The Lost Explorer Oaxaca Palenque

Don Fortino literally lives next door to the palenque and making The Lost Exporer Mezcals is his passion and vocation, something he shares with his daughter Xitlali, who will eventually take over as Maestro Mezcalero.

Don Fortino Ramos and Xitlali Ramos inspecting fermenters at the palenque

Don Fortino Ramos makes mezcal using traditional artisanal methods but with the application of science, knowledge and 40 years' experience. He also makes quality mezcal while also regarding and caring for his co-workers, their health and the ecology of his surroundings.

Ancestral methods are used, but in a clean and organised palenque, where everything has a place. While the uniformed obreros chop agave, load and unload ovens, the chef works in the kitchen, preparing a delicious lunch for all. This is a distillery that operates to the best international standards while respecting traditional production methods and traditions.

Paloma and I visited in May 2024 and found the workers' lunch as delicious as the mezcal. The following are from my notes and photographs from my phone that day.

Agave

The ripest agaves are hand-harvested from the arid and sun-soaked land of the Valles Centrales in Oaxaca state, typically after 8-12 years to reach maturity, depending on variety and, indeed, each individual agave.

In addition to the ubiquitous Espadín, The Lost Explorer notably uses Tobalá and Salmiana agave, planting three new wild agaves for every one harvested. Some 20% of the agave are sourced from The Lost Explorer's land, with the rest sourced from local growers. The Espadín are 100% cultivated, while the Tobalá and Salmiana are wild.

Only ripe agaves with sufficient sugar levels (measured in Brix) are used, with each variety having its own minimum Brix level, which in turn dictates the volume of mezcal produced:
Espadín: min 30 Brix – takes 10-12kg of agave to produce 1 litre of mezcal.
Tobalá: min 18 Brix – takes approx. 22kg of agave to produce 1 litre of mezcal.
Salmiana: min 16 Brix – takes approx. 32kg of agave to produce 1 litre of mezcal.

Skilled jimadores select the ripest agave to harvest, cutting away the plant's spiky protective leaves to leave the heart of the agave (piña). These weigh 36-90 kg (80-200 pounds), depending on the variety and individual plant.

Cooking

The piña are chopped in half, or quartered if large, before being loaded into the ovens for roasting. Both underground earthen pit ovens and above-ground masonry brick ovens are used. Both styles of oven fall within the artisanal mezcal category, as do all the processes used to make The Lost Explorer.

The earthen pit ovens are conical holes lined with volcanic rock, heated by burning reclaimed local wood, which is loaded into the bottom of the oven. A layer of heat-retaining river stones covers the burning wood before the piña are piled in and covered with a tarp and soil. Then 20 litres of water is poured into the centre of the mound covering the oven to steam the piñas, which are then left to slowly roast for three days before being uncovered.

A proportion (70%) of every batch of piñas is cooked in the brick ovens, where they are steam-roasted for 30-36 hours. These ovens are more environmentally friendly than the earthen ovens as they reduce wood usage and smoke emissions while also improving the conditions and impact of smoke on those working in the distillery. However, cooking 30% of the piñas in earthen ovens ensures that signature earthy, smoky notes are imparted to the mezcal.

Each pit oven holds 6-8 tonnes of agave, while the brick ovens hold 22-24 tonnes of agave.

Milling

After the cooked agaves are left to rest and cool for two to four days in the yard, the caramelised agaves are chopped, shredded and ground to break down their fibres and release their sweet juices for fermentation. Three to four tonnes of agave are milled per batch.

Electric mills are used as these are kinder to both animals and humans than donkey-powered tahonas and other more traditional backbreaking methods. It should be remembered that the method used to shred the piñas has no impact on the flavour of the finished mezcal, but traditional methods do impact those labouring to make the mezcal.

Fermentation

The juices extracted during milling are loaded into small, open-topped, oak fermenters and diluted with pure spring water to reduce to 12-13 Brix. (No fibres are used in the fermentation – only juice and water.) Wild yeasts, unique to The Lost Explorer palenque, naturally ferment the sweet roasted agave, turning fructose and glucose sugars into methanol to produce a lightly alcoholic mosto. Fermentation lasts five to eight days, and the Palenque has 24 fermenters, each with a capacity of 2,000 litres.

It is worth noting that for all categories of mezcal, even ancestral, it is permitted to use commercial yeasts. Despite this, The Lost Explorer relies solely on the natural yeasts living in and around the palanque. These natural yeasts are an essential part of the brand's signature style.

Distillation

The mosto is transferred into direct gas-fired copper alembic stills for the first of two distillations. The gas burners under each still allow the distillation temperature to be precisely controlled. Burners are also more environmentally friendly and better for the health of the distillers than the traditional burning of logs to heat stills.

The palenque has 14 stills, each with a capacity of 350 litres and filled to 300 litres. The first distillation produces a weak ordinario 20% alc./vol. spirit. This is redistilled in the same stills to produce mezcal at 63% alc./vol..

Heads (puntas and tails colas are separated from the heart rum (puntas) during first and second distillations, but rather than discard this alcohol, a separate distillation, in a dedicated pot still, recovers the best of the heads and tails. This recovered alcohol has low aroma and flavour levels, so it is either diluted and added to the fermenters or to the start of second distillations. Around 6% of the "third recover distillation" is discarded as waste heads and tails, and removal of this is key to achieving clarity of flavour in the finished mezcal.

Bottling

The mezcal is gradually diluted from still-strength to Don Fortino's preferred bottling strength of 42% alc./vol. with distilled spring water. This water is also distilled in the palenque using a dedicated stainless-steel still.

The Lost Explorer's distinctive pebble-shaped bottles are made in Mexico from recycled crystal glass. These are hand-filled and sealed with natural biodegradable corks, each hand-dipped in natural beeswax.

Each label is numbered by hand, then the filled bottles are laboriously hand-labelled, with each bottle first placed in a holder to help guide the straight application of the label.

Despite this labour-intensive process, an impressive 1,000 bottles are filled each day of the five-day working week at the palenque.