Pulque chino | June 2022 | Celedonio Aquino García | PLQCLA2206 | Fall 2024 release | 102 bottles | Maverick Texas

Maestro Celedonio almost exclusively uses homegrown maguey or wild agave harvest from family lands for his small productions, but in May of 2022 he was curious to experiment with a type of Agave americana that he had never worked with before.

The Valley of Miahuatlán is home to many different Agave americana varieties. While sparce wild populations exist in certain areas, many of these types have been domesticated over hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of years. These cultivars have been selected for different properties and characteristics, primarily for fiber or food and beverage production. Amongst the Agave americana types used for food and drink, certain varieties were historically dedication to the harvest of aguamiel and the production of pulque, hence the colloquial use of the name maguey pulquero or maguey de pulque. Others, with greater amounts of sugar, such as the Arroqueño and the Sierrudo (aka Mexicano in the region), were cultivated more specifically for their use in the making of fermented tepache and later, spirits. According to producers in the region, there exist three different “types” of Pulque Chino, with similar qualities, but with distinct morphological features.

Don Celedonio crafted this special batch with 10 piñas of en guía and capón agaves that were cultivated in the nearby village of Xitlapehua in rocky and red tierra colorada. Carefully distilled twice in his 250L capacity copper pot still, the maestro composed a total of 80L with a long lasting cordón cerrado that cooresponds to an even 48% Alc. by Vol.

  • Maguey(es): Pulque chino (Agave americana var.)

  • Provenance of the maguey: Cultivated in Xitlapehua, Miahuatlán

  • Producer: Celedonio Aquino Gutiérrez

  • Region: Logoche, Miahuatlán

  • Soil type: red and rocky tierra colorada

  • Rest time after harvest: eight days

  • Oven: Conical earthen pit; ten days with mesquite wood

  • Rest time after oven: eight days

  • Maceration: Machete and shredder

  • Fermentation: Native yeasts; two 1200L Montezuma cypress sabino wood tanks

  • Dry fermentation time: 48 hours

  • Wet fermentation time: five days

  • Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills

  • Final composition: Heads, hearts, and a select cut of high proof tails

  • Batch size: 80L

  • Date of distillation: June 2022

  • ABV: 48%

MARIE NAKAZAWA