DISTILLING AGAVE SPIRITS

The harvesting process is conducted manually to uphold rigorous quality standards. Agaves are sourced from the mineral-rich soils of northern California, with selection based on ideal maturity and natural sweetness. This careful method of procurement and harvesting ensures the unique flavor profile found in our spirits.

Once the mature agave hearts are harvested and prepared, they are placed into an autoclave and steamed under low pressure. This process softens the tough plant material and breaks down the agave’s natural complex sugars. After steaming, the agave hearts are allowed to rest so their flavors can stabilize, then are shredded to make the fibers ready to ferment.

After cooking and shredding, the sweet agave juices and fibers are moved to fermentation tanks.  We ferment on the fibers to maximize flavor extraction and use a yeast that compliments the spirit’s balanced, crisp flavor. The process is closely monitored as the yeast converts natural sugars into alcohol and develops the complex flavors of our final product.

In the extraction phase, we separate the fermented agave juices from the fibers, or "bagasse".  We use a wine press to gently squeeze the mash to separate the solids from the liquids so we can proceed to distillation.

After fermentation and extraction, the liquid undergoes a slow distillation process in our alembic copper pot still to carefully preserve and concentrate the complex aromas and flavors that have developed. The distillation is performed twice, which allows us to refine and purify the spirit while ensuring that the true flavor of the agave is retained throughout.

All our spirits are aged - even Blanco, which is matured in stainless steel tanks. Reposado spends its resting period in used American oak bourbon barrels, gaining unique oak flavors and a smoother finish. We carefully track the aging process; leaving Reposado too long in barrels can mask the agave's intricate character, whereas Blanco's method helps safeguard subtle tastes and boost smoothness. Once each spirit achieves its ideal balance, we bottle it.