Cincoañero | April 2023 | Tomás García Cruz | CNATGC2304 | 162 bottles

This 125-liter batch reflects Don Tomás’ curiosity and mastery in both the campo and the palenque. The agave known as Cincoañero (Agave americana) is native to the lands around Sola de Vega, west of Miahuatlán but still within the Sierra Sur. True to its name, this maguey can mature in about five years and reach sizes comparable to other A. americana types. Don Tomás first received this variety in 2018 through an exchange with the head of an Oaxacan agricultural institute, and his family has been cultivating small quantities ever since. This was their first time processing Cincoañero, and given the results, they have since doubled their plantings.

 In Miahuatlán, a range of distillation techniques involve the use of a cooling jacket known locally as a refrescadera. Some methods allow for the collection of high-proof alcohol in a single distillation, while others involve a second refining run that incorporates strong low wines, or shishe macizo, into the final composition. While these methods can yield larger volumes, they require patience and precision to maintain quality. Although Don Tomás had abandoned the refrescadera in the mid-1990s, he decided to revive this prohibition-era technique for an experimental run with Cincoañero.

Harvested in the days surrounding the full moon of March 2023, ten en guía plants with emerging flowering stalks weighed in at about 900 kg. After roasting and a fermentation of more than two weeks, Don Tomás extended his careful approach to distillation, running the stills under minimal heat while monitoring the process by aroma, flavor, and strength. From two sabino wood vats, he collected about 15 liters of shishe macizo at 30–40% ALC and set it aside. The remaining 225 liters of low wines were redistilled with multiple cuts of heads, hearts, and tails. Blending the bulk of the heads with the entirety of the hearts and the reserved shishe macizo, Don Tomás composed 125 liters with a striking cordón cerrado at 49.6% ALC.

• §  Maguey(es): Cincoañero (Agave americana var.)

• §  Provenance of the maguey: homegrown

• §  Producer: Tomás García Cruz

• §  Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán

• §  Soil type: red and rocky tierra colorada

• §  Rest time after harvest: six days

• §  Oven: Conical earthen pit; eight days with mesquite and oak wood

• §  Rest time after oven: one day

• §  Maceration: Machete and shredder

• §  Fermentation: Native yeasts; two 1200L Montezuma cypress sabino wood tanks each with approximately 450kg of cooked agave and 400 liters of water

• §  Dry fermentation time: 48 hours

• §  Wet fermentation time:  eight days

• §  Distillation: 2x in a copper pot still with a refrescadera

• §  Final composition: Heads, hearts, and a select cut of shishe macizo (from 1st round of distillation)

• §  Batch size: 125L

• §  Date of distillation: April 2023

• §  ABV: 49.6%