1
Nursery
An Agave is a wonderful plant that grows in the countryside of Mexico, the state of Oaxaca has the largest number of Agaves in Mexico, however each region has Agaves specific to its state, which gives them the denomination of origin.
There is the ancestral legend of Mayahuel and Quetzalcóatl, however the reality is that the lord of the agave called Meteotl existed and it can be verified in the murals of the archaeological zone of Cacaxtla in Tlaxcala; Elsewhere Mecitli is mentioned as the lady of the maguey or Tlateuctli as the lady of the Earth, this indicates that since ancient times, our old grandparents already produced mezcal.
The way to reproduce are sexual (pollination), asexual (offspring) and by laboratory (cloning), this has allowed domesticating the agaves that were wild and can now be kept in nurseries, guaranteeing their production to a certain extent.
1) Natural through fertilization with pollen, of which the bat is the main actor and since ancient times they form an inseparable and necessary relationship, to be attractive, their flowers grow at a great height, that attracts the bat and the insects, which pollinate the plant that generates the seeds and in the face of such an effort, it dies; This natural process guarantees that the agaves are healthier due to the integration of 2 DNA (Father and Mother)
2) By means of its children, which are formed from the rosette of the plant, these children or children are taken and planted, it must be done when the plant is adult.
3) Cloned, through the laboratory that allows varieties of one area to be taken to other areas or states, however this type of reproduction does not always guarantee the optimum quality in the production of sugars that are required to produce mezcal.
2
Palenque
The palenque process means going to the field, selecting the agave that is at its appropriate age, for this they can vary from 5 to 35 years depending on the variety of agave, once it has been selected, it is cut or cut and carried on a donkey. to a place where an Arab oven was used, where the burning coal is placed at the bottom, the pineapples cut from the agave are placed on top and covered with earth so that the pineapples are cooked, from this process the cooked pineapples come out with that smoky flavor so characteristic. Once cooked, the cooked pineapples are placed in a pool where there is a round stone moved by a donkey and where the weight squeezes the leaves and a liquid is obtained to be processed by the mezcalero master.
3
Mezcalero Master
The Mezcalero Master, makes the distillates of that liquid to convert it into mezcal, a fermentation process is followed and then double or triple distillation, the first liquids that are obtained are of a high degree of alcohol and are called peaks and the last with low degree of alcohol are called colas.
The Mezcalero Master uses a reed pipe to obtain the liquid and measure with the naked eye, smell and taste, the exact point of degrees of alcohol (above 45 degrees) that make it a spirit drink and the flavor that is the signature of the teacher mezcalero.
4
Commercialization
The commercial brands that receive the contracted liters, follow a certification process that gives the quality with one of the certifying companies and receive their seal, which is what guarantees for the consumer that they receive a product with the quality and the denomination of origin. The next step is to fill the containers, label and seal, package, ship to the interested market, which has made a purchase contract for distribution and marketing.
