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| Valued distribution partners, you have been added to the Mezcal Monthly -- a destination for important information related to Back Bar Project's Mexican spirits portfolio. The landscape of Mexican spirits is developing rapidly. With multiple producers in various regions, and batch-specific brands and bottlings, the BBP portfolio is fun to represent, and arguably the most complete Mexican spirits portfolio currently available in the U.S. However, it can, at times, be complex and tough to track. Our goal with this newsletter is to keep you fully informed about special events, new producers, new batch releases, annual release black bottles, label changes, newsworthy stories in the world of mezcal, and much, much more...
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| New producer Pablo Vasquez in Ejutla |
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| Our customers love mezcal, especially the variety within our portfolio. Each sequential Edition of El Jolgorio and Nuestra Soledad is different than the last, oftentimes with consecutive Editions of an El Jolgorio expression being produced by a different mezcalero, in a different region of Oaxaca. Our goal is to continuously provide clear updates on in-coming batches of mezcal, so our distributor partners can effectively communicate this information to their clients and track our bottlings, Edition-by-Edition. Please see the incoming February shipment of mezcal, below:
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| Brand |
Product |
Edition |
ABV |
Village |
Producer |
| El Jolgorio |
Cuixe |
10 |
47% |
Zoquitlán |
Ignacio Parada |
| El Jolgorio |
Espadín |
7 |
47.8% |
Lachigui |
Pedro Vásquez |
| El Jolgorio |
Madrecuixe |
10 |
48% |
Rio Séco |
Regulo Martinez Parada |
| El Jolgorio |
Mexicano |
9 |
47% |
Zoquitlán |
Ignacio Parada |
| El Jolgorio |
Tobalá |
14 |
47% |
San Baltazar |
Gregorio Martinez García |
| Nuestra Soledad |
Ejutla |
45 |
47% |
Agua del Espino |
Pablo Vásquez García |
| Nuestra Soledad |
Santiago Matatlàn |
11 |
45% |
Santiago Matatlàn |
Gregorio Martinez Jarquin and Valentin Cortés |
| Nuestra Soledad |
Lachigui |
5 |
48% |
Lachigui, Miahuatlan |
Pedro Vásquez |
| Nuestra Soledad |
San Baltazar |
13 |
47% |
San Baltazar |
Gregorio Martinez García |
| Nuestra Soledad |
San Luis del Rio |
23 |
48% |
San Luis del Rio |
Javier Nolasco and Rafael Mendez |
| Nuestra Soledad |
Zoquitlán |
6 |
46% |
Santa Maria Zoquitlan |
Ignacio Parada |
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| We are excited to announce the newest addition to the Casa Cortés family of mezcaleros, Don Pablo Vasquez. Don Pablo's mezcal will be hitting the United States in late February 2018, bottled as Edition 45 of Nuestra Soledad - Ejutla. Don Pablo's palenque is in the town of Agua del Espino, in the district of Compañía, Ejutla, located in the southwest of the Valles Centrales region of Oaxaca, just over (or around) the mountains from the Los Bigotones palenque...
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| Don Pablo Vasquez replenishing our cups with a splendid Cuixe at his palenque |
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| Typical setup, mezcal veladoras and all |
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| The Cortés family's first introduction to Don Pablo came in 2017 at a local market in Ejutla. He never sold mezcal for export, but was convinced to join Casa Cortés to produce Nuestra Soledad Ejutla as global business continues to grow. Don Pablo also produces several other mezcales including Cuixe and Tobalá that will eventually be bottled in upcoming editions of El Jolgorio in 2018. To date, Don Pablo's mezcals have been nothing short of spectacular. The BBP team's most recent trip to his palenque saw us walking away with bottles of a very memorable Cuixe at 124 proof, that surprisingly maintains a pleasantly sweet, butterscotch note even at a high ABV. We can't wait to see what comes next!
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| It's finally here... the newest batch of El Jolgorio Espadín is finally on its way to the U.S.; El Jolgorio has a fantastic track record for releasing benchmark quality Espadín offerings and this latest release does not disappoint.
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| Tio Pedro at his mineral-laden agave fields in Lachigui. |
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| EJ Espadín Edition 7 was produced by Don Pedro Vasquez, at the Tio Pedro palenque in the tiny hillside village of Lachigui, Miahuatlan, located in the far south of the Valles Centrales region. This coveted edition of Espadín was rested three years in glass, a fact that is referenced on the back label. Under the new NOM (laws that regulate and classify mezcal), glass-rested mezcals are given new treatment.
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Madurado en Vidrio is a new classification that adds great value to any mezcal bottling. To earn this distinction, a mezcalero must rest his prized mezcal in a glass container (demijohns are the most common vessel), for no less than one year, often underground or in a space with minimal variations of light, temperature, and humidity, and out of direct sunlight. El Jolgorio Edition 7 does not bear the classification of Madurado en Vidrio because it was laid into glass in 2015, prior to the law taking effect. Tio Pedro's mezcals are highly sought after, known for their distinct flavor profile. His palenque is the most remote of all the producers working in the Casa Cortés collective. His approach to mezcal is spiritual, planting and harvesting around lunar cycles. Don Pedro's sons, Librado and Pedro Jr., who he relies on for the day-to-day work in the palenque, are maestro mezcaleros in their own right. Tio Pedro's past bottlings for El Jolgorio include Arruqueño, Tobala, Madrecuixe, Tepeztate, and Coyote. Don Pedro also produces Espadín mezcal for Nuestra Soledad.
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| Nuestra Soledad and Agave de Cortés are undergoing a very slight makeover due to new regulations in Mexico. The issuance of the new NOM-070 in late 2017 re-drew the lines for categorization and labeling of mezcal. According to the new laws, all mezcal that is certified for sale must be categorized as one of three classes based on how it is cooked, fermented, crushed, and distilled: 1) Mezcal; 2) Mezcal Artesanal; or 3) Mezcal Ancestral. The purpose of the law is to provide clear regulations for labeling mezcal based on production methods, providing transparency to consumers who care how their mezcal is made. These changes will go into effect sometime in March.
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| Agave de Cortés new labels |
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| In order to accurately reflect the new labeling requirements, Casa Cortés made slight changes to both the Nuestra Soledad and Agave de Cortés labels to ensure they accurately reflect the category of Mezcal Artesanal.
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| Nuestra Soledad new labels |
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| For Nuestra Soledad, the label changes went a bit further. On each bottle, the village name will be highlighted by corresponding color blocking, in an effort to provide more visible distinction between the various color and village variations in the Nuestra Soledad range when placed on the shelf or back bar.
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The complete specifications for each category as governed by NOM-070 are as follow (borrowed from the good people at Mezcal Vago at Mas Mezcal)
Mezcal
- Cooking: Cooking of agave piñas OR juice in underground pits, above ground masonry ovens or autoclaves.
- Milling: Tahona, Chilean or Egyptian mill, cane press, chipper, or roller mills.
- Fermentation: Fermentation can take place in wood, concrete, or stainless steel vats
- Distillation: Alembic still, continuous or column still made from copper or stainless steel.
Mezcal Artesanal
- Cooking: Agave piñas must be cooked in underground pits or above ground masonry ovens.
- Milling: Wooden mallet, tahona, Chilean/Egyptian mill, cane press, or chipper.
- Fermentation: Fermentation can be performed in rock pits, in-ground pits, tree trunks, clay urns, wooden vats, or animal hide. The fermentation may include agave fibers.
- Distillation: Distillation must be fueled by direct fire beneath a copper or clay boiler or pot still. The head or cap of the still may be made of clay, wood, copper, or stainless steel.
Mezcal Ancestral
- Cooking: Agave piñas must be roasted in underground, earthen pits.
- Milling: Roasted agave can only be crushed using wooden mallets, tahona, or a Chilean/Egyptian mill.
- Fermentation: Fermentation can only take place in rock pits, in-ground pits, tree trunks, masonry tanks, clay urns, or wooden vats, or animal hide. Fermentation may include fibers.
- Distillation: Stills must be fueled by direct fire with boilers constructed of clay, with the head or "hat" of the still constructed of clay or wood.
Denomination of Origin Protected
- This phrase must be listed on the front label in order to identify that production occurred in the demarcated region for mezcal and according to all laws and regulations governing its production.
The new regulations are an effort by the CRM to regulate the ever-growing number of producers and brands as the popularity of mezcal rises and the category diversifies. Changes will require nearly all producers to re-label to reflect the requirements. Casa Cortés is proud of the fact that all of its mezcaleros always produced mezcal that can be classified as Artesanal.
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