Page 167 - GV2020 Portfolio Master

MEZCALERO
Mezcalero is a vehicle for displaying the work of individual artisan distillers who work in tiny distilleries,
often in remote villages. The brand was conceived by Ansley Coale of Craft Distillers, developed by
Destileria Los Danzantes, and first released in 2009. They started Mezcalero because craft methods,
artisanal methods, are what they believe in. Artisan mezcal is a world-class spirit, but – recently
discovered and increasingly popular – it is on the verge of being corrupted by the commercial force of the
marketplace. Mezcalero seeks to keep it whole.

Mezcalero craftdistillers.com
Village Agave Distiller
#21 San Luis del Rio Tepeztate/Tobala Don Baltazar Cruz Gomez $68.99 (816 bottles made)
#23 San Baltazar Gualavila Sierrudo Don Cosme Hernandez $68.99 (768 bottles made)

Special Bottlings
#5 Durango Ceñizo Don Rubén Solis Lozano $95.00 (120 bottles made)

ANIMAS MEZCAL
Animas is one of very few distilleries sourcing the rare wild agave cupreata in Oaxaca, locally known as papalometl.
Very few distillers source their cupreata in Oaxaca: it’s usually found further north. Eber Villalobos has been in the AGA
mezcal trade for 11 years, and is using his knowledge to produce a genuinely excellent mezcal – no bells & whistles,
just the real thing. Eber has worked in Silacoyoapam, up north in the mountainous Mizteca, where he sources his
wild papalometl (agave cupreata), but has moved to a notably well-run distillery in Santiago Matatlan operated by
Procoro Bautista. Procoro Bautista distills a 100% papalometl, a truly gorgeous espadín, and an ensamble of the two VE
agaves. Everything is done as it should be, or better. This is great mezcal. Animas is Spanish for “souls”; below it,
“spirit liquified”. Purifying and concentrating the soul of the agave, its spirit, is what great mezcal distillation is
about.

Animas Mezcal craftdistillers.com
Animas Espadin Joven (6pk) $36.00
Animas Ensamble Joven - Espadin/Cupreata (6pk) $47.99
Animas Papalometl - 100% Wild Cupreata (6pk) $83.00

MEXICAT RAICILLA
Beautifully distilled single-batch artisanal Raicilla de Costa (from the coastal region of Jalisco state). Raicilla is a
spirit made only in Jalisco state from agaves distilled in remote areas. Raicilla is a mezcal – but not on the label, due
to Mexican regulations. Raicilleros uses at least nine kinds of agave, all of them wild, some with several differing
local varieties. Raicilla is artisanal as it gets, going way back in time; its distillation was introduced in the 1600s
from the Spanish colonies in the Philippines, which resulted in the common use of the primitive Filipino double
chamber clay still. Many raicillas are roasted in above-ground clay ovens instead of the fire pits of Oaxaca. Mexicat
is a clay-oven roasted raicilla hand-distilled 100% from the deep-flavored agave Maximiliana, a large wild
agave that resembles a giant tobalá. Each bottle’s cat mask is an individual Huichol artistic creation. Alvarez
believes roasting the agaves in clay ovens creates a spirit that is more pure, a spirit in which the flavors and
aromas of the ingredients are not obscured by wood smoke or by the earth that is used to cover a Palenque.

Mexicat Raicilla craftdistillers.com
Mexicat Raicilla (6pk) $50.00

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