Blanco Artesanal

Blanco Artesanal is made with agave Lechuguilla at Rancho Nuevo in Atenguillo, Jalisco. It is produced by raicillero (distiller) Julio Topete Becerra.

First, the seeds from the flower stalks (“quiote“) of mature agaves are harvested and placed in a nursery to produce more plants. The agave is then cut with machetes, when they are between 8 and 11 year old. The hearts (“piñas“) are extracted: a process that is called “Jima” and which is done by experienced workers or “jimadores“, in order to get the best part of the heart that will yield all the sugar. The hearts are then cooked for over 72 hours in clay ovens that have been pre-heated for 6 hours. The roasted agaves are cooled, sorted, and crushed by hand in hollowed tree trunks with large wooden mallets (“mazos“).

When the agave has been completely pulverized into fiber and wet pulp, it is ready for the fermentation. The process happens naturally in the open air, with the addition of hot water, while the pulp is left in oakwood barrels for 7 days. The fermenting mash is watched, listened to, smelled, touched, and tasted the more frequently as the sugar content drops and alcohol rises. After the fermentation, the mash is double-distilled in 200-liter stainless steel pots. The spirit is then bottled at 40% alcohol per volume.