Tobalá
Maguey: Tobalá (A. Potatorum)
Master Distiller: Mtra. Concepción Hernández
Producing Community: Logoche, Miahuatlán, Oaxaca (~4,600 feet)
Region: Miahuateco
Cook: Steamed and roasted in a stone-lined earthen oven
Mash: Horse-drawn tahona mill
Fermentation: Natural spring water and wild yeasts in Mexican Cypress vats
Distillation: Twice in copper alembic still with refrescadera; Adjusted with distilled well water
Batch: C-TEP-X/22
Production volume: 85 liters
Production date: October, 2022
ABV: 48%
TASTING NOTES
Nose: Dark cacao, caramelized agave
Palate: Mineral forward and earthy
About the Producer: Mtra. Concepción Hernández
Concepción Hernández, better known as Conchita, is a mage from Logoche San Luis Amatlán, Miahuatlán.
Conchita's grandparents were mezcaleros in Miahuatlán, Oaxaca. This tradition was passed on to her parents who lived through the time when mezcal was contraband and sold for five pesos a liter. She began working in the kitchen and the fields as a very young girl supporting her father, the mezcalero Esteban Hernández, in their family palenque. Today, it is Concepción who is continuing the family tradition.
Conchita is a single mother of five, who with the support of Don Esteban, have been able to get ahead. Félix met Esteban, known locally as “El Tigre,” through the Maestros del Mezcal group 10 years ago and recalls that the mezcales he tried from Esteban “were spectacular.” Conchita and Esteban are a wonderful example of mages who live in the mountains and pass on their tradition from generation to generation.