Ixcateco mezcalero Amando Alvarado Alvarez typically
harvests his maguey in the dry season. This is the time
of year when greater yield is achieved because the
sugar content of the agave is greater. Papalomé (agave
potatorum) is traditionally the only maguey used by in
Ixcatlan to make agave spirit, although there are many
other maguey species around including rabo de leon,
cimarrón, maguey blanco, and pulquero. These are
used for construction, textiles, and pulque.
The agave’s fructans are transformed into fermentable
sugar by slowly cooking the heart of the maguey in an
underground oven covered by palm leaves for three
nights. The roasted agave is then milled into smaller
pieces first with a machete, then by pounding those
pieces with large wooden mallets. The milled agave is
placed into rawhide vessels with spring water where
natural fermentation takes place.
Distillation takes place on clay pots made in nearby
Oaxaca City. The spirit is distilled twice over direct fire
and adjusted to proof with colas, or tails.