elements table
tasting notes
Maestra Mezcalera
Berta Vazquez
Berta Vasquez comes from the Zapotec village of Chichicapam, Oaxaca, where she learned to make mezcal from her grandfather. Her husband was a mezcalero too. After he tragically died, leaving her to take care of the house and children, She turned to artisanal mezcal to make ends meet and is now revered as one of the most renowned female mezcal producers in the world.
Agave:
In Berta's Destilado con Flor de Jazmin + Hoja de Cedron (lemon verbena), the master distiller began by harvesting mature agave espadin, a varietal that takes 5 to 8 years to develop.
Roast:
The agave hearts are roasted underground for 4 to 5 days with mesquite wood found in the nearby region.
Mill:
Once roasted, the agave hearts are mashed with a horse-drawn grind stone (traditionally known as a tahona).
Fermentation:
Berta, utilizes Montezuma Cypress wood vats and local spring water to ferment the crushed and roasted agave. Depending on the temperature and time of year, fermentation can take 8 to 14 days.
Distillation:
Berta's Destilado con Flor de Jazmin + Hoja de Cedron was made using Espadin agave as a base in a copper still and the ingredients were added during the second distillation.
Cut:
Berta blends the hearts, heads and tails to create Luneta's Destilado con Flor de Jazmin + Hoja de Cedron, a delicious and powerful spirit of 46.5% percent alcohol.