Cenizo Colonial Temoaya Mezcal (700ml / 43%)

Cenizo Colonial Temoaya mezcal is made with maguey Cenizo (agave Duranguensis). Enrique de la Cruz produces this mezcal in San Miguel Temoaya, where they roast in an underground wood-fired earthen oven, ferment with wild yeast in wooden “coffins” recessed into the ground, mill the agave by hand using machetes, and distill in the traditional alembique viejo of Durango. This is a “Filipino”-style still similar to the clay pot stills of Oaxaca – except that holding the liquid is a copper base vessel recessed into the mud-brick hearth over a fire, and the upper montera is an upside down cone made of wooden staves held together by metal rings (like a conical wooden barrel open at the large bottom end and closed with a barrel end at the top), with the liquid mezcal flowing out through a hollow log into a condenser tank with a copper coil.

Cenizo Colonial Mezcal is a single village concept from Germán Gutierrez and his family, starting with one from their own historic Hacienda Dolores in Durango City, dating back to the 17th Century, and another from producer Enrique de la Cruz in San Miguel Temoaya. Further products will be added from different villages and towns throughout Durango with a focus on showcasing terroir differences on Agave duranguensis. These producers have been planting about 50,000 new agave Cenizos every year since 2012. Starting around 2021, expect Cenizo Colonial to be sourced from 100% semi-wild agaves.

AROMA: Milk chocolate, cheese, herbal notes, old leather and cherries. Sounds like a dirty mess but it works well. You can smell it across the room. YUM!
TASTE: Pretty much on par with the nose but a tad sweeter . No bite whatsoever. The finish is dry, slightly smoky.
ENJOY: Sipping mezcal is enjoyed slowly and with friends. Makes premium cocktails.

Production Notes

• Maguey: Cenizo (agave Duranesis)
• State: Durango, Mexico
• Region: San Miguel Temoaya
• Cooking: Conical earthen pit
• Milling: By hand using machete
• Still Type: Copper
• Classification: Artisanal
• ABV of Mezcal: 43%