Chilapa de Álvarez, Guerrero LOTE: 1021JB, 48%, 432 bottles, October 2021

The papalote Javier used to produce this batch was grown in the community of Santa Catarina, about 40 minutes south of Javier’s fabrica in Ahuacuotzintla. After cutting their quiotes, the magueyero left the plants in his field for 2+ years before finally harvesting them. The result of the long “capón” time is an added level of complexity when compared with the Barrancas’ joven batches of papalote.

Don Ciro began working as a mezcalero in his teens and continued well into his 80s, producing batches until the final month of his life. Ciro’s grandson Javier, on the other hand, spent much of his 20s working at a pizza place in Chicago, before returning to help his grandfather. Working together for nearly a decade, theirs is a story of tradition, the passing of generational knowledge, and its adaptation to a new era.

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