This extraordinary batch owes its flavor to a twist of fate in the life of Mario Acevedo.

Several years ago, while harvesting a batch of Espadín planted by someone on a plot of land on the outskirts of Velató, his hometown, he noticed that some agave plants had grown significantly smaller than the rest of the field. These particular plants were located at the edge, where the soil hadn’t been turned, causing the roots to grow tightly packed and limiting the plants’ growth.

Their weight ranged between 5 and 20 kg, whereas normally these agaves grow to over 130 kg per plant.

Despite this, he decided to harvest and distill them—because, as he says, everything contributes. To avoid ruining an entire batch, he chose to ferment them in a separate vat to evaluate the fermentation and yield. To his surprise, the yield was similar to that of the larger agaves, though the aroma was much sweeter and the flavor, as he puts it, electrifying.

Since then, he has sought out forgotten and neglected agaves to produce microbatches that he shares among friends or consumes with family.

This batch was produced in 2022. The agaves were harvested from a plot planted 17 years prior in the region of Coatecas Altas, in the district of Ejutla, at an altitude between 1,800–2,100 meters above sea level. The total batch consisted of 2,400 kg, with a yield of 180 liters, of which Puntiagudo was only able to rescue 75 liters to be bottled after one year of glass maturation.

On the nose, it has notes of honey candy, pineapple and peach syrup, pochote seed, Tabasco banana peel, menthol, and pine.

On the palate, it’s vibrant like a chili stick, woody with jalapeño notes, earthy flavors of wet soil and clay, slightly salty on the finish, with a very pleasant lingering aftertaste.

We’re confident it will be a true delight to the palate!

In November 2024, we visited a region known as El Carrizal, where we harvested 9 mountain green agaves, as the local community calls them, ranging in age from 12 to 15 years depending on the amount of sun and water provided by their environment.

Although these agaves are wild, they are the property of the community or of the person who works that section of the mountain. Therefore, authorization from both the communal land commissioner and the land steward or owner is required to carry out this activity.

As can be seen, these agaves grow in very steep parts of the sierra, making their harvest an extremely arduous and dangerous task. Access to these regions is often only possible on foot or by pack animal, which means the activity can take several days and demands extraordinary skill from the local farmers and workers.

The production of mezcal from this type of agave is not very common. Despite its extraordinary flavor, the difficulty of harvesting and transport, along with its low sugar content at maturity—between 11–14 Brix units—result in very low yields, leading most maestros to prefer other agaves like Sierra Negra or Tobalá, which are also abundant in the region.

In ancestral distillation, as practiced in the Sierra Norte using clay pots with a capacity of only 80 liters, yields can be as low as 50 liters per ton of agave. This 1,035 kg batch will be available for national sale starting in March 2025.

Don’t miss the chance to get a bottle and taste it!

Undoubtedly, Nazario is an inspiration to many, and here at Puntiagudo, we are thrilled to see the state government recognize his hard work and expertise.

Congratulations Nazario!

Puntiagudo has a batch of this agave produced by Nazario in June 2023 of only 247 liters.

The overuse of wild agave plants is one of the most serious problems in the mezcal and distillate industry. Not only does it reduce the quality and yield when using immature plants, but it also deforests the mountains, causing erosion and potentially leading to the extinction of the species with its consequent ecological impact.

One of the scarcest species in the Oaxaca Valley is the Lyobaa agave, also known as “coyote,” characterized by its solitary growth on the hills and mountains in the regions of Ocotlán, Ejutla, and Miahuatlán.

In April of this year, Puntiagudo acquired 800 plants of this species, aged 18 months, from a nursery in a town called Esteban Amatlán to donate to its mezcal maestros from Minas, Miahuatlán, and Albarradas.

These plants will be planted in the mountains of these communities to ensure their development is similar to that of 100% wild species.

According to their natural life cycle, they are expected to be ready for harvest in 7–9 years, depending on future environmental conditions.

Learn a bit more about the Lyobaa agave (Coyota).

Depending on usage, fermentation vats can rot or develop cracks, making it necessary to repair or replace them.

The price of a vat varies depending on its capacity and the type of wood used (pine or oak). The most common sizes range from 800 to 1500–1600 liters, preferably no more than 1 meter in height so that the maestro can easily reach and stir the mash during fermentation.

On April 15, the company Tinas El Fénix, with over 20 years of experience, delivered a 1500-liter vat, which was donated by our company to Maestro Rubén in support of his local and family economy.

This vat must be cured with water for one week to ensure it seals properly before being used in our next production.

Rubén López lifting the vat to transport it to Santa Catarina Albarradas.

We learned that our land in Santa Maria Coyotepec, Oaxaca—where we have planted nearly 8,000 agave plants of various species such as Tobala, Mexicano, Jabalí, Arroqueno, Sierra Negra, Tepextate, Coyote, etc.—was accidentally burned by a fire started by local farmers. They set these fires annually before the rainy season to clear the land of unwanted shrubs and weeds due to lack of proper cleaning.

Such events are extremely unfortunate and pose a very serious problem for anyone, but especially for small producers like Puntiagudo, as it practically means a loss of several hundred thousand pesos and the hard work accumulated over more than 3 years since planting.

We are currently assessing the extent of the damage to the plants and organizing immediate actions for their recovery, as well as investigating those responsible for this incident.