Vago Melote Mezcal

About

Vago Mezcal is Produced in small batches about once a year and are usually less than 300 liters. They are made by Salomón Rey Rodriguez (Tío Rey) in Sola de Vega, Oaxaca (16°28’44.72″N 96°57’42.80″W). The Agave Arroqueño is native to the Sola de Vega region and adapts easily from the wild to cultivation. Its Latin name is Agave Americana var. Oaxacensis. Though Arroqueño shares the same Scientific name as Agave Coyote, they are quite different in both appearance and flavor. Arroqueño take up to 20 years to mature and are identifiable by their larger piña (heart) and narrower penca (leaf). Growing very large, the piñas harvested for this batch were between 100 and 300 kilos each. These huge, ancient agaves tend to impart flavors that are deep, dark, earthy, and rich. The dank characteristics of Arroqueño are perfectly suited for clay pot distillation. While Tío Rey often uses Agave Arroqueño to balance his Ensamble en Barro mezcals made from several agave types, he loves to make small batches of pure Arroqueño mezcal to showcase its awesome characteristics. The palenque and agave fields of Salomón Rey Rodriguez or “Tío Rey” (Uncle Rey) are located in the famous mezcal region Sola de Vega. The mezcaleros in this region distill mezcal almost exclusively using clay pots “Olla de Barro”. Tío Rey’s town of Gulerá is about 15 minutes up the valley and is part of the municipality Villas Sola de Vega. The lush mountain valley is a 2.5-hour drive from Oaxaca and sits at 1450 M above sea level. Tío Rey has a great supply of spring water that flows year round and contributes to the unique flavor of his mezcals. The mineral rich soil and relatively cooler climate make for a perfect spot for growing a variety of agaves. Sola de Vega has the most diversity of agave in Oaxaca and therefore the world. Salomón Rey has at least 15 varieties of agave that he cultivates, including: Espadín, Coyote, Arroqueño, Mexicano, Tobalá, Sierra Negra, Madre Cuixe and Barril.) Sola de Vega agave maturation times: Espadín – 7 -12 years, Mexicano – 7- 12 years, Arroqueño – 9 – 25 years, Coyote – 5 – 10 years, Sierra Negra 10 -25 Years, Tobalá  – 8 – 18 Years. The palenque (distillery) is at Tío Rey’s ranch where he lives full time with his family. He built it approximately 10 years ago from parts of an older palenque that was his fathers. It moved around from nearby locations over the years. The lineage of mezcaleros in Tío Rey’s family could arguably go back thousands of years. Tío Rey has never produced mezcal commercially before Mezcal Vago and produces exclusively for Mezcal Vago. Tío Rey’s batch sizes are generally from 100 liters to 450 liters. He has two classic earthen ovens that can each hold around three tons. One oven is the normal dug out hole in the ground and lined with large river rocks and the other is dug straight into bedrock. He roasts each batch for 2 to 3 days. The cooked agave is hand ground with wooden mallets called canoas y masos. The roasted pinas are chopped slightly with a machete then the pieces are placed on a wooden platform and pounded with the mallets. An incredibly laborious technique but they are sure the flavor is better this way when not molested by such modern technology as a cement wheel and horse! Tio Rey as three fermentation vats. Two are typical vats, cylindrical and made from pine. The third is made from the trunk of a large Pino Sabino (Pine tree) hollowed out in the shape of a canoe and has been in use for 90 years! Olla de Barro Still “Canoa y Masos” Olla de Barro Still For distillation, Tio Rey uses a series of clay pots. The clay pots are called “Oll de Barro” in Spanish. That is why Mezcal Vago refers to its mezcals that are distilled in this manner as “en Barro.” They hold about 50 liters each. Each pair of pots shares a fire. The stills are made of stacks of two pots. One that holds the mash and has an open top, and another with an open bottom that rests on top of the first one. On the top pot there is an upside-down stainless steel bowl that water continually runs in and out of. When the heat from the mash rises and hits the cool top created by the water, condensation occurs. An agave leaf works as a large spoon to catch the dripping condensation (mezcal) and runs into a reed that flows the mezcal into the collection container. This whole process is laborious and takes around 4 times the effort of a copper still and stone tahona method. Tío Rey never adds water to his mezcal post distillation. Cuts are made by taste and smell. All of Tío Rey’s Mezcal go through a simple triple sediment filtration through tubular cellulose filters. The bottling is done by hand in the city of Oaxaca. The light filtration is the only way the mezcal is affected between how it was made on the palenque and how it ends up in the bottle.

Vago Melote Mezcal is made by Aquilino Garcia López at his palenque in Candelaria Yegolé, Oaxaca. The Elote uses the same Agave Espadín grown above Aquilino’s palenque in Candelaria Yegolé as the Mezcal Vago Espadín, but is infused with toasted corn. It has traditionally been made for special occasions like weddings or baptisms. Aquilino García López is a farmer and grows corn and beans to feed his family. The corn often grows alongside the agave rows above his palenque, and when dried is used to make tortillas and the stalks fed to the animals. These same dry kernels used for the tortillas are what he uses to infuse the mezcal. The base for the mezcal is a single distilled Mezcal Espadín. The dried kernels of corn are toasted on a comal (clay, flat, wood fired pan for making tortillas) and placed in the the still with the mezcal to infuse its flavor. The corn never ferments, it is strictly used as a flavor infusion, therefore the Mezcal Vago Elote is a 100% agave spirit. The batch is then distilled a second time, resulting in a clear joven mezcal with a subtle Mexican corn flavor. Before Mezcal Vago, Aquilino infused his Mezcal Espadín with corn in between the second and an extra third distillation.   Now that he is consistently distilling the Elote for Mezcal Vago, he has changed his technique to save precious resources. The change was minute, yet Aquilino and Mezcal Vago agree the Elote flavor is superior only twice distilled. This mezcal is unique to Aquilino’s family. Corn and Agave are the staples of Mexico. Vago Melote Mezcal represents the true essence of Mexico. The Elote has a beautiful mouthfeel with a little more body than the Mezcal Vago Espadín. The corn infusion is subtle. The aroma has hints of indigenous Mexican corn and toasted nuts. The food pairings with this mezcal are limited only by one’s imagination. The Elote is an excellent “gateway” mezcal for whiskey connoisseurs. It’s uniqueness has been instrumental in helping Mezcal Vago gain respect from the agave spirit aficionado community. It is outstanding on its own or as a key ingredient in craft cocktails.