San Pedro Teozacoalco
San Pedro Teozacoalco, an idyllic village in a lush mountain valley in the Mixteca Alta region of Oaxaca, is the most remote village Del Maguey works with. The journey to San Pedro Teozacoalco involves hours on some of Mexico's worst dirt roads alongside steep rock faces, past a red lake and through a palm forest.
Fernando Caballero Cruz, known in his village as El Bigote (The Mustache) due to his thick handlebar salt-and-pepper moustache. He makes mezcal from a variety resembling a huge Tobalá agave, known locally as Papalometl, named for the Nahuatl word for butterfly (papalotl).
Fernando uses a self-made stainless-steel pot still with a clay condenser and carrizo (Mexican bamboo) tubing. This stainless-steel pot is heated by and sits over an oakwood-burning fireplace.
Production notes
Elevation: 5,200 feet (1,585 meters)
Agave: Papalome (Agave cupreata ×
A. potatorum) (10-12 years old)
Roast: Granite earthen pit horno for 3 to 5 days
Mill: Horse-pulled wheel
Water source: Spring
Fermentation: Natural yeast in 220 litre open-top wooden tinas
Distillation: Double distilled in 60 litre direct-fired stainless-steel and clay stills
Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal
Status: Bottlers not distillers
Established: 1995
Owner: Del Maguey Ltd
Capacity: Not supplied
Visitor Policy: Not generally accessible
Website: Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal
Address: Macedonio Alcala No. 403 Local 7, Centro Historico, Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, 68000
Established: 1995
Owner: Del Maguey Ltd
Capacity: Not supplied
Visitor Policy: Not generally accessible
Website: Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal
Address: Macedonio Alcala No. 403 Local 7, Centro Historico, Oaxaca de Juarez, Oaxaca, 68000
