Mal Bien Green Tape "Isidro Rodriguez Montoya" Alto Mezcal

The excellent Alto for Isidro Rodriguez Montoya is distilled in one of the best villages for Mezcal production in Michoacan, Rio de Parras. This tiny town devoted primarily to the production of A. Inaequidens, locally called Alto, has some of the best mezcal in Mexico, but few know its importance. The region has a diverse mezcal producing history, but Isidro Rodriguez learned the trade late in life, at the age of 19. He began distilling to his own tastes and developed a much cleaner and more chiseled style than many of his neighbors. He achieves this through relatively short fermentation times aided but the addition of small amounts of pulque into the mash. A typical fermentation in Michoacan can last many weeks, but Isidro's only last 8 days. He roasts his agave in a tiny underground over for up to 8 days over encino. The agave is not rested before processing as the soft fresh cooked agave is easier to crush by hand in wooden "canoes". Fermentation is done in stone pits ("tepetate" or volacanic rock lined tubs dug into the ground) before distillation on his 300 liter traditional Filipino style still -wooden body and tongue with copper base. Adjustments are made with heads and tails, locally referred to as "flores y colas".