elements table
tasting notes
Maestro Mezcaleros
Luis Arellanes Cruz + Rufino Felipe Martinez
Pechugas are a distilled expression reserved traditionally for special occasions & only made to order typically for fall festivities in the area. This tradition dates back hundreds of years and the origins of why or how it got it's start are still debated, one can say it could have begun out of pure curiosity. Many pechugas have been discovered all across Mexico where each region explores hanging different local animals to be distilled with the mezcal. For this expression, Luis Arellanes Cruz & his uncle Rufino Felipe Martinez used a local free range chicken and a mix of local fruits & spices of a secret family recipe.
Agave:
In Luis & Rufino's Pechuga Oaxaqueno, the master distillers began by harvesting mature agave Espadin (a. Angustifolia) , a varietal that takes 6 to 8 years to develop.
Milling and Fermentation:
Don Rufino & Luis mills the cooked agave by hand using large wooden mallets. The duo & team then ferments the crushed agave with local spring water in cypress wood vats which could take anywhere from 3-5 days to reach the desired sugar content.
Distillation:
Luneta's Pechuga Oaxaqueno was distilled three times.
The fermented agave is twice distilled in a clay pot still. During the third distillation Luis adds the local fruits pineapple, yellow apple, banana, herbs, spices (a family secret recipe) & a whole chicken is hung from the clay pot still.
Cut:
The hearts, heads and tails are then mix to yield a balanced blend of 44.6% abv.