Mezcal Quest in San Baltazar Chichicapam
First time exploring this classic mezcal region, March 1, 2024
There’s a conflict that occurs every time we go on our mezcal adventures—especially in Oaxaca. It’s between (A) returning to the palenques of mezcaleros we’ve visited before, and (B) exploring brave new mezcal worlds!
On our 2024 trip, we decided to return to Logoche, and truth be told, at this point, we think we’ll always want to return to Logoche. We went to San Baltazar Guelavila where I had been a few times—but not our fellow questers. But we decided to try out a new region: San Baltazar Chichicapam, about an hour south of Oaxaca centro in the Ocotlán district.
"Chichicapam" is derived from the Náhuatl language, meaning "place of bitter water." It’s renowned for its rich tradition of mezcal production using old-school methods passed down through generations. I’ve heard more than one Mezcal Maniac refer to the signature flavors that reflect the region's terroir. So it was time to investigate!
Losing Our Way to Fortunato Hernández
I had been familiar with Fortunato Hernández’s work, as around 2020 Alvin Starkman, in his gracious attempt to help the mezcaleros survive a terrible time of reduced tourism, sent me a bottle of his Barril, (or was it an Espadín Capón?) That along with 11 other sample bottles led to a fair sized order of garrafones, one of which was Fortunato’s product.
We had a hell of a time finding his palenque. For a few years now I’ve navigated well with map locators. But that strategy falls apart in areas with no internet service. 😟 If I remember correctly, the Google Maps app will continue to use GPS to guide you—as long as you had clicked on the map locator while you had internet service. But clicking on it when you don’t? Fat chance.
Summoning all our wits, we thought we had found the spot. It didn’t match the description we were given, but it looked like it could’ve been a palenque. Not so, not so.
Yes, this is what we encountered as we approached the structure. The welcome committee must have had the day off because we were greeted with the warmth of liquid nitrogen. 😬 Eventually they understood we weren’t there to rob them but were instead looking for Sr. Fortunato. Our request for a little help resulted in their pointing in the general direction of the road we’d just come in on.
Allrightythen!
We did eventually find our destination, which was an impressive and bustling palenque. A couple of palenqueros were performing the painstaking job of shaving some Karwinskii piñas. I understand it’s a tough task as you want to keep as much of the sweet piña as possible—but reduce the strips of bitter penca left from the original cut. Here you can see them doing just that…
A sharp contrast to the aforementioned trio, Fortunato is a jovial sort, welcoming us happily. He took us around the palenque, showing us everything—including his practice of listening to the fermentation in the tinas. I’ve no idea how crucial this is to his operation, but the more I ask maestros questions, the more I see their craft goes beyond the science and mechanics. It's also a process of attuning themselves to the subtleties of nature—listening for the bubbling of fermentation, inhaling the scent of the cooking agave, and reading it all in ways that machines simply can't.
It's as much about what they sense as what they know.
When it came time to taste, he had plenty for us. A Coyote of the Americana family, Tobalá, Mexicano, Jabalí, Espadín, Barril, Cuixe, Arroqueño, Espadín con Cannabis (of course) and a nice Pechuga con Pollo y Frutas. We all bought some garrafones, said our goodbyes and were on our way.
The Palenque of Berta Vasquez
I’m not sure any other Oaxacan maestro/a gets as much attention as does Berta Vasquez, clearly a rock star of mezcal. I’d gotten hold of her phone number and asked my Mexicana wife Cecilia to set our appointment. The phone was on speaker when we heard a click followed by a beautifully sweet voice. In addition to making our appointment, we thought she might recommend another producer in the area to visit—aside from Fortunato.
She acted surprised we would ask, expressing that, while there were indeed other maestros in Chichicapam, they had mostly all learned from her. So why would we need to go anywhere else? 😂 We appreciated her insight, but still found another palenque we wanted to visit. Unfortunately our lackluster navigation meant the day was getting away from us. So we wouldn’t make it out to them.
Also unfortunate, Berta wasn’t available for our appointment. We ended up going to what appeared to be a kind of bodega where her mezcal is stored. A relative, Fernanda, was there for us, explaining that Sra. Berta (who was turning 79 in a few months) was at a doctor appointment; so Fernanda gave us a tasting.
There was a lot of interest in her Cuixe. As for me, I did something very much out of character. I bought her Espadín con Chocolate, yes a mezcal in which the Oaxacan chocolate had been added to the fermentation. Again, while I am never looking for something like this, there always seem to be others I meet back in San Miguel de Allende who are. So I bought a little 5 liter garrafon of it. My friend and neighbor Abraham Flores, originally from Puebla—but who was a chef in New York City for 30 years—decided to make a scrumptious banana bread with this one, and brought it to one of our Friday mezcal group meetings. Delicioso!
With us on this trip was Dr. David Williams. We call him “Doc.” At 86, this retired brain surgeon who lives along with his wife most of the year in Alaska, has been a guest at my mezcal tastings for years. A particular smart and curious gentleman, he once shared something in front of a large group of other guests at my house:
”Jonathan, for decades I drank wine, I learned about wine, traveled the world for wine; I even used to sell wine. But since I’ve been coming to Mexico and have experienced mezcal, you know what I’ve determined?”
”What’s that?” I asked.
”Wine is for pussies!” he stated forthrightly. 🤣
I enjoy a lovely wine for sure, but his point was taken!
While Fernanda gave us the tasting, Doc began to explain how the flavor and taste actually work in the brain. Here’s how that went…
So we were lucky to have an actual brain surgeon—who also happens to be infatuated with mezcal—on the trip. Even though, when sipping mezcal, I don’t often think about my olfactory mucosa, nor my amygdala, it was good to learn something new!
I’m going to knock off for a bit. It’s presently 9:35 pm, and our shuttle to the airport is coming at 4 am for this year’s Oaxacan mezcal quest. Wish us luck, and I’ll touch base soon!
So nice! We have visited Berta for years, last visit was a full day setting a horno. Her mezcal has her touch. Everybody should buy it this way, directly from the producer.
Very true about wine! I came from wine and so much parallels mezcal, except for the wussy part.