Ensamble Espadín + Jabalín 2019 | Ramón and Wilfredo García | Summer 2020 Release | RWPENS001 | 240 bottles
Available through Pueblo de Sabor in CA
Brothers Ramón and Wilfredo García teamed up with their cousin and neighbor, Hugo, to make these 200 liters of ensamble in January 2019. Selecting only ripe, quiotudo maguey, the three palenqueros co-roasted and for seven days, co-fermented nearly equal parts of home grown Espadín harvested from a fertile red soil parcel with wild Jabalín from black earthen family lands from a neighboring community. The most traditional recipes in the region typically involve a mixing of different types of maguey, with “single-agave” productions generally being more recent innovations. That said, the inclusion of the 18 piñas of Espadín were intended to increase the yield, but most importantly, to temper the excessive foaming of the Jabalín that occurs during both the fermentation and distillation. With the addition of 35 piñas of Jabalín, the freshly harvested magueyes rested for five days before roasting for another five-day stretch with local mesquite wood. After letting the cooked piñas sit and cool for three days, the maguey was chopped with a machete and shredded. Filling three sabino fermentation tanks, the dry fibers required 48 hours before deemed ready for distillation. The three palenqueros decided to make their final cut a little higher than they had in the past, and split the hearts and the tails at around 40% Alc. by Vol. A careful blend was created until the three were satisfied with the perlas and the lasting bubbly presence of a cordón cerrado.