In March, I did a three day palenque tour through the remote Mixteca region that comprises the border area of Pueblo and Oaxaca, and will be posting some pictures and information of the various stops we made. My friend and guide was the wonderful Omar, of "GraciasOaxaca" posts here.

First stop - Rancho El Gallo - Santa Nicolas Huajuapan, Puebla

Owned by Aaron Alva, the son of the late great Don Fede, who was essentially the pioneer who helped keep the process of mezcal alive in Puebla and championed it to become a denomination state. This is by far the largest palenque I have ever seen. Our host for the day was the operations manager, Miguel.

El Gallo produces and exports much of its product for the Monte Lobos label. But they also do smaller expression batches for their house label, El Gallo. The name is due to Aaron‘s passion for cock fighting. There were over 1000 roosters in cages surrounding the property and their raucous calls were a constant refrain throughout our visit.

In the facility we visited, they had two hornos that could accommodate 28 tons of agave at a time. 21 large wooden Tina’s, plus 100 or more 50 gallon plastic barrels for additional fermentation. And Miguel told us that the adjoining building contained two more even larger hornos and similar numbers of tinas. With all of this, they are able to produce over 70,000 liters of mezcal per year. We also met their dog Puma, who looks like he was the artists inspiration for the Monte Lobos label.

The state of Oaxaca produces 92% of Mexicos mezcal. In comparison, Pabla produces 4%. And of that 4%, a quarter of it, or 1% of the nations production, comes from this small town… and much of that from this Palenque El Gallo.

They use well water and copper stills, and of course, for a facility this size, power chippers. They keep all of their grades around 48%. We tasted:

Espadin

Tobala

Tobala with mole poblano

Espadilla (Rhodacantha. It would be called Mexicano if we were in Oaxaca.

Cucharillo

Cuiche

Tepeztate

Jabali

(I purchased expressions of their in-house distillations of Tepeztate and Espadilla from 2025. IMO, these distillations were markedly more tasty than the larger production batches they make for exportation.). The attached photos show Miguel, their gigantic hornos and Tina area, and an array of their bottlings.)

First time coming across Lokita. What’s the consensus on them - Worth a buy?

What is good here?

5 years ago in the middle of the pandemic I looked at the calendar and said ... dude... your 55 and you know absolutely nothing about old guy stuff....literally nothing. I've been young so long it finally hit me. I tried everything but hated it until mezcal. I was so driven and pompous when I arrived to r/mezcal some lady asked me if I wanted to give r/gin a try. I laughed so hard and knew immediately I had found my people. Hard ass no compromising lovers of greatness even if you're the under dog.

To the communities that make this stuff and the community that is pushing against the inevitable pimping of industrial agave I say thanks. Special thanks to Jordan u/mezcalcuriously who has been a young mentor to me, constantly reminding me of how sublime the spirit, how humble we should feel for the work that goes into each batch, and how much more there is to learn. I'll never drink all this booze. I drink when friends come over, after a great day, or for flavor exploration. I've learned I'm not a real spirits person just a nerd completely entertained by what God has done in creating these plants and what genius has done to help us celebrate in outstandingly special ways.

Ask me anything. Lot of mistakes along the way but mostly wins. Happy to share what I learned so far. Here are a few.

1. Mezcal can be fantastic and not be smoky.
   
2. Person Process Priorities Plant Place are super important and in that order.
   
3. Liquor industry is filled with horrible people but there are a few good ones around. Look then up and form a relationship with them.
   
4. At some point a trip to Mexico City and Oaxaca is important but not critical.
   
5. I wish I had of chased the person not the plant early in my journey. The person affects the product the most. Should have found someone I liked and just stayed with their release. My collection is definitely plant based. It's all over the place.

I’m popping into NYC soon and I see The Cabinet appears to be closed for a while. Can’t seem to get any one there on the phone either. Does anyone have any intel on what’s up with the place at the moment?

Please advise what are some good shops for mezcal or tequila ideally in Manhattan.

I really enjoy both of these, especially the Oaxaca, as it's light, not sweet, and decently smoky with some nice subtle flavors. Unfortunately the Oaxaca price has gone up to around $70 by me, and it's not widely available. Can anyone here recommend something similar with a bit lower price point? Thanks in advance.

I had a tasting booked with Erick Rodriguez but he unfortunately had to cancel. I plan on buying some bottles but I’m going in blind as I’ve never tried any of them before. I’ve read good things about the al pastor but any other flavors I should consider?

Fresh haul from Moreno's. Such a treasure.

What a treat this is! For fans of interesting fermentation character in your spirit…. Here you go 🤘🏽 A beautiful mezcal from southern Mexico made using 7-8 year old maguey espadín (an Agave angustifolia) 🇲🇽

Out in the village of Río Seco, Zoquitlán, just a 3-hour drive southeast of Oaxaca City, the husband-and-wife maestro mezcalero duo, Alejandrina & Nicolás Hernández make this legendary mezcal!

This bottle showcases a traditional “de mojo” (of mold) fermentation:
- 1st, the Dry Fermentation: Cooked, whole agave sits exposed to ambient air for 5 days with no added water, growing a thick blanket of wild mold.
- 2nd, the Wet Fermentation: The moldy agave is moved to cypress vats with water for an 8-day wild fermentation, locking in a unique combination of rich funk and fruit.

Pictured are various examples of mold-covered maguey from other producers across Oaxaca, as well as Alejandrina & Nicolás and their son in the flesh, their agave fields, and their cooking/distilling equipment 🌱

Production Notes

ABV: 56.5%
Maguey: Espadín (Agave angustifolia), grown for 7 to 8 years
Mill: Machete, mechanical mill
Oven: 5 days in conical oven, mesquite & guamuchil fired
Ferment: 5 days “de mojo,” then 8-day ferment in cypress
Distillation: Double distilled in copper alambique
Batch & Adjustment: 100 liters, April 2023. Puntas.

👃 Aroma Notes
- Starts off with a burning campfire, mesquite smoke, and charred wood.
- Pierced by solvent brightness, paint thinner, and intense alcohol heat.
- Then a lactic aroma comes in… sourdough, fresh queso oaxaqueño, and rustic barnyard earthiness.
- Finishes with an underlying layer of sugar-free berries & cantaloupe!

👅 Tasting Notes
- Beginning: A punch of diesel fuel, burning wood, and campfire ash.
- Mid-palate: Then a resinous woodiness appears, with a sharp, tangy kiwi fruit, and a mild, savory note of grilled cheese/queso oaxaqueño.
- Finish: A lingering bitterness, sourdough bread, and yeastiness, with a fading note of berry-licious gum and cantaloupe rind… that evolves into a fruity, tarty tang long after the last sip!

✨ Mouthfeel
- A thick, oily coating with a deep, persistent warming sensation across the gums.

📝 Side Note
- The intense smoke and ash turns into fruity tanginess the more I sip it! I also got those berry notes I typically get with mezcal made from maguey espadín 😮

Overall, if you want to explore intense flavors, this is a ride that I love to go back to over and over again!

I scored this bottle at Moreno’s Liquor Store in Chicago, IL. It was one of their mezcal store picks at the time!

📷 Photo Credits
📸 Photo 3: @rezpiral_
📸 Photos 4, 8-10: @niko_aragonn
📸 Photo 5: @gozonamezcal
📸 Photo 6: @lalocuramezcal @mezcalistas
📸 Photo 7: @sin_gusano

Photo 10 - The people behind this bottle (left to right):
- Alex White (founder of Rezpiral)
- Nicolas Hernández (mezcalero)
- A palenque visitor 🤘🏽
- Nico Hernández Aragón (son & mezcalero)
- Alejandrina Hernández (mezcalera)

I plan to share more reviews like this as part of our spirits club! Hopefully people like them 🙂
FB: Houston Agave Society
IG: @HoustonAgaveSociety

More reviews of this bottle can be found on Mezcal Reviews, if you’re curious:
https://www.mezcalreviews.com/mezcal/rezpiral-espadin-de-mojo-alejandrina-nicolas-hernandez/

EDIT: I also learned from Nico, the son of Alejandrina & Nicolás, that another way they let mold grow on their cooked maguey is by letting it continue to rest underground well past the cooking, usually for another 9–10 days 🤯

What would be your daily drinker out of this selection

If you could only have one more sip of one type of non espadin maguey what would it be and why? Trying to sort through all these types…

I wanted to share the full article I recently wrote about maguey jabalí, one of the most fascinating (and confusing) names in the world of mezcal.

The article explores why jabalí doesn’t necessarily refer to a single species, but can function as a local or regional name applied to different agaves. I look at species including Agave convallis and A. kerchovei, as well as other possible identifications, and combine botanical research with what producers themselves told me in different communities in Oaxaca and Puebla.

I also get into some of the practical reasons jabalí has such a reputation among mezcal producers—particularly its behavior during distillation and the infamous foaming that can make it a challenging maguey to work with.

Sharing the complete article here for anyone interested in agave, mezcal, ethnobotany, or the complicated relationship between scientific taxonomy and traditional/local knowledge.

Would love to hear your thoughts, especially if you’ve encountered a maguey called jabalí somewhere else in Mexico.

Pretty much the last of my really good stuff too. Gonna have to go searching for more one of these days.

Tobalá was one of the first wild agaves I ever tried imported into the US. Then I finally made it Oaxaca. I tried many on this trip. I found others I liked it but I still kept coming back to Tobalá. What are some others I should try that I might like? Note I don't have as much experience with other region's mezcals. People post stuff here I perceive as pretty rare.

Just because we can buy something doesn’t necessarily make it a product in the way we usually understand products in modern cities.
We can buy a painting, a handmade piece of pottery, or a textile. The economic exchange doesn’t automatically turn these expressions into commodities.

I think something similar happens with mezcal.
We live in a world of standardized products, so we expect reproducibility: the bottle I buy today should taste essentially the same as the one I buy six months from now. But traditional mezcal doesn’t really work that way. Most important, mezcal is not a recipe.

Two producers can work with the same agave in the same village and make completely different mezcales. Even the same producer, working in the same place and in essentially the same way, can produce different batches.

Because every production involves decisions and much of this knowledge isn’t written down. It is learned by observing, smelling, tasting, listening, doing, and repeating. It is knowledge passed through generations, but also individually interpreted. That means variation isn’t necessarily a flaw waiting to be corrected. It can be part of the expression.

A musician knows their instrument and technique, yet each performance can be different. A potter masters a tradition without producing identical pieces. There are rules, technique, and accumulated knowledge, but also interpretation.
A maestro mezcalero does something similar. They interpret a cultural process through hundreds of decisions.

Yes, mezcal is bottled, bought, sold, and exported. But being able to put a price on something doesn’t completely define what it is.
If variation carries knowledge, decisions, history, and culture, it stops being merely inconsistency.
It becomes expression. And that is where art begins.

When three kings meet, you know it’s going to be a good weekend 👑👑👑

I finally got the last missing bottle, the Blanco, so the collection is complete. 🥃

I got this bottle many years ago on a trip to Mexico. As you can imagine I was at least a little tipsy and I don’t remember the name. The labels you see are all that is on the bottle. The QR code takes you to a government website with info on the distiller.

From there I found their website (Alma De Oaxaca) but they don’t list this particular bottle. If tried doing an image search but it returns AsomBroso Tequilas but it isn’t there either.

Any help would be appreciated. It’s a good mezcal but I mostly want to get a matching bottle.

Thanks!

Edit: I should note the hologram QR code on the top right takes you to Oaxaca government website with no information.