TEPEXTATE | CELEDONIO AQUINO GUTIÉRREZ | MAY 2026 | TPXCLA2605 | 48.5% ALC. | 102 BOTTLES | PM SPIRITS
This special production of Tepextate from maestro palenquero Celedonio Aquino Gutiérrez grew out of years of conversations about older practices and recipes that have disappeared or evolved among the spirit-producing families of Logoche. According to Celedonio and other elder producers in the village, fermenting roasted Tepextate with the bark of a plant known locally as canela montes was standard practice through the 1970s and 1980s. Its name translates roughly to “wild cinnamon” or “mountain cinnamon.” Identified as Hamelia patens, this shrub belongs to the Rubiaceae family, which also includes coffee, and has an aroma reminiscent of cinnamon. It has several uses in traditional medicine, although its use in the area today is limited. On remote, difficult-to-access stretches of Celedonio’s land, these shrubs grow alongside Tepextate, their tubular reddish-orange flowers attracting hummingbirds.
In April 2026, Celedonio harvested 67 piñas of en guía and capón Tepextate from the rocky, red-earth hills of his land in Logoche. The harvest yielded approximately 1,600 kg of agave, enough for two fermentation vats. Two days after being unearthed from the oven, the roasted piñas were chopped with machetes and processed with a mechanical shredder. Each sabino wood vat was lined with approximately 0.5 kg of canela montes bark before the shredded agave was added. The fibers rested for 24 hours, until their aroma and temperature indicated that it was time to add water. While Tepextate mash is generally ready for distillation in fewer than five days, Celedonio waited eight days before filling and firing the first copper pot—a relatively long fermentation given the ambient temperatures and the inherent qualities of the agave.
Curiously, elder palenqueros elsewhere in the region recall their fathers, uncles, and grandfathers using the same bark in some productions, but never with Tepextate. Instead, they describe using it with agaves containing higher concentrations of sugar, such as Madrecuixe and Arroqueño. These accounts raise the possibility that canela montes helps stabilize fermentation rather than accelerate it, as other tree barks are used to do in certain colder agave-spirit-producing regions. Further observation is needed to understand its role.
In homage to this historical regional recipe, Don Celedonio composed 80 liters with a beautiful cordón cerrado and aromas and flavors quintessentially expressive of Logoche. This distinctive small batch is a fall 2026 release of just 102 bottles, available nationally through our US importer, PM Spirits.
PRODUCTION DETAILS
Agave: Tepextate (Agave marmorata)
Agave provenance: Wild agave harvested on family land
Producer: Celedonio Aquino Gutiérrez
Region: Logoche, San Luis Amatlán, Miahuatlán
Soil type: Red, rocky earth; tierra cascajuda colorada
Rest time after harvest: Five days
Oven: Conical earthen oven; four days with mesquite and oak firewood
Rest time after roasting: Two days
Maceration: Machete and mechanical shredder
Fermentation: Native yeasts; two Montezuma cypress (sabino) wood vats, each containing approximately 500 kg of cooked agave, 400 L of well water, and 0.5 kg of canela montes bark
Dry fermentation time: 24 hours
Wet fermentation time: Seven days
Distillation: Twice distilled in copper pot stills
Final composition: Heads, hearts, and tails
Batch size: 80 L
Date of distillation: May 2026
ABV: 48.5%