NETA works closely with several small, family producers and a cooperative of twelve palenqueros from the southern valleys and hills of Miahuatlán, Oaxaca. Situated at the southern tip of the Central Valleys and the foot of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountains, the area is renowned for the strong character of its people, its diverse landscapes, and the rich agricultural and culinary traditions that have been maintained throughout generations. As such, the region has preserved its reputation for producing some of the finest mezcales and agave spirits anywhere in Mexico.

The recipes and knowledge have been passed down and shared through family and community ties. Some mezcaleros follow their grandfathers’ traditions to the letter, while others experiment to carefully fine-tune the laborious process in accordance with their own tastes, observations, and relationships with the natural world. No two productions can ever be exactly the same as environmental conditions, water, natural yeasts, and soil types all contribute to their nuances just as much as the touch of their maker.

Since 2012, our friendships and working relationships with families in rural communities in Miahuatlán and the Central Valleys of Oaxaca have granted us participation in a world elusive to those not born into it. It is this humbling privilege that allows us to present a carefully curated selection of extraordinary spirits that would otherwise never be found outside of their place of origin.

This 180L batch was made from the second harvest of cultivated Tobalá plants grown by Don Tomás García Cruz and his sons. While the family has been growing different species of agave for an extended period of time, only in the last six years did they start
to plant Tobalá from seed. The collection of these seeds came from family lands composed of steep and white, rocky terrain- where Tobala, Tepextate, and Coyote thrive. Don Tomás estimates that their local Tobala matures in the wild in 12-15 years, so he was pleasantly surprised at the pace of growth of their cultivated plants. The agave used in this batch come from seed that was planted in 2014, along a white and rocky soil hillside, and began to flower in 2019 and early 2020. After cutting many of the burgeoning flowering stocks in the spring of 2020, the family returned in early November to harvest a total of 200 piñas that were dedicated to this production. Viewed by the family as a tremendous success, this experiment with cultivation is a testament to their skills as master distillers as well as their knowledge and relationship with the natural world.

Maguey(es): Tobalá (Agave potatorum x Agave seemanniana)
Producer: Tomás García Cruz and Sons
Region: Miahuatlán, Oaxaca
Soil type: white and rocky tierra blanquizca pedregosa
Rest time after harvest: Five days
Oven: Four days with mesquite and oak
Rest time after oven: Five days
Maceration: Machete and shredder
Fermentation: Three 1200L Montezuma cypress sabino wood vats
Dry fermentation time: Three days
Wet fermentation time: Seven days
Distillation: 2x in copper pot stills
Final composition: Head, hearts, and tails
Batch size: 180L
Date of distillation: November 2020