DON AMADO MEZCAL

In the highlands of southern Mexico, the renowned Arellanes family has been crafting one of the region's most celebrated mezcals since the late 1700s.

Eleven generations of continual mezcal distillation with a legendary commitment to craftsmanship and experimentation have culminated in a spirit that is simultaneously complex and approachable. Don Amado is made from earthen roasted maguey hearts which are, after crushing, fermented together with their piña fibers for a rich maguey character. The mash is then double distilled in small traditional ceramic clay pots. Aged varieties are matured in American oak casks previously used for barreling Pedro Domecq brandy.

RÚSTICO

The flagship expression of the Real de Minas Distillery, Don Amado Rústico is made using the historic method of slowly roasting fully-mature Espadín maguey hearts on firewood embers, before natural fermentation with airborne yeast and a slow double-distillation in ceramic pot stills.

The minero clay-pot still is quite prevalent on the nose with aromatics leaning towards ash, crushed walnuts, roasted corn, and savory spices. A bright, citrus Espadín maguey palate is well balanced against notes of caramel, butterscotch and fresh herbs.

  • Master Distiller: Germán Bonifacio Arellanes
  • Approx. 26 Bx Sugars from Angustofolia Haw Espadín maguey grown at 4,800' in municipio of Sta. Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
  • Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) agave earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in burner heated ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water
  • No aging, bottled at 47% ABV

ARROQUEÑO

Rustic and refined, Don Amado Arroqueño is made from an enormous maguey species that requires 18 years to mature but is cultivatable, so ecologically sustainable while simultaneously wildly exotic and delicious.

Bright floral aromatics of caramelized maguey, leather and soft smoke lend structure to ripe, cooked yam fruit flavors. A supple mouthfeel delivers quince, persimmon, lemon verbena and kaffir, juxtaposed with layered chocolate, espresso and savory spice with balanced minerality and savory roast characteristics.

  • Master Distiller: Germaín Arellanes Arellanes
  • Made 100% from Arroqueño maguey grown at 4,800' in the town of San Pablo Apostol, Oaxaca
  • Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) agave earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water, no tails
  • No aging, bottled at 46% ABV

LARGO

The trunk-like hearts of this elongated 'karwinskii' maguey take 10-14 years to mature, and look like spiky desert trees growing wildly over the mountains of Southern Mexico. When harvested, the trunks are cooked together with typical round piñas of other species. Soft smoke with candied notes and a creamy mouthfeel layer fruit and a subtle spice on a palette of rich, cooked maguey reminiscent of the high desert just after a heavy rainfall, bright and clean.

  • Master Distiller: Germaín Arellanes Arellanes
  • Made 100% from karwinskii "Largo" maguey grown at 4,800' in municipio of Sta. Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
  • Elongated maguey trunks are earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water, no tails
  • No aging, bottled at 46% ABV

TEPEZTATE

On the nose, there is candied lime, soft white flowers, with more vegetal notes of bell pepper and cucumber skin along with hints of nuts, soft pastry, and a very lightly-charred wood, supported by a back note of minerality.

The flavors continue in the same vein, tasting of grilled lemon & lime, sun-baked white flowers, bell peppers, persimmon, squash blossoms, charred oak, and minerals. These flavors are intricately balanced and deliciously perplexing, hinting at matcha tea and persist in a delicate fade that savors grilled fruit nuances.

  • Master Distiller: Germaín Arellanes Arellanes
  • Made 100% from Tepeztate maguey grown at 4,800' in municipio of Sta. Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
  • Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) agave earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water, no tails
  • No aging, bottled at 46% ABV

ENSAMBLE TOBALÁ & BICUISHE

On the nose, there are aromas of summer stonefruit, soft tea rose, and toasted red chiles peppers. The exotic tastes of Earl Grey tea, dried orange peel, candied mango, cinnamon, and faint woodiness lead to a smooth, jammy finish with a lingering hint of black licorice.

  • Master Distiller: Germaín Arellanes Arellanes
  • Made 100% from a blend of Tobalá and Bicuishe maguey grown at 4,800' in the town of San Pablo Apostol, Oaxaca
  • Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) maguey earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water, no tails
  • No aging, bottled at 46% ABV

Nose

Rich aromas of roast agave, oceanic salt spray, with notes of lactic fermentation.

Taste

This ensemble is like the bass section of the orchestra. It opens with a rumbling timpani then bursts of mineral highlights. In the background there are always these brooding flavors from the woody Bicuishe which are subsumed in the sweet minerality of the Tobala. This play of flavors make you sit and contemplate but there’s a real tension because the mezcal is so restrained that you’re always expecting something else to happen.

Method / Background Notes

Like its relative, the karwinsii ensemble, this one is an argument for a different form of ensemble. You rarely see this sort of combination, perhaps because it’s such a balancing act, and this label is a demonstration of possibility. The match of these two agaves with clay pot distillation is made in celestial places, it’s one of the more intellectual mezcals out there exactly because it makes you think.

Mezcalistas

ENSAMBLE TRIPÓN, BARRÍL & BICUISHE

There are alluring aromas of pastry being prepared: wild honey, green apple peel, tart cider, fragrant pear, and white grapes. The palate offers pure, bright sweetness, green herbs, and overripe nectarine, with a medium-length, smooth finish.

  • Master Distiller: Germaín Arellanes Arellanes
  • Made 100% from Tripón, Barríl, and Bicuishe maguey grown at 4,800' in the town of San Pablo Apostol, Oaxaca
  • Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) maguey earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water, no tails
  • No aging, bottled at 46% ABV

Nose

There’s a touch of that distinctive lactic fermentation like pickle juice amidst the looming richness of roast agave.

Taste

It’s like Dorothy’s shoes in the Wizard of Oz, sparkling goodness that fills your mouth and resolves into a true ensemble of flavor. It’s hard to pull the agaves apart because this is one unfettered whole, a real union of thought and action. And, it leaves your mouth feeling like the antitheses of those toothpaste ads – sparkling, fresh, full of flavor!

Method / Background Notes

Don Amado is one of the standard bearers of mezcal in Santa Catarina Minas which is justly renown for its traditional distillation technique en barro – clay pots. This style of ensemble features just local karwinskiis, there isn’t an espadín to anchor it all, which makes it something to seek out.

The flavors speak for themselves but the process is all the more interesting because it’s distilled up to 53% ABV then brought down to 46% with distilled water. Some people look askance at this technique but it’s widely used and it excludes tails which may or may not have something to do with the CRM’s regulations on methanol. Whatever the reason, it’s a demonstration of the quality and identity that can be achieved by someone like Germaín Arellanes Arellanes who knows what he’s doing.

Mezcalistas

PECHUGA

An autumn 'harvest bounty' mezcal, Don Amado Pechuga is a third distillation of our Don Amado Rústico, made with the addition of seasonal fruits, nuts and spices including apricots, wild criollo apples, hard, stubby bananas with clove, cinnamon, raisins, almonds and walnuts.

A treasure of complexity that exhibits rich, bright fruit notes, roasted nuts, dark baking spice, wafting hints of clean smoke, fresh cinnamon and stone fruits. Mature maguey flavors are woven throughout and yet never overwhelm, maintaining symmetry, balance and depth, on through to a delicate finish of broad, exotic flavors and lingering tropical nuance in this pechuga.

  • Master Distiller: Germaín Arellanes Arellanes
  • Made by adding fruits and spices to a third distillation of our 100% Espadín Don Amado Rústico mezcal
  • Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) maguey earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV
  • Wild apples, wild apricots, wild bananas, clove, cinnamon, raisins, walnuts and almonds are added to the ceramic distillation pot for a third distillation to extract subtle flavor notes into the mezcal
  • No aging, bottled at 46% ABV

REPOSADO

An homage to the popular history of Oaxacan clay-pot mezcal aged in brandy barrels, Don Amado Reposado uses exhausted brandy barrels from Pedro Domecq to create a nostalgic flavor of earthen-smoked maguey with the soft caramel and butterscotch notes of American white oak.

Familiar Mexican flavors of roasted corn slathered in butter, hints of vanilla and cinnamon, tropical fruit and dried chilies are balanced with a moderate amount of smoke leading into barrel notes of a satisfying, slightly spicy vanilla-driven extended finish.

  • Master Distiller: Germán Bonifacio Arellanes
  • Approx. 26 Bx Sugars from Angustofolia Haw Espadín maguey grown at 4,800' in municipio of Sta. Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
  • Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) maguey earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in burner heated ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water
  • Six months aging in American White Oak formerly used for Pedro Domecq Mexican Brandy, bottled at 45% ABV

AÑEJO

A regal take on what many consider to be an essentially rustic distillate, Don Amado Añejo shows amazing complexity beyond simple smoke, and is a great example how barrel flavors can complement rather than mask agave’s wild charms.

Savory, mesquite aromas hint at barbecue and toasted cayenne pepper, while flavors flow between layers of baked stonefruit from the brandy barrel aging. Palate continues in similar form with notes of grilled pineapple, and the finish shows a long, bright and refreshing saline minerality.

  • Master Distiller: Germán Bonifacio Arellanes
  • Approx. 26 Bx Sugars from Angustofolia Haw Espadín maguey grown at 4,800' in municipio of Sta. Catarina Minas, Oaxaca
  • Halved & quartered (cogollo removed) maguey earthen roasted for four days using mix of guamúchil and mesquite wood
  • Cooked maguey macerated with proprietary blade spindle destrozadora shredder
  • Fermented together with bagaso in 1,400L pine wood vats using airborne yeast strains
  • Double distilled in burner heated ceramic pot stills to approx. 53% ABV and reduced with triple distilled demineralized water
  • Minimum eighteen month aging in American White Oak formerly used for Pedro Domecq Mexican Brandy (longer if necessary for proper oak extraction), bottled at 43.5% ABV

For more information, including Distributors and Retailers, please visit the Terranova Spirits website.