Mezcal Hunting in Sola de Vega: Órale!
First trip to one of the great Cradles of Clay!
If I never learn to lovingly embrace clay distilled mezcal it won’t be for the lack of trying! Last year, you might remember, we went to one of the perennial clay favorites: Santa Catarina Minas. But this year it was another Beloved Barro Barrio: Sola de Vega!
As I mentioned previously, this vicinity wasn’t as easy to plan. In Minas? Muy facil. There were LOTS of palenques, they were very easy to discover online—and they were quite accessible. And most were reasonably close to one another, so moving from one to the other was a relative breeze. Not so much with SDV.
There were a number of options thrown out by fellow Mezcal Maniacs, but trust me: several of them weren’t easily contacted—whether via Facebook, WhatsApp, phone or email. Years ago this was the case even in regions not far from the city of Oaxaca, but for awhile now I’ve found most easy to reach. I did get through to some here, which was great.
Next issue: many of the most recommended palenques are very spread out. Like one to two hours from the village! Now that I know this, if we go in the future we might need to get a hotel room nearby, but as it was we were both leaving from and returning to our AirBnb in the city. 😑
3000 Noches
Since I was struggling to find people to see, I wanted to make sure we hit at least one really great palenque. And we did! 3000 Noches, pronounced as Tres Mil Noches, is way out in the Sierra Sur Mountains on the far side of Sola de Vega. So, yes, a long trip was made even longer in order to get there. But it was absolutely worth it.
Ángel Cruz Robles is the maestro, but by his side was his son Ángel—and his dad Ángel. Three generations of Angels!
Getting into and around this property was momentarily challenging for our driver, but he got us in. Then we had a walk through some winding paths to get to the palenque itself. This remote spot featured positively gorgeous views.
Ángel is an extremely friendly guy and he was clearly happy to show us around. In addition to observing various agaves we were familiar with: Barril, Arroqueño, Jabalí and Coyote, we also got to see one we’d only heard about: the Seemanniana, which is actually the name of the agave family. The thing is, the agave species itself is normally referred to as Tobalá.
But isn’t Tobalá of the Potatorum family? Sure, but as in so many other cases, this is just another example of how things in the mezcal universe aren’t perfectly standardized. At least in this case it’s easy to understand why these magueyes from different families are both called Tobalá: they look very similar. The Seemannianas just seem a fair amount larger than the Potatorums I’ve been familiar with. But I’ve discovered that it's not quite as cut and dried as that. As usual we can all benefit from the understanding of Max Rosenstock of NETA Spirits…
“While tobalá has commonly been classified as Agave potatorum or Agave seemanniana, studies from the last decade have confirmed that these plants are more than often hybrids between the two species, resulting in nearly infinite morphological expressions.” (Read more here.)
I suppose this is something we’ll have to grasp as the future unfolds: these agaves just keep evolving.
The Mezcal 3000 Noches Palenque
When I originally contacted Ángel, I asked if he only distilled in clay—or if he also dabbled in copper. The answer was immediate and clearcut: “Puro barro.” Roger that!
When we walked around to the palenque I counted at least 9 clay pot stills, but as my friend Fred says, “I may have been drinking.”
I asked Ángel the same question I’ve asked most other clay distillers: how long do those things typically last?
“Un año? Dos semanas?” (One year? Two weeks?) All bets are off on that question. I have to admire a maestro’s dedication to clay; invariably they will break and you’ll lose some of your batch. So the only thing you can do is spread the risk by using several smaller clay stills so it’s not too devastating when it happens.
From what I’ve gathered, distilling in clay is a requisite for being able to “legally” call your mezcal ancestral, but machacado a mano (crushed by hand) isn’t. That said, I’m quite sure every palenque I visited in Santa Catarina Minas and here in Sola de Vega did indeed crush by hand.
It’s probably clear by now that for as long as I’ve been trying to ensconce myself in the mezcal world, there are still some things I’ve misunderstood. Originally Job, my first mezcal guide/guru/friend, had been explaining to me that this process involved crushing them in canoas. Somehow I figured out that meant “canoes,” so that’s what I told people for some years: “Yep; they’ve got canoes out there, and they smash the piñas inside ‘em.” However, upon visiting my first ancestral producers, I noticed said canoas were just these medium-sized, rectangular grooves in the concrete floor of the palenque—and that’s where they smashed them. So I’ve been apologizing for this error for awhile now. Yet what do I notice at the 3000 Noches palenque?
A canoa that INDEED looks quite like a damn canoe! (see photo)
So I’m presently operating under the theory that perhaps, in previous times, palenqueros may well have used actual canoes in this way, but that this has evolved into something a bit more permanent at most—if not all palenques.
One other cool thing! After wanting one for a long time, I finally got my venencia here! It’s a reed of carrizo (like bamboo) that’s used both to transfer mezcal from vessel to copita—as well as to inspect the perlas (bubbles) in order to determine approximate ABV.
But I got some good video on it, so I’m thinking I’ll create another mini-article about that alone. Stay tuned!
The Tasting!
There was no shortage of mezcal to taste at 3000 Noches! Ángel hit us with an Espadín, Arroqueño, Jabalí, Coyote, Mexicanito and a couple of different Tobalá Seemannianas. Great big, bewitching distillations all with that hearty clay essence.
Some of the stuff we wanted was there at the palenque, and some was in the bodega, which was a bit of a walk. But that was where our vehicle was anyway; so no biggie.
And once at the bodega even more veladoras came out and even more mezcal was poured; just to make absolutely sure you see.
It was a first rate palenque experience, a rousing tasting, and my friends and I were happy to walk away with 50 liters of the good stuff from this lovely family, which we’ll enjoy for a long time to come!
Our visit here was worth the 3 hour drive from the city alone, but…we still had two other palenques to visit. Those stories are next!
As always, if you happen through San Miguel de Allende, please drop me a line. I love to meet up with fellow Mezcal Maniacs. Salud!
Nice my friend , in the state of Durango Mexico , we produce mezcal cenizo .
My mark is ZONICE.
Let me now we’re l can send to you a example . Www.zonice.mx
Keep them coming! Our recent trip to Oaxaca would have been so much better with your info of this area. My favorite mezcal from this trip was Cruz de Diamantes Mexicano that clocked in at 53% but was so smooth and with layers of flavor. 2022, Loto 001, bottle 40/72.