The art of making Capón Mezcal

christian schrader

"Capón" denotes a distinctive technique employed in naturally enhancing the agave before harvesting, I like to believe that in the mezcal-producing world, it is an uncommon & delicious batch that is connected with time.

As agave plants mature, they initiate the growth of a shotting their flowering stalk, commonly known as "quiote" in Spanish. It resembles an asparagus but it has a massive size!

Anyway, these stalks, reaching heights from 6 to (you have never seen) x Meters, bear flowers filled with seeds, signaling the plant's reproductive (and final) life phase. However, to conserve energy and redirect it back into the agave heart (piña), the stalk is severed—a process metaphorically akin to castration, hence the term "capón."

The agave life cycle is straightforward: sprout, mature over years (potentially decades), flower for reproduction, and eventually perish. The emergence of a bump atop the agave indicates the impending growth of the quiote. Allowing the quiote to mature would deplete the plant's carbohydrates and energy reserves, hence the necessity of castration to retain these vital resources within the piña for mezcal and pulque production.

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Aguerrido

christian schrader

Aguerrido is hands down the best example that is never too late to start something that is meaningful to yourself.A collective brand that is constituted by mainly elderly Maestros that each carry around 40 years of experience. It's a cheerful bunch that trust the leadership of Erika Menenses, a young woman that brings the spark to the table. Pushing any mezcal brand out of the state of Guerrero sets up a handful of challenges upon the already maneuvers one needs to go through to export mezcal. No stranger to violence, corruption and dead.  The name of the brand "AGUERRIDO" is a clear...

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Campanilla

christian schrader

Located in the center of Mexico, San Luis Potosi provides a gateway to a handful of states and incredible environments, ranging from tropical forest to the semi-deserted lands of the Mexican Plateau. Here lies one of the most important mining settlements of the country and an incredible agave species - also subspecies - commonly known as Salmiana. With a longevity of up to 25 years, the Salmiana is amongst the most iconic agaves of Mexico. Their flowering stock reaches up to 20 metres at the end of its natural life and Mezcal production in the area is limited to wild...

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