezcal, Mezcal Info, Tech NotesTech Note: Distilling Mezcal from Wild Tobalá
Tech Note: Tasting the First Distillation Run of Mezcal
Tasting a first distillation run coming off a still at the Los Danzantes distillery in Santiago Matatlan, outside Oaxaca City. The first run is always very sweet, and ever so soft.
Posted in: Mezcal, Mezcal Info, Tech NotesDistillery Posts: Adjusting to Proof with Old, Understrength Brandy
Just before bottling, we often have to slightly dilute a brandy so it’s at the same proof as we say on the label, which has already been printed. So we create and use aged faibles, slightly understrength brandies, of various ages (one is almost 30 years old) so the dilution is with something congruent, in fact adds a tiny complexity.
Posted in: Distillery PostsTech Notes: Distilling with Agave Solids
After a first distillation run at Los Danzantes. Ernesto is pitchforking the solids out, cleaning the still for the next rum. Distilling the solids makes the mezcal richer, more complex, and gives it the characteristic vegetal overtones of artisan mezcal.
Posted in: Mezcal, Mezcal Info, Tech NotesTech Notes: Including Solids in Mezcal Distillation
Moving the milled agave solids to the still at Los Danzantes. Distilling with solids is more difficult (they want to cook to the inside of the still), but adding them makes the mezcal richer, more complex, and gives it the typical vegetal overtones of artisan mezcal. It’s a lot of work.
Posted in: Mezcal, Mezcal Info, Tech NotesTech Note: Interview with Hector Vasquez about Mezcal Distillation Cuts
Artisan mezcal: Hector Vasquez on how the Alipús distillers make their cuts differently to satisfy the NORMA export regulations, plus encouraging the distillers to use their noses instead of tasting, which is how we work at Germain-Robin.
Posted in: Alipús, Mezcal Info, Tech NotesTech Note: Putting the Top on a Potstill
Putting the top on a potstill at Los Danzantes after filling the still. This is exactly how any artisan mezcal distiller does it. What got cut off in the video is wrapping the connections with a strip of cloth, which goes back for centuries.
Posted in: Mezcal, Mezcal Info, Tech NotesTech Note: Organizing Fermentation at Los Danzantes
Distilería Los Daznates has set up a sophisticated system of rolling tanks so they can have several batches in sequential fermentation. It’s about how to be Mexico’s #1 artisan mezcal without sacrificing rigorous artisan methods.
Posted in: Mezcal, Mezcal Info, Tech NotesTech Note: Interview with Héctor Vasquez on Yeast Inoculation
Fermentation with native yeasts is tricky. This is Hector Vasquez on inoculating the must with yeast collected from previous
fermentations, this to get complete and consistent fermentation. This is a great example of Los Danzantes’ work on improving ancestral methods. There’s a lot of info on agave fermentation at http://www.ianchadwick.com/tequila/fermentation.htm
Posted in: Mezcal, Mezcal Info, Tech NotesTech Note: Remixing Fermenting Agave
Remixing the solids down into the tina, the agave fermentation tank, at Los Danzantes. The solids tend to float to the top. Remixing enriches the fermentation, so you get more flavor & complexity. It’s like punching down the skins when you’re fermenting crushed grapes.
Posted in: Mezcal, Mezcal Info, Tech Notes