Mescal Distillery

We drove up into the mountains behind Valle de Juarez to visit a very old mescal distillery. The owner Don Jesus knows that his father and grandfather distilled mescal on the this site and believes his family has been doing so for over 200 years. Their mescal is totally organic.

Don Jesus and his two sons harvest wild maguey plants in the surrounding mountains.

Leaves of the maguey plant are cut away revealing the heart of the plant called the Pina. A fire is built in the bottom of this pit. When the wood has burn down, the coals are covered with a layer of lava rock. The next layer are cut up pieces of the pinas. The pinas are covered with clean burlap sacks and then the pit is sealed with dirt and allowed to cook for 8-10 days. 

The roasted pinas are sweet like sugar cane. They are moved to this pit where they are crushed. A donkey or mule pulls the stone round and round.

The crushed maguey is placed in these fermentation pits, covered in black plastic and sealed with dirt. The length of fermentation is dependent on the weather.

The stills with fires below

Cool water runs in and out of bowls on top of the stills. 

The cool water causes the mescal to condense and flow into the small pots.

Appetizers and mescal shots were served. I passed on the mescal, but enjoyed the food. You could buy a liter, if you brought you own bottle, for $350 pesos. Kevin said two years ago they only paid $100 pesos.