Barrilito | April 2021 | Aniceto García | BTOANI2104 | Spring 2022 release | 102 bottles

Made by our oldest friend in the region and maestro palenquero extraordinaire, Aniceto Garcia, this is the very first batch of this unique type of agave to be bottled by NETA. Seemingly a micro-endemic and cultivated specimen of Agave karwinskii, Aniceto was given around one ton of the agave by a local magueyero to be worked a medias. This age-old practice reflects a certain specialization within the craft and entails an exchange of agave from a grower in exchange for half of the production once it has been processed by the palenquero.

In light of socioeconomic changes and drastic shifts in raw agave prices, this custom faces many challenges today, but persisted for years as the backbone of the regional supply chain. Importantly, it continues to reinforce the collective participation of farmers and master distillers throughout the region though the maintenance of familial, compadrazgo, and economic relationships that often extent through multiple generations.

Despite having been grown just around the hill from Aniceto’s ranch, he too, was quite unfamiliar with this agave, and had never before worked with this rare variety. He has described its appearance as similar to a miniature Madrecuixe, referring to its extended stalk and spherical rosette, with a piña growing quite thick but only about a meter in height. Contrasting the ashy blue hues and long leaves of the Madrecuixe the pencas of this particular Barrilito are dark green, and comparatively much thicker and shorter. According to the maestro, this Barrilito has an extremely concentrated sugar count and has out yielded every other agave that he had worked with before. In this case, around 850 kg of cooked agave yielded 160 liters, around 40L more than Madrecuixe or Espadín. Impressed by the knowledge of the magueyero and the quality of his magueyes, Aniceto has decided to continue to work together on future productions.

The distinct aromas and flavors of the Barrilito shine through in the spirit and are accompanied beautifully by the profound influence of the natural spring water, the tools, recipes, and knowledge of Aniceto. Half of the total production stayed with the maestro magueyero and the remaining 80L has been made available for our friends in California.

  • §  Maguey(es): Barrilito (Agave karwinskii var.)

  • §  Provenance of the maguey: Cultivated, a medias with a local magueyero

  • §  Producer: Aniceto García

  • §  Region: Yegosé, Miahuatlán

  • §  Date of production: April 2021

  • §  Soil type: mixed parcel of rocky white and black soil/ tierra blanca cascajudo

    y tierra negra

  • §  Rest time after harvest: Eight days

  • §  Oven: Conical earthen oven; Five days with a mix of local hardwoods

  • §  Rest time after oven: five days

  • §  Maceration: Hand-mashed with wooden mazos

  • §  Fermentation: Native yeasts; one 1200L Montezuma cypress sabino wood

    vat

  • §  Dry fermentation time: 24 hours

  • §  Wet fermentation time: Three days

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

  • §  Final composition: Heads, hearts, and a select cut of shishe macizo from the

    1st round of distillation

  • §  Batch size: 160L

  • §  ABV: 48.3%

MARIE NAKAZAWA