Tobalá cultivado | November 2020 | Tomás García Cruz | TBLTGC2011 | Summer 2021 Release | 226 bottles

This 180L batch was made from the second harvest of cultivated Tobalá plants grown by Don Tomás García Cruz and his sons. While the family has been growing different species of agave for an extended period of time, only in the last six years did they start to plant Tobalá from seed. The collection of these seeds came from family lands composed of steep and white, rocky terrain- where Tobala, Tepextate, and Coyote thrive. Don Tomás estimates that their local Tobala matures in the wild in 12-15 years, so he was pleasantly surprised at the pace of growth of their cultivated plants. The agave used in this batch come from seed that was planted in 2014, along a white and rocky soil hillside, and began to flower in 2019 and early 2020. After cutting many of the burgeoning flowering stocks in the spring of 2020, the family returned in early November to harvest a total of 200 piñas that were dedicated to this production. Viewed by the family as a tremendous success, this experiment with cultivation is a testament to their skills as master distillers as well as their knowledge and relationship with the natural world.

  • Maguey(es): Tobalá (Agave potatorum x Agave seemanniana)

  • Producer: Tomás García Cruz and Sons

  • Region: Miahuatlán, Oaxaca

  • Soil type: white and rocky tierra blanquizca pedregosa

  • Rest time after harvest: Five days

  • Oven: Four days with mesquite and oak

  • Rest time after oven: Five days

  • Maceration: Machete and shredder

  • Fermentation: Three 1200L Montezuma cypress sabino wood vats

  • Dry fermentation time: Three days

  • Wet fermentation time: Seven days

  • Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills

  • Final composition: Head, hearts, and tails

  • Batch size: 180L

  • Date of distillation: November 2020

MARIE NAKAZAWA