Espadín + Bicuixe | May 2020 | Heriberto García Sánchez | ENSHGS2005 | Winter 2023 release | 528 bottles
Heriberto, or Pony, as his friends call him, often assists his father, don Cándido, but also makes a few batches on his own every year. Having worked under the guidance a true maestro of the craft since he was a young teenager more than two decades ago, Pony makes some truly remarkable spirits.
This 700L batch was made with a nearly 60/40 combination of wild harvested Bicuixe and homegrown Espadin gathered from two different parcels of family land in Logoche. This fantastic field blend is a quintessential expression of the regional terruño and showcases the young palenquero’s knowledge of fermentation and distillation. Heriberto kept count of the agaves that were harvested and weighed them prior to roasting the piñas for seven days. 38 large, ripe, and quiotudo Espadín plants were selected and totaled 4,500kg. The 6,080kg of six month to two year capón Bicuixe that were added to mix required the collection of 850 piñas of vastly vary sizes. The entirety of the family’s horno was filled with these 10,580kg of agave, which was roasted with the use of mesquite wood and left covered for a total of seven days. Carefully processed, Pony finished distillation in April 2020 and made a final composition in May 2020. With a blend of heads, hearts, and tails, adjustments of the different cuts were made until the palenquero was satisfied with the aromas, flavors, and appeance of a cordón cerrado with a doble capa of pearls.
400L were bottled by the Grupo Logoche cooperative for NETA in October 2023; imported by PM Spirits, a total of 528 bottles will be available through their regional distribution partners in the United States.
§ Maguey(es): Espadín (Agave angustifolia var.) + Bicuixe (Agave karwinskii var.)
§ Provenance of the maguey: Homegrown Espadín from El Llano and wild Bicuixe from the La Mina parcel
§ Producer: Heriberto García Sánchez
§ Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán
§ Soil type: Espadín from tierra roja and Bicuixe from tierra colorada cascajuda
§ Rest time after harvest: Twelve days
§ Oven: Conical earthen pit; seven days with mesquite wood
§ Rest time after oven: Eight days
§ Maceration: Machete and shredder
§ Fermentation: Native yeasts, 1200L capacity Montezuma cypress sabino wood vats
§ Dry fermentation time: 24-48 hours
§ Wet fermentation time: 8-12 days days
§ Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills
§ Final composition: Heads, hearts, and tails
§ Batch size: 700L
§ Date of distillation: April 2020
§ ABV: 45.4%