Climbing the rugged dirt roads high above San Dionisio Ocotepec, we discover the remote village of Las Milpas, a true example of “you don’t find Mezcal, Mezcal finds you.” Here, nestled among the cornfields overlooking rolling pastures, is the palenque of Anastacio Cruz Antonio and his sons Rigoberto, Abel and Pedro.
Their Single Village expression is created by roasting ripe agave Espadin in a clay horno carved into the granite hillside. Roasted agave is ground with a horse-drawn molino and fermented with only ambient microbes and yeast in outdoor wooden fermentation tanks and distilled twice in small copper stills. Las Milpas offers a nose of slate and minerals, balanced by tropical fruits and citrus notes, with rose petal flowers, lavender, tarragon and pea shoot, which develops into a long and pleasantly dry finish.
Maguey’s age: 8-10 years
Elevation: 5,600 feet (1,700 meters)
Roasting time: 4 days
Wood type: Encino
Milling: Horse-drawn molino
Size of Tinas: 1400 L
Fermentation time: 7-10 days
Water source: Local spring (manantial)
